For Vegetable Production Soil is a natural body synthesized from a mixture of broken and weathered minerals and decaying organic matter that provides support and sustenance for vegetable plants.
Soil consists of mineral matter, organic matter, air, and water.
The relationships between these four constituents and the types of mineral and organic material determine the suitability of soil for producing vegetables. The main factor in a soil's physical properties is the size of the individual mineral particles. The differently sized particles are grouped in separates according to USDA standards in the following table. Clay As shown in the table, clay particles are very small. This small size allows clay particles to become tightly packed together.