To grow healthy plants, your soil needs to take in water quickly and hold onto it. If the water just sits on top of the soil or runs off, it means the soil might be compacted or unhealthy. A simple way to check how well your soil takes in water is by testing the soil’s infiltration rate. This test is easy to do at home, and you only need a few things: some plastic bottles, soil from your field, and clean water.
First, take a few transparent plastic bottles. Cut off the bottoms of the bottles and remove the caps. Place the bottles upside-down into a layer of sand. If they don’t stand up on their own, use some stones to support them. Next, take soil samples from different parts of your field. Put each soil sample in a separate bag, then break the soil into small pieces. Now, fill each bottle halfway with soil from one of your samples. After that, pour clean water into the bottle slowly until the soil is fully soaked. This means the soil can’t take in any more water and is saturated. Once the soil is soaked, pour in a bit more water and let it start to flow through. Use a watch or timer to see how long it takes for the water to move through the soil.
If the water moves through the soil quickly, it’s a good sign. It usually means your soil has good structure with plenty of space for air and water. Soils with fast infiltration often have a lot of clay. This means water moves down through the soil quickly, reducing the chance of rainwater running off into nearby streams or lakes.
However, if the water takes a long time to move through the soil, it could mean the soil is compacted. Compacted soil doesn’t have enough space for air and water, making it harder for plants to grow. This can also happen if there aren’t enough helpful organisms like earthworms in the soil. A slow infiltration rate can make it harder for rainwater to soak in, and it might cause more water to run off instead of nourishing your plants.