The soil provides your trees with the vital nutrients, water and air that they require for healthy growth and development. But each orchard or plot has its own blend of minerals, organic and inorganic matter which largely determines what crops, plants or trees can be grown successfully. Soil anchors a tree’s roots, facilitates their water supply, helps them breathe and offer the nutrients needed to support growth.

The three primary soil particles are sand, silt, and clay. The relative percentages of these components present make up the soil’s texture. Texture is important to overall soil and plant health as it relates to soil porosity, which refers to the pore spaces where air and water reside.

The ideal soil texture is a mix of sand, silt, and clay particles, known as a loam. In most cases the particles will not be balanced, and the soil will need to be altered by adding organic amendments. To evaluate soil texture, use a simple jar test to determine the percentages of sand silt, and clay which will help in determining soil texture/ soil type. Once the percentages are calculated, the soil textural triangle can be used to determine the soil type.