Appearance of clay, clay loam, and silty clay loam soils at various soil moisture conditions.

Available Water Capacity 1.6-2.4 inches/foot:

Percent Available: Currently available soil moisture as a percent of available water capacity.

In/ft. Depleted: Inches of water needed to refill a foot of soil to field capacity.

0-25 percent available 2.4-1.2 in/ft. depleted: Dry, soil aggregations separate easily, clods are hard to crumble with applied pressure. (Not pictured)

25-50 percent available 1.8-0.8 in/ft. depleted (Figure 1):  Slightly moist, forms a weak ball, very few soil aggregations break away, no water stains, clods flatten with applied pressure.

Figure 1

50 - 75 percent available 1.2-0.4 in./ft. depleted (Figure2): Moist, forms a smooth ball with defined finger marks, light soil/water staining on fingers, ribbons between thumb and forefinger.

Figure 2

75-100 percent available 0.6-0.0 in./ft. depleted(Figure 3):  Wet, forms a ball, uneven medium to heavy soil/water coating on fingers, ribbons easily between thumb and forefinger.

Figure 3

100 percent available 0.0 in./ft. depleted (field capacity):  Wet, forms a soft ball, free water appears on soil surface after squeezing or shaking, thick soil/water coating on fingers, slick and sticky. (Not pictured)