Having a soil analysis in hand and following the directions will give you a great start to a healthy landscape
Whenever I’m diagnosing a plant problem on the radio or face-to-face, my first question is usually, have you done a soil test? The answer is almost always “no”, which is a shame, because many plant problems can be easily rectified if one only knew the condition of their soil.
For starters, you must know the pH of the soil. The pH is a relative range, from 0 –14, which measures the acidity or alkalinity. A reading below 7.0 indicates an acidic soil, while readings above 7.0 are alkaline. Most plants grow best in a range of 6.0 –7.0.
Next, you should understand why a soil analysis is important to having a healthy lawn and garden. In order for plants to thrive, they need certain levels of nutrients. Many of these are found naturally in the native soil. However, there are major and minor, as well as micronutrients that are all used by plants in various quantities. The soil analysis will tell you the levels of these nutrients found in your soil.
Knowing the pH and nutrient levels are both important. You can have the perfect balance of nutrients, but if the pH level is outside the range of preference for what you are growing, many of the nutrients will be unavailable because the plants will not be able to absorb them. Conversely, if you have the perfect pH, but lack the appropriate nutrients, your plants will perform below their potential.
Soil tests are available from a number of sources. You can purchase kits from a garden center, online, or through mail order sources. However, none compare in quality or accuracy to the results you get through your county extension service. For the money, the best value comes from these.
A soil analysis conducted by the extension service is more comprehensive as well. The report includes a reading of the soil pH, and measures the major and minor nutrient levels. One of the best features of this report is that it also provides the suggested amounts and type of nutrients to add to your existing soil to bring into optimal levels for growing the plants or crops you have specified.
About Joe Lamp'l
Joe Lamp'l is the Host and Executive Producer of the award winning PBS television series Growing A Greener World. Off camera, Joe dedicates his time to promoting sustainability through his popular books, blog, podcast series, and nationally syndicated newspaper columns. Follow Joe on Twitter
Watched you show for the first time and really enjoyed it. I was especially interested in your feature on soil testing. During the show it mentioned visiting you website to find out how to find the nearest county extension location. I’m unable to find the link for that. Could you help me out please? I’m hoping to use your advice and find out about my soil well before the beginning of the planting season. Thanks, Mike
Hi Mike. We did have a link for finding your local county extension service. It was through the USDA site. But the link is no longer available on their site. Please do an online search for county extension services in your state. You should be able to locate it that way as another route. Worst case, your local office should be included in listings for govt. offices for your county.