Where to get garden soil tested

Once you figure out your soil pH, you can change or adjust it. Acidic sour soil is counteracted by applying finely ground limestone, and alkaline sweet soil is treated with ground sulfur.

See a list of Soil pH levels for different plants. Use a shovel to dig up about 1 cubic foot of soil. Put the soil on a piece of cardboard, break it apart, and look for earthworms. Learn more about the wonderful world of earthworms. If your soil has fewer than 10 worms, add more organic matter—compost, aged manure, leaf mold. Organic matter improves structure, slowly releases nutrients, and increases beneficial microbial activity. See more details on how to take a soil test from our Almanac gardeners.

Thank you for the blog, you explained soil testing methods thoroughly. I got my backyard garden's soil tested from Torrent Labs. It was of great help. We have been taken over by what they call Japanese Snake worms. They are destroying everything by staying in the top of soil. They do not go into earth and live under leaves and mulch. I have picked up over a thousand while removing rotting leaves and mulch. How can we get rid of them. Went to our extension center and they were no help.

Except to say they destroy the top layer of soil. You can take a soil sample to your local extension service office and, in most cases, they will perform a pH test for free.

For best results, call the extension service office for instructions relative to how to take samples and how many to take. More comprehensive testing is usually available for a small fee by sending a sample to the university that sponsors the extension service in your state. So, what options do home gardeners have in the meantime? If you had your soil tested in a previous year, it is appropriate to continue using the fertilizer recommendations in an old test until you can run a new one.

One option is to use a home test kit or handheld soil fertility meter. Complete kits typically promise to test nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and pH, which are the most important basics. Several studies have evaluated some of the various test kits available to home gardeners and have found that some are more accurate than others, and that accuracy can vary depending on which nutrient is being tested for. Perhaps the most important measurement of a soil test is that of the pH.

Soil pH affects nutrient availability, soil microbe activity and heavy metal mobility. It is measured on a 0 to 14 scale, with 7 being neutral. Soil nutrients are most available when the soil pH is between 6. However, the proper soil pH can only be determined based on what you are trying to grow. For example, most vegetable plants will perform their best when the pH is between 6. For this reason, soil nitrogen testing is not generally useful for predicting fertilizer need in our humid environment.

Soil testing laboratories test soil in a number of different ways. Labs typically purchase equipment and get certifications for the tests which are in demand in their area. Most agricultural and horticultural labs estimate soil texture by manual inspection instead of running the sample through a detailed particle size distribution test.

Particle size distributions are generally reserved for construction applications, and are not commonly used for horticultural soils. Manual inspection by an experienced lab technician is generally adequate to classify the soil by texture. As a rule of thumb, a soil must comprise at least 45 percent sand to have a sandy character, at least 40 percent silt to have a silty character, or at least 20 percent clay to have a clayey texture. Soil organic matter is generally estimated in the lab by heating the sample.

The sample is weighed again and the change in weight is calculated. Some labs carry out elemental carbon analysis, but the gear to do this testing is not as common. There are also field tests in which soil is mixed with a reactive substance to estimate SOM based on visual colour comparison.

Elemental nutrients are generally tested by mixing the soil with a reactive chemical solution, although there are many methods.

Soil pH concentration of hydrogen ions is often measured in test water and a calcium chloride solution. Soil sample solutions are generally measured using a potentiometer equipped with a pH-sensitive electrode system. Where lower resolution is acceptable, soil pH can be measured with pH-sensitive paper.

While your eyes may be able to tell you if your lawn is yellow or green, only a proper soil test can identify something like excessive levels of lead or other heavy metals. But it will not tell you anything about poor soil drainage, insufficient sunlight, or insects and diseases.

Many garden soil test reports will include recommendations for improving your soil. It is important to take the time to carefully fill out your lab request forms so you can get the most from this service:. You may find that the true drawbacks to your soil are different than you thought they were.

So, both the data from the report and the recommendations can be very helpful for homeowners with lawns and gardens. These labs are generally associated with the local agricultural school or horticultural department of a university.

Additional testing and more detailed testing from the school lab will incur additional costs. These tests often take about a month to get results. Soil testing is generally most expensive at private soil laboratories. Check prices and confirm availability prior to choosing the lab and taking soil samples. If there are many issues of concern, there is a chance the cost of your soil test will increase, so be sure to discuss this with the lab.