Home Soil Testing
I have always been interested in horticulture but I have never had a “Green Thumb”. My wife keeps telling me to get my soil tested to achieve the beautiful lawn and plant life that I have always wanted.
What are your recommendations? Gene Walzel
Gene, if you are serious about gardening and want to grow the best and healthiest for your family, then you first should test your soil. You must make every effort to stay informed about the growing conditions in your lawn and garden.
Soil testing will help you understand your soil’s needs so that amendments can be added properly and you’ll ultimately be reaping the rewards of great soil. Whether growing turfgrass, a veggie garden or perennial/annual flowers, understanding how to make your soil better will make for the best environment for your plants. Whether you’ve just acquired a new home or you’ve owned your home for many years, horticulture experts suggest a soil test is in order. If you’ve never tested your soil, you really don’t know how healthy your soil is and you may be adding nutrients that your yard already has more of than suitable levels.
Basic plant growth typically requires three key nutrients – Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), and Potassium (K). You must know and understand about the soil’s ability to supply these nutrients to plants for adequate growth, and are the basis of deciding how much lime and fertilizer are needed. You also want to maintain a soil pH in the optimum range (6.0-7.0), which keeps nutrients more available to the plant for growth.
Test kits can be purchased at your local home improvement store ranging from $10.00 to $30.00. If you feel inadequate to complete your own soil testing, you can send samples off to your state’s Agricultural Extension Office to be analyzed. Using a digging tool take 15-20 small samples of the soil uniformly distributed throughout the area of interest. If you have areas with different needs you should send in separate samples; a vegetable garden is likely to have different needs than your lawn.
With a properly fertilized lawn or garden, you must adjust the soil to the correct pH level. You then should have little problem growing beautiful flowers, the juiciest, most nutritious vegetables, or the thickest, greenest lawn in town.
Category: Reader Question
