Soil jar test

Measure the settled bands to see the percentage of sand, silt and clay.

Settled bands

Measure all three layers in the same unit. Only their ratio matters.

Sand — bottom layer

Silt — middle layer

Clay — top layer

Measured fractions

Sand60%

Silt20%

Clay20%

Largest fractionSand

Sand: Drains fast and holds little water — water more often, in shorter runs. This is not a formal USDA texture classification.