If you have a mixture of sand, silt and clay or if you are unsure what the texture of your soil is,
then use the Loam setting. The Sand, Silt and Clay settings are only suitable for soils that are
comprised almost entirely of that one material. For most mixtures the Loam setting will give
better results. The Loam setting is applicable for Loam, Clay Loam, Silty Clay Loam, Silt Loam,
Sandy Loam, Sandy Clay Loam, Sandy Clay and Silty Clay textures.
If unsure as which calibration to use, the loam calibration will accommodate most soils. The
Loam calibration is the default calibration, which means, the Hydra Probe is preset to the loam
soil type setting when it leaves the factory. Figure 3.2 shows the textures where the loam setting
works best.
Figure 3.2 The shaded circle in the soil texture triangle is the region where the Loam soil calibration works
best
.
Most users should use the loam calibration. The Hydra Probe is preset to use the loam soil calibration
when shipped.
3.3.2 Soil Classifications
Between the four preset calibrations and the custom calibration option, the Hydra Probe can
measure soil moisture in almost any kind of soil. There are thousands of different kinds of soil
through out the world, and almost every nation has some kind of classification system. The most
wide spread and most current soil classification system is the Orders of American Soil
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