🔍 Is Your Garden Soil Healthy? Try This 3-Step Test

Have you ever planted something, watched it struggle, and thought, “What’s wrong with my soil?” My hand is up! I have definitely done this.

Maybe your plants look okay but they don’t seem to be producing like they should. Or worse—your garden is a sad, stunted mess no matter how much you water or fertilize. (Been there, too.)

Want the good news? You don’t need fancy soil tests or expensive tools to figure out what’s going on. In fact, you can do this super simple 3-step test right now with just your hands, a shovel, and a couple of things from your kitchen. It’s a great science experiment for the kids, too.

Let’s find out if your soil is actually helping or hurting your plants!

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Step 1: The Squeeze Test (Too Tight? Too Loose? Just Right?)

Have you ever tried digging in your garden and felt like you hit concrete? Or maybe your soil is so sandy that water just runs right through?

Here’s how to check your soil’s texture in 10 seconds:

1. Scoop up a handful of slightly damp soil.
2. Squeeze it into a ball.
3. Now open your hand and see what happens:
   • Falls apart instantly? Too sandy—your soil won’t hold moisture.
   • Stays in a tight, sticky ball? Too much clay—it’s suffocating plant roots.
     ^^^ This is mine (in case anyone cares, lol) ^^^
   • Crumbles slightly but holds its shape? Perfect structure! 🎉

How to Fix It:

• Sandy soil? Add compost, aged manure, or coconut coir to help retain moisture.
• Clay-heavy soil? Mix in organic matter like shredded leaves or compost to improve drainage.
• Compacted soil? Try aerating it with a garden fork—or better yet, add worms (they do the work for you!).

👉 Bonus Tip: If water sits on top of your soil for hours after rain, you’ve got a drainage problem. Consider raised beds or mixing in some perlite or sand to help water move through.

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Step 2: The Worm Test (Is Your Soil Alive?)

If your soil is healthy, it should be full of life—and that means earthworms. These little guys aerate the soil with all their tunnels, break down organic matter, and make nutrients more available to your plants.

So let’s find out how worm-friendly your garden is!

How to Do It:

1. Dig a small hole about 6 inches deep.
2. Sift through the soil for about 3 minutes and count how many worms you see:
   • 10+ worms? Your soil is thriving! 🎉
   • 3-9 worms? Not bad, but it could be better.
   • 0-2 worms? Uh-oh—your soil might be too dry, compacted, or lacking organic matter.

How to Fix It:

• Feed the worms! Add compost, shredded leaves, and organic mulch to give them food.
• Keep the soil moist (but not soggy!)—worms hate dry, hard soil – they can’t make their tunnels.
• Don’t use synthetic fertilizers and pesticides—they kill soil life, and pollinators.

👉 Bonus Tip: No worms at all? Try adding banana peels, coffee grounds, or crushed eggshells to attract them naturally.

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Step 3: The pH Jar Test (Too Acidic? Too Alkaline?)

Ever had plants that just refuse to thrive, no matter how much love you give them? The problem might be a pH imbalance—which affects how well your plants absorb nutrients.

Here’s a quick and easy way to test your soil’s pH—no fancy test kits required!

How to Do It:

1. Grab a handful of dry soil and put it in a small glass jar.
2. Pour in ½ cup of vinegar and watch:
   • Fizzing? Your soil is alkaline (pH above 7).
   • No reaction? Move on to step 3.
3. Now take a new handful of soil and mix it with water until it’s muddy.
4. Stir in ½ cup of baking soda and watch:
   • Fizzing? Your soil is acidic (pH below 6).
   • No reaction? Congrats—your soil is neutral (pH 6.5-7), which is ideal for most plants! 🎉

How to Fix It:

• Too acidic? Add lime, wood ash, or crushed eggshells to raise pH.
• Too alkaline? Mix in peat moss, pine needles, or sulfur to lower pH.

👉 Bonus Tip: Some plants love acidic soil (like blueberries and hydrangeas), so don’t fix it unless you need to!

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What Your Soil Is Telling You

If your soil passes all 3 tests, you’re in great shape! 🙌

But if you found issues, don’t worry—it’s totally fixable. With a little compost, proper aeration, and worm-friendly practices, you can turn almost any soil into a thriving, plant-loving garden.

💡 Want a printable Soil Health Cheat Sheet? <— Grab yours here!

How did your soil score? Drop a comment below—I’d love to hear what you found! 👇