clay soils
Dense garden ground
Clay soils are soils with a high proportion of clay particles—the finest of soil particle types.
They hold water and nutrients well but drain poorly, becoming sticky when wet and hard when dry.
Gardeners and farmers must work clay soils carefully: The clay soil stayed waterlogged for days after the rain.
Adding organic matter improves their texture.
- water retentionBody storing excess fluid
- poor drainageInadequate water removal
- plasticityAbility to change shape
- porosityVoid space density
- drainage systemsChannels for water removal
adobe · hardpan · erosion control · shrink-swell · cracked earth · compaction · waterlogging · root rot · brick · crop rotation · dense · terracotta · potter's wheel · earthen floor · sticky · wet · heavy · puddles
- Soiltopsoil, subsoil, dirt, loam, earth
- soil sciencetopsoil, subsoil, sand, silt, loam
- geotechnicssubsurface, water table, subsidence, geotechnical, aquifer
- Piedmont regionfoothills, Po Valley, fall line, rolling hills
- geologybedrock, fault lines, faults, rock, basalt
- rural terrainhills, valleys, ridges, slopes, foothills
soil particle size/texture
clay soilssandy soils
Ground dominated by coarse particles
sand · sandy loam · gravel · silt · loam