Don’t Guess, Soil Test! (5006)

If you live in a limestone area your soil may be alkaline. If you live on a wooded lot, it might be acidic. Even the type of weeds growing in your lawn can give you an idea about your soil's pH level. But when it comes to the expense of planting a lawn, trees, shrubs, flowers, or vegetables on your property, you don’t want to guess. Take a soil test.

A soil test is the only way to know what nutrients your plants need.  Your soil test results tell you how much and what type of fertilizer your plants need.  The test also tells you the soil ph, or how acidic or alkaline your soil is.  You can also request tests for micronutrients and heavy metals. Excess fertilizing injures plants, affects nutrient uptake, and interferes with plant growth. Over-fertilized soils and excess fertilizer also pollute our groundwater. The effects do more harm than good, and the results take a long time to correct.

Soil test results depend on how well you take the soil sample.  The sample should reflect the overall lawn or garden condition. Make a representative sample by collecting small amounts of soil from various spots within the area you sample.  Take soil from at least five sites in areas less than 500 square feet.  Take 10 samples from areas between 500 and 1000 square feet.  Use a clean shovel or garden trowel to take thin slices or cores of soil six inches deep.  Break up cores and slices and mix together.  You need one to two cups of soil for best results. Take representative samples for each area you want analyzed. Don't mix lawn and garden soils into one sample.  Take separate tests for your shrub bed, lawn, problem areas, vegetable gardens, and flower gardens.  The plants in each area have different nutrient needs.

You can purchase your soil test kit from your local Penn State Cooperative Extension Office.

For more information on this subject, Please visit the College of Agricultural Sciences Publications Web site.

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