What is Soil?

Soil is a living mass of land made up of solid minerals like sand, silt and clay as well as organic matter. Water and air round out the liquid and gaseous states of soil.

Soil is mostly made up of the mineral elements weathered and broken down into smaller particles. Sand is the largest particle with a gritty feel. Silt and clay particles are small and

hard to detect with the human eye. Silt feels like flour while clay is easiest to designate when wet as it is sticky. Water and organic particles occupy the spaces between mineral elements of soil. Working together all of these particles give soil its texture.

What is the importance of Soil?

Living soils are the foundation for growing healthy plants. Soil helps store and retain nutrients for plants and animals like earthworms, and other soil organisms. Soil, when prepared properly prior to planting can also increase water holding capacity.

Many, if not the majority, of turf problems can be traced to poor soil conditions and a lack of proper soil preparation prior to planting.