A Yankee Soil Test
I once had some loam delivered and spread on a section of the lawn and it only grew more crabgrass than I had ever seen. There was plenty of sun, I watered it regularly, I used quality grass seed and seemed to do everything right so why the lack of success. It was the dirt. Soil is the "physical earth" or "dirt" in our yards and gardens. It is made up of particles of all shapes and sizes and can be heavy on one count and not another. It could be typically heavy in clay, or maybe very sandy. Loam is soil that has been measured and mixed so one knows the percentage of particles. Ideally the mixture is 40% sand, 40% silt and 20% clay by volume. This mixture is a good growing medium for most plants as the roots are able to penetrate the loam and establish themselves in the growing medium and allowing for better drainage. Using my home-made soil sample test to find out what was wrong with the loam told me there was too much clay, couldn't tell by looking at i...