Originally Posted by dps

David J Bockman wrote:
...If it were me, I'd get under the deck and shovel out a hole going about 2
feet down. I'd dump the soil onto a tarp and then drag it out into the sun
until it dries, then I would examine it. You can plot your results on a
three sided chart which I've posted to alt.binaries.pictures.gardens as
'soil makeup grid' which is widely used to classify soil types. The diagram
shows a three sided grid with each side representing the content of a
particular particle on a scale from 0% to 100%. The bottom line is the sand
content, starting at 0% at the bottom right hand corner, and rising to 100%
in the bottom left hand corner...


It sounds easy, but it isn't quite as easy as it sounds. The
differentiation of the soil components isn't just a matter of judgement.
Our local extension service charges around $50 for a soil
classification. However, I spotted a link that tells you in detail how
to do it yourself. I haven't tried it (New England soil is still fairly
solid at this time of year) so I don't know how easy or reliable it is.
But it's cheap, and therefore worth a shot.

http://everything2.com/?node_id=1698166

In case you're not familiar with the soil triangle, an example can be
found at http://www.oneplan.org/Water/soil-triangle.shtml (There are
lots of them out there. Google it. The above link was the first one.)

On the subject of soil tests for the garden, I recommend that if you are
using a home soil test kit you spring for a professional test at least
once to compare their results against your kit. The home kit pH tests
are reasonable, and the potassium and phosphorous are probably not too
bad, but the nitrogen home test is not really very reliable.