Buying a smallholding is not like buying a house where any garden is a bonus. If the soil type on your smallholding is not suitable for the task then it's going to cost a lot to put right or worse still, be of no value to you at all.
There are six main soil types: Clay, Sandy, Silty, Peaty, Chalky, Loamy
- Feels lumpy and sticky when very wet
- Hard when dry
- Poor drainage
- Few air spaces
- Warms slowly in spring
- Heavy to cultivate
- With improved drainage, plants grow well as it holds more nutrients than many other soils
- Free-draining soil
- Gritty to the touch
- Warms up quickly in spring
- Easy to cultivate
- Dries out rapidly
- Nutrients are washed through the soil in wet weather
- Smooth and soapy to the touch
- Well-drained soil
- Retains moisture
- More fertile than sandy soil
- Easier to cultivate than clay
- Heavier than sand
- Soil structure is weak and easily compacted
- A very good soil if well managed
- High proportion of organic matter (peat) because the soil’s acidic nature inhibits decomposition
- Few nutrients
- Dark in colour
- Warms up quickly in spring
- Highly water retentive and may require drainage if the water table is near the surface
- Fantastic for plant growth if fertiliser is added
- Alkaline, with a pH of 7.5 or more
- Usually stony
- Free draining
- Often overlays chalk or limestone bedrock
- The perfect soil
- Good structure
- Drains well
- Retains moisture
- Full of nutrients
- Easy to cultivate
- Warms up quickly in spring and doesn’t dry out in summer
Soil improvement
Adding in compost to your soil can help all soils. Using grit or sand along side well-rotted organic matter will improve clay.
Get the latest smallholding news and articles direct to your desktop with the Smallholding Owner RSS feed 