RE: Determining soil type by hand

["Oborn, Ralph (MC R&D)" <roborn@simplot.com>]

1) In Nyle Brady's book Nature and Properties of Soils it details the
feel test that you are talking about.
p97 in my tenth edition. There are also some USDA publications.

2) Another way is to put the soil into a tall bottle clear , say 5
inches in a gallon, add lots of water a drop of soap (Joy) and shake
like crazy for a couple of minutes.
What settles out in 1 second is sand, 1 minute is silt, 1 hour is fines
(clay). Often you can see the lines also. Then find your spot on a soil
texture triangle (from any soil book or the web)

3) A third way is to get a copy of your county soils map (from USDA
office)  and find your location and soil type.


Ralph A. Oborn

Research Technician
J. R. Simplot Co.
PO BOX 912
Pocatello, Idaho 83204
208.235.5600
roborn@simplot.com