# How to tell if spot is clay, compacted, or both?



## behrygood1982 (Oct 23, 2020)

He guys,

I've had a spot in the lawn that always looks a little rough. A mixture of dieing and yellow grass. Everytime i go to stick a soil probe through it or screw driver through it i can never push it far. I was thinking it was dry so i turned on the irrigation system and afterwards went outside to poke a hole through it and it's still tough!! How do i actually identify if this is a compaction issue OR a soil texture issue ( like clay )?


----------



## RVAGuy (Jul 27, 2020)

You can do the water-in-the-jar test. Research it online, as I don't remember specifics. Depending on how long things take to settle, you can roughly determine the composition of your soil.


----------



## ABC123 (Jul 14, 2017)

are you sure its not bug damage?


----------



## bernstem (Jan 16, 2018)

Jar test is easy. Take a mason jar and fill 1/2 way with soil. Add a teaspoon of dishwashing detergent and fill almost full with water. Shake to mix thoroughly then let it sit. Mark the level of what settles at 2 minutes. That is sand. Mark again at 2 hours. That is silt. What settles at 2 days is clay. If you have nearly clear water by 2-3 hours, you don't have any appreciable clay component. If you take pictures at 2 minutes, 2 hours, and 2 days we can help you interpret it. The jar test is pretty good, but can be fooled by some unusual conditions. A soil testing lab physical analysis is another option that will be more accurate, but will cost some money.

If you do have hydrophobic soil, it can take a lot more than a single irrigation cycle to wet it. An easy way is to set a soaker hose over the area and have it set to water at a very low rate to prevent run off. Leave it running until the ground is softened. It may take a few days depending on how fast the water is running. Once it is no longer rock hard, you can take a core to look at soil layers. You will also be able to start addressing the underlying cause, but you need to ID that first.


----------

