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Loamy soil: properties, advantages, disadvantages, plants

Gardening

Surely you are familiar with the concept of "fertile soil". This is the one on which cultivated and ornamental plants grow well, flowers bloom, fruit trees give a good harvest. Loamy and sandy loam soils are considered fertile soil. It is they who can fully provide plants with moisture and useful microelements.

Composition

Loamy soil is considered to be of good quality, as it has an optimal ratio of sand and clay in its composition. This soil is 70 percent clay and 30 percent sand. Soil, which contains coarse and fine sandy particles, is considered to be capable of producing a good harvest.

Loam perfectly permeates moisture, "is able" to store it in the necessary quantities necessary for the proper life of plants. The soil is loamy, rich in minerals and trace elements, and is highly air-permeable. Such land is considered ideal for a backyard and garden.

Many gardeners strive to at least bring the land on their site closer to loamy soil. More sand is brought to the gardens if, or, conversely, black soil is added to the silty soil. And those gardeners who are lucky enough to grow plants in loamy soil simply enjoy a good quality harvest.

The main advantages of loamy soil

  • This one is ideal for growing almost the entire huge list of plants: vegetables, fruit trees, berry bushes, flowers.
  • The loamy soil is characterized by increased moisture resistance, capable of retaining moisture for a long time.
  • A soil consisting of 70 percent sand and 30 percent clay has good subsurface irrigation capacity.
  • High aeration rates, that is, this type of soil is well ventilated and air permeable.
  • It assimilates fertilizers and manure well, improving yield indicators with each year of operation.

Disadvantages of loamy soils


Ways to correct the imperfections of loamy soil

Clayy, loamy soil is a difficult species. It requires maintenance and fertilization. If the gardener-gardener decides to improve the yield and correct the insignificant shortcomings of such land, then there are some tips. First, the mulching method should be used. This process is the covering of a plot of land with planted plants with a covering material. Mulching is an ideal way to maintain and maintain plant health. In addition, this method will save and facilitate your labor spent on watering and loosening the soil.

How to identify loamy soil

Even a non-professional agronomist will be able to determine on his own personal plot what type of soil prevails in the garden. There is a simple way for this - "rolling the sausage". It is necessary to take a certain amount of earth, moisten it well and mold a small ball from a piece. Next, a "sausage" should be formed from the ball and try to wrap it in a ring.

If you manage to do this with ease, then you have clay soil in your country house. If the earthen "sausage" curls easily, but when folding begins to crack a little, then in front of you is loamy soil. From light sandy soil, you will not be able to blind anything at all, even if the moisture is sufficient and the movements are neat.

Heavy soil types can also be identified by eye. Loamy or clayey is not as fast as sandy will dry out after rain. At elevated air temperatures, it will crack faster; in spring, melt water leaves the garden more slowly.

So, we can safely answer the question: loamy soil - what is it? This is the most fertile and rich in nutrients species. But experts recommend improving such an almost ideal soil. Here are some helpful tips: