HOW DO I GET MY SOIL TESTED IN?

Catherine Mezensky:
One of the first things that gardeners often want to do when they start a new plot is to have their soil tested. Testing can help assess what amendments the soil needs to help plants, flowers or lawn thrive and we can then economize on costly fertilizers. Without knowing what their lawns need, some people over fertilize their lawns and gardens and the wasted fertilizer washes off into the storm drains and promotes too much algae growth in the Chesapeake bay. The Maryland Cooperative Extension can help you get your soil tested, but first you must prepare a sample for a lab. The publication “Selecting and Using a Soil Testing Laboratory” from the Maryland Cooperative Extension (see Resources at left) can help you find a soil testing lab.To take a soil sample, follow all the directions from the lab you have selected. Consider the area where you want the testing done. This should be a distinct place with boundries, such as your front yard or vegetable garden bed. Samples should at least come from the center and several places around the edges. Take varied samples because even though it may seem like the same section, elevation or depressions where water collects affect the elements in the soil.
With a spade, dig up about a dozen or so samples in the area you want tested. Take a slice of soil down to the depth of the plant roots. A garden bed needs to be dug down about 6 inches for a soil sample while grass should only to be dug about a depth of 3 inches. Dig out a plug and pull soil from the bottom of the hole. Mix the soil samples together in a container and take out any remaining plant parts, rocks or other debris. Don’t touch it directly and use clean shovel. Grind it finely. You can even put the soil in a plastic bag and rolling a rolling pin or can of food over it as if you were making breadcrumbs.Send about 1-2 cups of this soil to the testing lab you select. Some labs provide bags but if they don’t, seal it well in a plastic Ziploc bag. The soil should be dry. Testing forms are available from the testing labs web sites so be careful to have all of the necessary paper work included. Make sure you have your contact information on the sample and that you use enough postage and that the package is sturdy and properly sealed. When you get the results back it will show the amounts of certain elements so you can determine what to add or to not add. Different soil related problems could be explained in the Maryland Cooperative Extension web site publications resource. Scroll down for soil, mulch and composting. Particularly “Soil Amendments and Fertilizers.”