Many Front Range growers face a soil texture handicap.

This bar graph shows that loam soils are uncommon among our tested sites.  Only 15% of our sites have loam or sandy clay loam soils, our two soil types with the highest soil health score medians.  85% of sites are contending with sandy loam, clay loam or clay soils, which are less conducive to microbial life and more difficult to improve.  Sandy soils are porous, and have difficulty holding onto water and nutrients.  Clay soils are dense; roots, water and air have trouble penetrating them.  Soil texture is impossible to change.  However some of its structural problems can be ameliorated by adding large amounts of organic material, which can make clay more porous and sand more water-retentive.