How Well Do You Know Your Soil?

Good-quality soil is an essential element of a healthy garden, regardless of what you’re growing this spring. That’s why it’s important to start taking your soil more seriously.

Performing a soil test allows you to get better acquainted with your soil by monitoring pH balance, nutrient levels, organic matter levels, and more. Because it profiles your soil type and diagnoses any problems, you can confidently pick the best plants for your garden and make specific amendments to improve soil quality.

Soil testing should be done once every three years at the minimum. Ready to learn more about your soil? Here’s how to get started.

Prepare a soil sample. Using a clean spade or trowel, collect soil from several different areas in your garden, digging approximately 6 inches deep in each area. Your subsamples should be free of roots, wood, stones, mulch, or other debris that could skew test results. Then mix all subsamples together in a clean bucket or jar. If you’re working with wet soil, lay it out on clean paper or plastic to air dry. Once the soil is dry, pour two cups in a clean plastic bag, making sure to squeeze out excess air. Label the bag before submitting it for testing. Read more about gathering good soil samples here.

Get it tested. Next, send your sample to your local agricultural extension office, or purchase a DIY soil test kit such as this one from Lowe’s ($11.97) or this one from Planet Natural ($16.95).

Review the results. When testing is complete, you’ll receive detailed results as well as information on location-specific soil amendments to make, such as how much lime you’ll need to add to balance your pH levels and which fertilizer is best for your garden. If, for example, your soil has a high pH, you can lower it by adding sulfur to the soil surrounding existing plants. Or if your soil is low in potassium, work potash or wood ashes into the soil. For a whole list of soil-improving recommendations, check out this handy chart from Lowe’s.

Until tomorrow,
The Home Know-It-All

Comments

[Sue]

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