Soil for the Organic Gardener Soil to most individuals is just a pile of dirt but if you want to have a garden you must become a student of the soil and it's shortcomings. I will try to introduce you to the most basic concepts of soils and soil management for an organic garden. The test is simple and can be done with items found in the kitchen. Sand is formed from the breakdown of rocks and has been deposited in the soil as silicon particles.
Sandy soils are gritty to the touch, loosely packed, and very porous.
The second layer of the solution will be the silt, this layer will be dark in color. Silt is the product from the breakdown of the rock found in the area and has the same chemical properties of the local rock. Silt when dry has the feel of powdery and when wet it feels slippery. Silt adds bulk to the soil, supplies minerals through chemical breakdown, and helps retain water. The third layer of the solution will be the clay, this layer will again be light in color and have a sheen to the surface.