A Guide to Drainage
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A Guide to
Drainage
SOIL and WATER – BACK to BASICS By Bruce Brockway , Secretary Land Drainage Contractors Association
We all know what we mean by ‘ soil and water ’ but it only refers to two of the three ingredients necessary for plant growth – the third being ‘ air ’. If you only have the first two you have a drainage problem ! The purpose of drainage could be said to introduce air into soil .
Soil Particles
Plant roots need soil , water and air to be able to absorb nutrients from the soil . As a growing medium soil should consist of roughly 50 % particles , 25 % water , and 25 % air . The water and air should be in the spaces between the particles .
Soil has mineral particles of different sizes . The smallest are clay particles , next are silt , the largest being sand . Whilst some soils can have only one size of particle like pure sand , most soils will have a mixture of particles . Soil texture is classified according to the respective percentage of these particles . For example if a soil is 60 % silt , 20 % sand , and 20 % clay , the soil texture is described as ‘ silty loam ’.
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