A garden is only as good as the ground that it's planted in. Discussion forum for the many ways to improve the soil where we plant our gardens.
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May 18, 2017 | #1 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Frisco Texas
Posts: 390
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Who is soil testing?
Looking for suggestions and experiences. Where do you get your soil tested? Was it worth it and how long did it take? Did the information make any difference?
I am considering a test for my garden soil but before I just google search I figured I would get some experiences from tville. |
May 18, 2017 | #2 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Cuyahoga Falls,Ohio
Posts: 818
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Had mine tested a few years back.Well worth it,cost around $20,kit and postage to send it into Penn.State University.Took a few weeks to get the results.I bought mine from a local feed and supply store.
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May 18, 2017 | #3 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Southeastern PA
Posts: 1,420
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I get mine tested annually at Penn State and it is $9 plus postage to mail it there.
Results showed that all of my nutrients were high so no need to add anything except some side dressing of nitrogen. I find soil testing to be very worthwhile but it is better to have it tested near where you live because the specifications that they use are developed by crop testing in your state. TX soil is different than PA soil so naturally expectations would be different. The time it takes for the test to be processed depends on how busy they are at the lab. I had results in early spring in less than a week but it will take longer if they have 100 samples to test at the same time. |
May 18, 2017 | #4 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Den of Drunken Fools
Posts: 38,539
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I dont and never have.
I already know what I need to do and when. Sounds like the words of an idiot but it works fantastically for me. Right now I couldn't ask for anything better in my soil. Worth |
May 18, 2017 | #5 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Joplin MO
Posts: 1,398
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I haven't done it yet, but it is available through the County Extension Office. I don't think it very expensive and I am always curious and just kind of wing it by the way the tomatoes are looking and growing.
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May 20, 2017 | #6 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Greenville, South Carolina
Posts: 3,099
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Had mine done this year through local extension. I'm growing for market otherwise I wouldn't have bothered. Everything was high besides nitrogen. If you soil build that will normally be the result.
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May 20, 2017 | #7 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2016
Location: Williamsburg VA Zone 7b
Posts: 1,110
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In Virginia our extension service tests through Virginia Tech. $12 for garden and $12 for lawn. All my levels were on the high side of good. Good to know something wasn't way off.
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May 20, 2017 | #8 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: CA
Posts: 494
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I've been using http://loganlabs.com/. They have a pretty quick turnaround and are very easy to work with. Standard soil test, $25. The guy I was working with needed another test done to determine true CEC and % cation saturation, I remember being impressed that they hadn't tossed my sample yet.
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May 22, 2017 | #9 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SW Ohio
Posts: 1,818
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I use A&L West Labs. I test every year. In my opinion, its the best thing you can buy for your garden. They tell you exactly what you need to add for optimum results.
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Barbee |
May 22, 2017 | #10 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Brownville, Ne
Posts: 3,296
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I test on an every other or every third year and do mine in the fall to prepare for the next spring and summer. Nebraska's County Extension stopped doing their own soil testing a few years back so we use Mid-West Labs in Omaha. $10 plus $2 shipping with a couple weeks turn-around. I think I know my soil but better to really know than think I know. My main concern is pH, organics and N levels and keeping it all in balance.
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there's two things money can't buy; true love and home grown tomatoes. |
May 22, 2017 | #11 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Between The Woodlands and Spring, Texas
Posts: 553
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Arlie |
May 25, 2017 | #12 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Chicago IL
Posts: 857
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It depends what you following. If you are NPK traditional gardener, then local extension just fine and less expensive.
Once you go into "alchemy" of biological gardening I have found best those 3 sites. They are slightly different in how they test. There also some informational articles on each site. http://www.loganlabs.com/testing-services.html https://www.aglabs.com/soiltesting.html http://www.cropservicesintl.com/soil-testing/ |
May 25, 2017 | #13 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Southeastern PA
Posts: 1,420
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I recommend that before you send out a soil sample that you look at a sample of their soil test report and make sure that it is something that you can understand and that will be meaningful to your garden.
I like a report that gives recommended ranges so that I can see if my values are within the optimum range. Just telling me how many pounds per acre that I have or need is not meaningful to me as I am not a farmer. My soil test from PA State can be performed either for farmers or for home gardeners and the values will be listed differently. |
May 26, 2017 | #14 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SW Ohio
Posts: 1,818
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The larger labs will have a box you can check for per acre or per 1000 sq ft. Unless your garden is huge, the 1000 sq ft can really help you math wise. I agree with brownrexx that its important to find a lab that you can understand. The lab i use has a graph feature and will do recommendations of how much you need to apply for optimum results. The test i order is a complete lab work up with npk, ph, om, macro, and micros. Cec, enc, on and on. I grow giant watermelons as a hobby so i like to tune into all the nutrients.
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