Which soil type do you have?

A)  Sand–light, dry, gritty, free draining, nutrients lost easily, warms up quickly. B)  Clay–heavy, cold, sticky when moist, hard and compact when dry.                       C)  Limestone–pale, lots of stones, free draining, nutrient poor, alkaline                   D)  Silt–small particles, smooth, packs down, poor drainage, heavy.                            E)  Peat–distinctive dark brown or gray color, spongy, rich in organics, absorbs water, acidic.

In our area of King County there is an abundance of clay soil.  When you read heavy, compact and poor drainage, doesn’t  that make you feel like you are home again?  That’s us, difficult to work when wet, but with the possibility of great improvement over time.

From The Organic Garden Book by Hamilton:

“Clay is a badly drained, cold and heavy soil because the spaces between each particle are too small to allow free passage of water and air, so the soil is always in danger of settling down to form a solid, airless mass.  Improving the soil structure can take a few years, but a good clay soil is capable of growing far better crops than a sandy soil ever could.”