The beneficial characteristics of a natural soil are adequate aeration, drainage, water holding capacity, organic matter, gas diffusion, and micro flora and fauna. All types of soil can be described in many different ways, such as heavy, light, sandy, clay, loam, poor or good. A scientific approach typically describe soil according to: color, compaction, moisture content, organic content, pH, profile, structure, temperature, and texture. Texture, organic content and pH are more important than the others. To be healthy, a soil needs to be able to breath and water needs to be able to move through it reasonably easily. A normal, loosely compacted soil helps to absorb and retain water, releasing it slowly, and allows the root zone of plants to “breath”. Dense, highly compacted soils typically have less plant growth, which increases runoff. Soil texture refers to the size of the soil particles. It affects how well nutrients and water are retained in the soil. The organic content of soil greatly influences the plant, animal and microorganism populations in that soil. Without fresh additions of organic matter from time to time, the soil becomes deficient in some nutrients and soil populations decrease. Soil pH is a measure of your soil’s acidity (sourness, a measure of below 7.0) or alkalinity (sweetness, a measure higher than 7.0), with 7.0 being neutral.