Quick and Easy Soil Jar Test

It is unlikely that you won’t hear about how important soil is when reading anything plant-related.
The crumbly earth beneath our feet impacts not just our local garden, but the environment as a whole more than we might think.

In this post, I want to point you toward a quick soil test you can do to determine what kind of soil you have.
Before you start thinking about how to fix things, you first need to determine what, if anything, needs fixing.
I recently did a jar test to demonstrate how.

Instructions for the easy soil jar test:

1. Take a glass jar and fill it with soil from your garden.
   When you do this doesn’t matter—the season won’t change the physical properties of the soil. If it’s 90% clay, it will stay clay in winter and summer.
2. Add water and a drop of dishwashing liquid.
   The dishwashing liquid helps the particles separate.
3. Shake the jar vigorously for a couple of minutes, then leave it untouched overnight to let the layers settle.
   • Organic matter will float on the very top.
   • Sand will be at the very bottom.
   • Silt will be in the middle.
   • Clay will be the top layer.
4. Measure how many centimetres each layer is, and convert that to a percentage:

(Percentage) = (cm of individual layer) × 100 / (cm of total layers)

(Percentage) equals (centimetres of individual layer) multiplied by (100) and divided by (centimetres of total all layers)

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For example, in my test (shown in the photo), I have roughly 4 cm total: 0.5 cm sand, 0.5 cm clay, and 3 cm silt.

so…

x% = 0.5cm x 100 / 4cm

x= 12.5%

I have the same amount (12.5%) of clay, and the rest—75%—is silt.

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Now, use this chart to determine your soil type:
Extend lines from your percentage numbers along the faint blue, red, and green lines inside the triangle. Your soil type is where the lines cross.

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Here is my result:
This sample was taken from a garden bed where I dumped a lot of compost this fall, so it’s a pretty good soil. Once the earth thaws more, I’ll do another test on a hillside where nothing has ever been planted—I’m curious to see how that one will look.

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Here’s a good YouTube video I liked if you prefer visual instructions:

That’s about it for the easy soil jar test! If you have any questions – feel free to leave a comment.