What Is Soil or Loam? When Should I Water Different Loam or Soil Types?

 

First of all let's define what loam means since we come across this gardening term all the time ... Loam is a soil that contains about 60% sand, 30% silt (pie articles between 0.002 and 0.02mm diameter) and 20% clay. Loam soils feel smooth and spongy when rolled into a ball.

Rowlawn Direct in the UK are major suppliers of Loam and Top Soil as well as Lawn Turf, top dressings, lawn seeds and bark and bark. They have a special running at the moment (March 2008... 10% Discount if you order Medallion® Turf and Blended Loam™ Topsoil in 1m³ bags together)

In general soil moisture levels are correlated to 4 different types of soil ...

  • Coarse and sandy

  • Light loam ... sandy type loam

  • Medium fine loamy sand

  • Heavy soil or clay also called clay loam

Moisture or water content and how to tell if you need to water

  • When soil has extremely low or no soil water content then almost all plants wilt and look very tired and worn out. You must immediately water these plants. To identify this condition further grab a handful of soil. Under the extremely low water or moisture condition the soil will feel dry, it will be loosely formed in powder form and will easily flow through opened fingers. There will be no marks left on your hand. Other descriptions might be dry, lumps or soil clods can be crushed with little effort. The soil will not maintain any shape when squeezed. In the extreme the soil may be completely slid like a baked crust covered with many cracks.

  • When soil has some low level of moisture or water content and definitely stiill needs watering there will be a bit more consistency than described above but you will be under no doubt that the soil is on the dry side because it will not clump or remain clumped for any length of time. Colour will tend to be on light or pale side. There might be a slight tendency to leave a mark on your hand after squeezing.

  • When soil has enough water that it does not need watering you will notice ...

  1. Color is darker and you'll notice a wetness

  2. Soil will tend to stick together but the squeezed ball will not be strongly held together.

  3. Your hand will be slightly marked or stained.

  4. There are many types of watering equipment on the market and you might find it useful to explore watering pages on this site.