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Soil quality Updated 01 Jan 2011

Horseshoe test

To determine if your soil has high clay content collect about a handful from 3-5cm below the surface. It should be quite moist but not soaking wet. If necessary water the ground and allow it to drain before collecting your sample.

Rolling the ball of soil into a sausage shape

Rolling the soil into a sausage shape.

Remove any plant material and roots. Knead the soil for several minutes, breaking down any lumps until you can squeeze it into a relatively smooth ball. You may have to add a little water if it's too dry to stick together. If you can squeeze water out easily it's too wet.

Roll the ball of soil on a piece of smooth board into a fat sausage, 25-30cm long. (pictured right)

Then try bending it gently. If it's smooth to the touch and you can make a horseshoe shape without it breaking or cracking badly, it contains a lot of clay (see image below). If it feels gritty to the touch and breaks very readily, it's probably high in sand and low in clay.

Clay soil and sandy soil in horseshoe shapes

Left - clay soil, right - sandy soil.

While it's useful to know the proportions of sand, silt and clay in your soil, there's not a lot you can easily do to change the situation.

But you can affect the way these particles group together into lumps and crumbs (soil condition) and this can have a dramatic effect on the success of your gardening efforts.

Find out how to test your soil condition and ways to improve your soil.