Can you believe it – we’re just weeks away from Spring. When it comes to promoting the health and hardiness of your trees — along with the beauty of the landscaping throughout your yard — there’s one springtime preparation that can make a world of difference: soil testing. Performing a soil test is a great way to understand your soil’s nutrient content and pH, which can help improve plant growth and yield. Does that sound like a daunting task best left to professionals? Although we’d be happy to help, let us reassure you that’s testing your soil should be a fairly quick and easy job — with outsize benefits that you’ll enjoy all year long.
To conduct a basic soil test, simply follow these simple steps. First, gather the materials you’ll need:
- A commercially available soil test kit (see below for more information on this crucial step)
- A clean container (for collecting soil)
- A trowel or shovel
- A plastic bucket (for mixing soil samples)
- Labels or markers (for marking your samples)
With your materials gathered, you’re ready to go. Begin by selecting multiple spots to test, including the area directly underneath the trees in your yard. Avoid areas with obvious signs of contamination (for example, near a compost pile, manure or roads).
Now it’s time to start collecting soil samples. For testing the soil around mature trees, collect soil down to about a foot deep. If you’re testing other areas — around smaller bushes, for example — it’s fine to collect soil down to about six inches deep. Use a trowel or shovel to remove the top layer of soil (about one inch), then take a sample from multiple locations — however many trees you have or however many areas you have landscaping. With samples from all locations collected, combine all the soil into one container or bucket. This will create a composite sample that represents your entire area.
It’s best to clean up your sample by removing any loose debris. Pick out any rocks, roots or organic matter. With your clean sample collected, spread the soil out on a newspaper or a clean surface to air dry for a day. Do not use heat to dry it. Once the soil is dry, mix it up thoroughly to ensure a uniform sample.
Test The Soil
Next comes the actual soil testing. There are do-it-yourself kits available, which typically require you to mix the soil with a chemical solution and compare the color change to a provided chart for pH, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium levels. Unless you really like getting your hands dirty, a much more convenient (and probably more accurate) alternative is to send your sample to a lab for testing.
There are many inexpensive soil testing kits that include lab analysis available online (generally under $30). With one of these, you’ll put the soil sample in a clean plastic bag or container and then simply follow the lab’s instructions on how to submit it. In a week or 10 days you should receive your results, which often include more detailed information, such as a description of other trace elements and specific recommendations on how to amend the soil based on the test.
Add Amendments
Speaking of amending the soil, that’s the final step. Your lab test will direct you to amend your soil with a low pH (acidic) supplement that adds lime to raise the pH. Or a high pH supplement (alkaline) that adds sulfur to lower the pH. Results from a lab may also indicate nutrient deficiencies, which will require applying fertilizers or compost based on your soil’s specific needs.
To find a good soil testing kit, just do an online search for “home soil testing kits.” One kit with a large number of positive reviews is from My Soil, but it’s a competitive market so you can easily find other choices as well. Kits generally include detailed instructions, a mailing envelope (look for prepaid envelopes) and a customer support number is a plus.