If it won’t form a ball and instead sifts through your fingers, it’s probably sandy soil. A loose, somewhat slimy ball that ...

These range from loose sandy soils to waterlogged peats to the beautifully balanced loam that is so well suited to agriculture. But human activity is destroying the balance and one-third of the ...

If it’s loam, it will compress into a loose ball that crumbles easily ... which loosen heavy clay soil and help sandy soils hold moisture and nutrients,” says Shipman.

If it forms a tight ball, the soil is clay. Loose and crumbly soil is loamy, the best kind for planting season. Grainy dirt ...

Different soils have different properties depending on their composition. Sandy soil is pale coloured and has large particles. These create lots of small air gaps. Water drains through them easily ...