The Main Types of Soil

A handful of damp clay will retain the impression of your fingers and may appear shiny on the surface.

Disadvantages: When wet they are sticky and hard to work, and when dry they set hard and crack. They are prone to waterlogging and tend to warm up later in the spring than more open sandy soils.

Advantages: They are usually very rich in nutrients and their texture and workability can be improved by adding grit and bulky, very well rotted, organic matter. Improved clay soils will support quite a wide variety of plants.

They may form a fairly cohesive ball in the palm of your hand although they cannot be moulded in the same way as clay.

Disadvantages: When wet they tend to pack down and become heavy, cold and poorly drained rather like clay, although not to the same extent. They warm up quicker than clays but more slowly than sandy soils.

Advantages: They are generally quite fertile and will support a wide range of plants.

If you squeeze them when wet they don't usually hold their shape.

Disadvantages: The larger particle size means they are very free draining and tend to lose nutrients easily.

Advantages: They are easy to work and warm up quickly in spring so you can get your season off to a flying start. The texture and fertility can be improved by adding rich organic matter.

A ball of chalky soil will collapse into fairly large particles.

Disadvantages: They tend to be very stony and shallow and will not support deep rooted plants. They are very free draining and lose nutrients easily. Importantly, these types of soil are also very alkaline and will not support acid loving plants.

Advantages: They can be improved with the addition of organic matter and are reasonably fertile. There is also a good range of lime tolerant plants.

If you look closely you will see that they contain many fibrous plant remains. It is relatively rare to find pure peat in a garden - after all, who would build a house on a peat bog?

Disadvantages: In general they easily become waterlogged and are usually acidic so you will not be able to grow lime loving plants. The acidity also means that they support only a limited range of beneficial soil organisms.

Advantages: They are potentially very fertile and can be cultivated quite intensively. The addition of lime to selected areas will enable you to grow fruit and vegetables. You can make the most of your ornamental garden by growing the many beautiful acid loving plants.

The main characteristics of these loams are those of the predominant mineral.

Disadvantages: Clay loams tend to be heavy and slow draining and are difficult to work when wet. In very dry conditions they harden and form surface cracks.

Sandy loams, on the other hand, are free draining. They are quite easy to work but dry out easily and nutrients are quickly lost.

Silty loams are prone to compaction and tend to settle into a dense airless mass.

Advantages: The fact that loams contain a broader range of particle sizes means that they do not display the extreme characteristics and behaviour of, say, a pure clay or sandy soil, and are easier to work with.