Soil Test

My Foot Smells · August 12, 2016

date: 08/12/2016

dropped off a pint of soil at the local extension office this morning. said it would be two weeks before I got my results (which I will post in this thread). Pretty painless task, unlike many government interactions, and was the only one there. The girl was extremely helpful and appeared bored, so talked quite a bit about the operation. Evidently, they test almost anything, grass, tree bark (had a baggie ready to ship of white spots off oak tree), soil of various nature.

Asked me a few questions:

1. Have I added any lime in the past 4 years? I haven't on large scale.
2. What crops was I growing? I guess this is to differentiate composition suggestions. I replied tomatoes of course. But beans, peas was different.
3. How big was the garden (less than 1 acre)? I guess maybe they compute recommendations.

The office was your typical g-ment establishment, but I think this is where the master garden program also resides, as they had an awesome shade garden in the front and the hedges were nice w/o the expected beer bottles and trash underneath.

The lab for soil is in Marianna, Ark., (which I knew), one of Elvis' old stomping grounds in the ark. delta. Bark and grass goes to Fayetteville, lots of landscapers use this service.

One of the big concerns, esp. in the historic downtown district, is lead in the soil from the houses built in the 17-1800's. Reportedly lead can stay in the soil for 100's of years. Maybe something to consider before your next home purchase is to test the soil.

I mentioned a girl that tested her soil for her garden before purchase (kchd..), and thought that was brilliant. She mentioned that often ppl come in after the fact with dead sod they just spent 10K on.

We also talked about the tomato crop failure this year in the mid-south. Late blight. They were real busy at that time of the year. Too much rain. Also said I can bring in a specimen that can be examined.

It was kind of refreshing to know that I am utilizing a service my tax dollars provide for ONCE!

Anyhoo, just a brief statement for others and reminder. Figure I can get a cover crop or amend this fall w/ time to spare. Most ppl wait until spring, right before the deadline, but me thinks you have time on your side an advantage by testing in the fall. maybe.....

......to be continued, with hopefully decent #'s.

August 12, 2016	#1
My Foot Smells Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Pulaski County, Arkansas Posts: 1,239	Soil Test date: 08/12/2016 dropped off a pint of soil at the local extension office this morning. said it would be two weeks before I got my results (which I will post in this thread). Pretty painless task, unlike many government interactions, and was the only one there. The girl was extremely helpful and appeared bored, so talked quite a bit about the operation. Evidently, they test almost anything, grass, tree bark (had a baggie ready to ship of white spots off oak tree), soil of various nature. Asked me a few questions: 1. Have I added any lime in the past 4 years? I haven't on large scale. 2. What crops was I growing? I guess this is to differentiate composition suggestions. I replied tomatoes of course. But beans, peas was different. 3. How big was the garden (less than 1 acre)? I guess maybe they compute recommendations. The office was your typical g-ment establishment, but I think this is where the master garden program also resides, as they had an awesome shade garden in the front and the hedges were nice w/o the expected beer bottles and trash underneath. The lab for soil is in Marianna, Ark., (which I knew), one of Elvis' old stomping grounds in the ark. delta. Bark and grass goes to Fayetteville, lots of landscapers use this service. One of the big concerns, esp. in the historic downtown district, is lead in the soil from the houses built in the 17-1800's. Reportedly lead can stay in the soil for 100's of years. Maybe something to consider before your next home purchase is to test the soil. I mentioned a girl that tested her soil for her garden before purchase (kchd..), and thought that was brilliant. She mentioned that often ppl come in after the fact with dead sod they just spent 10K on. We also talked about the tomato crop failure this year in the mid-south. Late blight. They were real busy at that time of the year. Too much rain. Also said I can bring in a specimen that can be examined. It was kind of refreshing to know that I am utilizing a service my tax dollars provide for ONCE! Anyhoo, just a brief statement for others and reminder. Figure I can get a cover crop or amend this fall w/ time to spare. Most ppl wait until spring, right before the deadline, but me thinks you have time on your side an advantage by testing in the fall. maybe..... ......to be continued, with hopefully decent #'s.