What soil color means Calculation of soil color starts with the base soil color. Since Garden with Insight doesn't simulate the soil minerals in enough detail to simulate their color, the base soil color is simply input. For example, some soils are reddish, some are yellow, and some tend more to gray.
Wet soils are always darker than dry soils, which is one reason soils in arid regions are so light.
And decomposed organic matter is usually a very dark brown, which explains why the potting soil you buy at the garden store is often darker than the soil in your garden. This mimics the way real soil changes color, broadly stated. You can use the soil color in the browser to tell if the soil needs water or if it is lacking in organic matter. To show or hide the distinctions between soil layers, click the layers button.