Article 04 · Soil & Compost
Getting to Know Your Soil
Simple field observations that help you understand soil texture, structure, drainage and biology—and recognise when a laboratory test is worthwhile.
Simple Observations and When to Get It Tested
Before sowing seeds or adding inputs, take time to understand the soil beneath your feet.
At Dasot Organic Farms in Bholi, our experience with limited fresh water and extreme temperatures has taught us to consider soil and water together. We make our plant tonics and manures in-house, but an input is not a substitute for understanding the problem.
Begin with a notebook, a small spade and a few representative places to observe. Let the field guide your questions and a laboratory help answer what you cannot see.
1. Establish a baseline: soil and water
A soil test is useful before major planting or investment, and when growth problems remain unexplained.
- Ask what to test: Soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon or organic matter, and crop-relevant nutrients. Add micronutrient tests where local advice or symptoms justify them.
- Test irrigation water too: Ask about salinity and sodium risk, including EC and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), interpreted together. Hardness alone does not establish either problem.
- Understand the difference: Salinity can make water harder for roots to take up; excess sodium can damage soil structure and reduce infiltration.
- Avoid universal targets: Organic-carbon goals depend on soil, climate, depth and testing method. One number is not a health certificate for every field.
If contamination is suspected, describe the concern to the laboratory. A routine fertility test does not screen for every pollutant. If you are unsure which tests to request or how to interpret the results, contact 19AGRO. We can help you work through the findings and the next steps.
Take a sample that represents the place
- Follow the laboratory's instructions for depth, quantity and handling.
- Combine small samples from several points within one reasonably uniform area.
- Keep visibly different soils and problem patches separate.
- Label each sample with location, depth and date; include the intended crop and previous inputs.
A mixed sample from unlike areas can hide the very problem you want to understand.
2. Feel the texture and watch the water
Moisten a small handful until workable, not dripping. Rub it between your fingers and gently press it into a ribbon.
- Gritty and difficult to hold together: Suggests a sandier texture.
- Smooth or floury: Suggests more silt.
- Sticky and able to form a ribbon: Suggests more clay.
This is a rough field comparison, not a precise texture analysis. Texture also differs from structure: how particles form crumbs, pores or compacted layers matters too.
After rain or irrigation, revisit the same places:
- Does water enter the soil or run across it?
- Where does it remain standing, and for how long?
- Does the surface crust as it dries?
- Is the soil moist beneath a dry-looking surface?
Do not identify soil type from drainage speed alone. Compaction, initial moisture and deeper layers can change the result.
3. Notice living clues without treating them as proof
Compare an exposed patch, a cultivated bed and the ground beneath an established tree.
- Colour and smell: Record differences, but do not assume dark soil is fertile or an earthy smell proves beneficial microbes.
- Roots: Look for depth, branching and roots turning sideways at a hard layer.
- Soil life: Note worms and other organisms, along with season and moisture. A low worm count in hot, dry conditions is not a verdict on the whole field.
- Soil around roots: Clinging soil is worth observing, but it does not by itself confirm mycorrhizal fungi.
Use several signs together. Soil health cannot be judged from one indicator alone.
4. Respond to the cause, then return
- Keep soil covered where practical and avoid unnecessary disturbance.
- Use suitable, mature compost according to soil needs; more is not always better, particularly where salts are a concern.
- Avoid working or driving over wet soil.
- Investigate persistent waterlogging or compaction before choosing a remedy.
- Do not assume biochar, microbial products or sprays will solve a texture or drainage problem.
- Contact 19AGRO if you need help planning follow-up. Agree a retesting interval with the testing laboratory; investigate sooner if water quality or unexplained crop problems change.
For useful comparisons, keep sampling depth, season and laboratory method consistent.
A note to carry on every field visit
Record: place and date; recent rain or irrigation; surface and below-surface moisture; roots and soil life; your question; the next small action.
At Bholi, the reminder for us is simple: do not judge the land from one visit, and do not answer every weak plant with another input. Observe, investigate, make a measured change, and return to see what happened.