Will plants grow better in soil, sand, or clay?

Question

It is for a 5th Grade Science Fair.

Answer 1

Different plants have different root systems and require different soils.

Answer 2

Most plants will grow better in soil, especially soils with high nutrient composition. These soils are usually dark brown even black. Sandy soils usually do not grow good plants without a good soil base underneath. Since water will penetrate sandy soil quickly all the nutrients are not absorbed by the roots. Clay soils are usually the worst soils for plants since the water penetration is not good. So the plant will usually have root rot because of this.

Answer 3

All soils are made up of small particles of rock. Nursery plants on the other hand are commonly grown in "soilless" mixes which are referred to in the trade as "media" and not "soil" or "dirt". A soilless media is really primarily composted bark and peat moss. Sand is a type of soil -- as is clay. Sand is coarser grained and we all know what a beach looks like. It forms from the pulverizing of certain kinds of rocks. Clay is from another kind of rock and the particles are much, much smaller and so tend to stick together. The can be so sticky as to have relatively less air in beween than grains of sand and this is bad for growth of plants. Clay can be waterlogged when wet or hard as a rock when dry because water does not easily flow through the soil. Clay will hold more nutrients than sand though since there is less leaching of chemicals as water runs through the soil as there is in sand. In additon to the above, soils include what Nature adds in organic elements like leaf litter, dead plants and animal, or manure, all of which is where the nutrients are, to the minerals that are present in any given location. There are many many kinds of soils. Soils are classified and named just as plants and animals are. Every state's Department of Agriculture has soil maps to reveal the kind of soil on each parcel of land. Farmers need these to determine how to best manage practices on each field. As mentioned above the term 'loam' is referring to a mixture of sand, clay, and organics. It could be a 'sandy loam' or a 'clay loam' . Loam is good for growing plants since it has both good drainage and the capacity for holding nutrients. This is a very simple explanation but you get the idea. There is a whole lot more which is very scientific. So your question while a good one has a complicated answer.

Answer 4

Both sand and clay are made up of small particles of rocks and minerals. The difference is the size of particles. Sand particles are large and clay particles are microscopic. Sand drains water very well, and it dries up easily. Clay binds to water, so water will not drain well at all. Most plants need little bit of both, so mixture works best. This is called loam. But any of these alone will not be the best for plants because plants need nutrients, and that is provided by organic matter and microorganisms. Organic matter (humus) also helps drain the soil and at the same time retain moisture.
Soil contains all of these: mineral particles of different sizes, and organic matter. So plants will grow the best in soil.

Answer 5

a mix of sand, clay and silt (silt is between sand and clay) is best. Too much sand and the soil dries out too quickly, not enough sand and it is too hard for the plants to grow.

Soil can be made of sand, clay, or silt, or organic material called humus. Whatever is in the ground, that's the soil.

Answer 6

That is a good question, but you might ask it for *particular* plants. For example, consider comparing lima beans, radish, and sweet corn grown in each type of soil (nine pots, three each).