7/24/2019 Silty Soil

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Silty Soil Silt, one of the 3 basic soils, iscomposed of rock and mineralparticles and its commonly

found along with clay, sand,gravel, and other sediments.Larger than clay but smaller

than sand, silt particles are lessthan 0.005 cm in diameter making them very hard for thenaked eye to see.

it takes the forces of nature water, wind, and ice and avery long time to erode rocks

and create silt. !lowing waterserves as a vehicle for tiny bitsand pieces of rock that scrapeagainst the bottom and sides ofstream beds, furtherfragmenting the small pieces ofrock. "he rock particles bump

and grind against each other,eventually resulting to verysmall bits that we call silt. #ind,on the other hand, can carrytiny bits of rock across

landscapes grinding againstrough surfaces until the

particles get smaller andsmaller.

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%ut dont get this wrong&silty soil has its share ofredeeming 'ualities youshouldnt ignore. "hewater retention and aircirculation in properlymaintained silty groundsare way better thanthose of sandy soils,allowing silty soils tohold more nutrients andmaking it more fertilethan other soil types.$ts of little surprise that

agriculture thrives inareas surrounding riverdeltas and other bodiesof water where siltabounds.

(ne may think that silty

soil should feel rockywhen wet. )fter all, the

Soils that containmore than +0 siltare not very commonin gardens, and agardener would beworried if his soils

silt content is o- theroof. !or starters, siltysoil can be easilycompacted throughconstant foot tracand use of gardening

e'uipment, leadingto low air in/ltration,stied root growth,and other problems.1oreover, soils rich insilt content can be

easily washed andblown away