Testing Garden Soil

Testing soil in the garden or field in order to start testing the soil in your garden you need to create a wedge in the ground which is v shaped by using a trowel.

Testing garden soil. When the soil is neither too wet nor too dry dig a hole 6 to 10 inches deep. Separate an intact section about the size of a soup can and break it apart with your fingers. A soil test indicates your soils ph levelthe relative acidity or alkalinitywhich affects how plants take up nutrients and thrive. Every home and garden center carries ph test kits.

Its important to do some basic garden soil testing before you plant or even design your garden. Soil testing should be part of your long term goals to improve your soil. These kits are fairly accurate but you must make sure you follow the testing instructions precisely. A soil test has been noted by successful gardeners to be the most efficient and money saving step toward better gardening.

Youll need to consider not only soil ph but soil texture as. So testing your gardens soil ph is critical for the well being of your plants in the long run. The environmental concepts comes with a comprehensive instruction booklet that helps you determine what is the best way to use your kit and find out how to get the best use out of your soil. This wedge should be of width 2 to 25 inches and at a depth of 6 to 7 inches.

Soil structure and tilth. It not only gives you a snapshot of your gardens health but it helps you correct current problems and avoid future ones. Check out this video to see what i mean. Soil is too acidic under ph 7 and too alkaline above ph 7.

Both are important factors in how well your garden grows. Testing your soil means you determine the ph level and nutrient content. As you become more comfortable with reading your test results youll better know how to handle them. Actually i ideally want to learn a lot about the soil because by far the best time to improve it is when you prepare a new organic garden bed before youve planted anything.

Importance of ph levels and nutrients too much of this nutrient. Most plants thrive in a slightly acidic soil ph 55 to 7 so reaching a balance is of the essence in gardening matters too. Once you know whether your soil ph is a problem or not you can begin working to correct the problem. To have a successful garden test your soil and amend it if necessary to create the best possible growing environment for plants.

In the long run its worth making the time and financial investment because it will pay off with sturdier more productive plants.