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What is the Specific Gravity of Soil?
What is the Specific Gravity of Soil?. Specific gravity is the relative density of soil as compared to water. Water is assigned the value of 1, so any material with a value less than 1 floats (being less dense than water) and anything with a value greater than 1 sinks (being denser than water).
Specific gravity is the relative density of soil as compared to water. Water is assigned the value of 1, so any material with a value less than 1 floats (being less dense than water) and anything with a value greater than 1 sinks (being denser than water).
Soil Specific Gravity
As it relates to gardening and garden chemistry, specific gravity describes the compactness of your garden's soil. Some common specific gravities for soil types are:
Sand = 2.63
Silt = 2.7
Clay = 2.9
Clay Soils
Since clay has a high specific gravity compared to other soils, it is more compact. Plant roots will have a hard time growing and spreading out. Clay soils are often amended to reduce their specific gravity for this reason.
Organic Soils
Organic soil blends are typically much less dense. Their specific gravity is typically below 2.0, depending on the manufacturer. Organic soils are as a result much less dense and easier for gardening use, making them widely used by gardeners.
