The different types of soil: how to recognize and improve them

A good gardener always starts by looking at the soil

Even before sowing, planting, watering… you need to learn to know your soil. Its structure, texture, water retention capacity, or drainage directly influence the success of your crops. Here is a simple guide to identify your soil type… and improve it naturally.

1. The 4 main soil types in the garden

🟤 Clay soil

• Sticky, heavy, compact texture.
• Retains water well but compacts easily.
• Risk of root suffocation if not drained.
• Improvement: mature compost + coarse sand + regular mulching.

🏖️ Sandy soil

• Visible grain, crumbles between fingers, very draining.
• Warms up quickly but retains water and nutrients poorly.
• Improvement: organic matter + compost + deep-rooted green manure.

🌫️ Silty soil

• Very fertile but fragile, sensitive to erosion.
• Floury texture, soft to the touch.
• Improvement: permanent mulching, ground cover, monitor structure.

🌳 Humiferous soil (or forest soil)

• Rich in organic matter, very black and supple.
• Excellent water retention, often acidic.
• Improvement: mild limestones (shell powder, ash), leaf compost.

2. How to identify your soil? (simple methods)

🖐 Touch test

Take a handful of moist soil:

• Sticks and compacts: clay
• Granular and crumbles: sandy
• Supple, soft, floury: silty
• Dark, light, smells of humus: humiferous

⚱️ Jar test

1. Fill a transparent jar with 1/3 soil and 2/3 water.
2. Shake, let rest for 24h.
3. Observe layers: sand (bottom), silt (middle), clay (fine surface).

3. How to improve your soil naturally?

• 🌾 Green manure: mustard, phacelia, clover… to aerate and feed.
• 🌿 Compost: brings life, nutrients, and structure.
• 🪵 Mulching: hay, straw, dead leaves… protects, feeds, and attracts worms.
• 💧 Adapted watering: according to soil retention → neither too much nor too little.

4. What type of crops for each soil?

Soil type	Recommended plants
Clay	Leeks, cabbages, beets, spinach
Sandy	Carrots, radishes, potatoes, onions
Silty	Almost everything! Be sure to mulch well.
Humiferous	Squash, salads, herbs, beans

Conclusion

Knowing the nature of your soil is laying the foundation for a healthy, productive, and resilient garden. In permaculture, we work with the soil, not against it. Observe, feed, protect: that is the real key to a living vegetable garden.

📘 Want to go further? Discover our seeds to sow smartly, according to your terrain.