Follow these steps for a do it yourself, at home soil test:

1. Dig down underneath the mulch and topsoil layers to the native soil, and use it to fill a quart-sized, clean glass jar halfway to the top.

2. Fill the rest of the jar with plain tap water, shake it thoroughly for 30 seconds, then quickly place the jar right side up on a flat surface where it can remain undisturbed while settling.

3. Depending on your soil components, it may take several hours or several days to settle into layers, which will show you what types of soil are on your site.

4. Sand is the heaviest and largest soil particle so it will settle quickly as the first layer, followed by the silt layer, then the clay. You'll be able to see the differences in the layers by observing the color and particle size of each. Any organic matter that was in the soil will float on top of the water.

5. Estimate the percentage of each of the 3 soil components in each sample, and note these on your sketch at the locations you took the soil from.