Kody Hanner
Making the choice to soil test
I have decided to test my soil before spring planting each year. Knowing your soils properties is key to not having issues with your growing. I outlined all of these in my Soil Testing Explained post, but really it boils down to it is important to know that any one of the things that can be tested for plays in integral role in the success of your garden.
Now that you’ve decided to test your soil, you have to decide if you want to send your soil out to a lab for a comprehensive analysis, or if you want to do a home test to get a general overview of type of soil you’re working with.
Which Home Test to Use
I have chosen to do a home test mainly to get an idea of where I stand with my gardens. I know that my gardens lack some organic matter that I intend to add this year as I plant. Next year, I may consider a comprehensive lab analysis to more accurately fine tune the quality of my soil.
The test that I used is the Master Soil Test. I purchased mine from a 4-H website because I prefer to support these programs, but they are available from Amazon for the same price. This particular kit includes the supplies for 10 pH (acidity), nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium tests. The instructions are very simple to follow and includes tips on how to correct any imbalances.
There is another easy home test to do that tests for soil types that costs nothing and only requires a glass jar with a lid. Click here for the Mason Jar Soil Test Guide.
Doing a Home Soil Test Kit
Collecting and preparing a soil sample
Its important to have multiple sampling areas within your garden to make sure that there aren’t pockets of heavy leaching of nutrients or high concentrations of nutrients. Heavy quantities of certain fertilizers will actually damage or burn plants. This particular test suggests that you take one sample every 3-10 square feet. Once you select your test areas dig down about 6 inches and collect about a ¼ of a cup of soil. With your samples you have two options, one is to mix all you samples together to have an overall idea on your garden condition. However, if you are working on rotational gardening or are trying to fix deficiencies from the previous year, you should probably consider testing each of the samples individually.
The samples should be dried before testing. This can be accomplished by spreading the sample out on a paper plate or something like that and picking out any sticks or rocks. Let the soil dry overnight if possible. When I did this test I put it in my dehydrator for 2 hours at 80°F to accelerate the process.
Getting to the testing
Materials needed:
- Paper cup
- Measuring Spoons
- Plastic Spoon
- Clock/Timer
- Soil Samples
- Water (preferably distilled)
pH Test
- Take the tube with the green cap and remove the cap.
- Fill the tube to the top line with water.
- Add one of the Soil pH Tabs to the tube.
- Use the green cap to add one capful of soil.
- Place the green cap onto the tube and then mix by inverting the tube 10 times.
- Let the soil settle for one minute of until a clear colored solution is visible above the soil layer.
- The match the color to the pH color chart that comes with the kit.
Nutrient Tests (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium tests are all prepped together to use the clear solution for the respective tests)
- Measure 2 tablespoons of water into a paper cup.
- Add 2 FLOC EX tabs and stir with a spoon until the tabs disintegrate.
- Add one teaspoon of soil to the cup and stir for 1 minute.
- Let the cup to sit for 1 minute or until the soil settles to the bottom of the cup.
- Pinch the top of the cup to form a pour spout.
Nitrogen Test (the tabs for this test are sensitive to UV light, so do inside or cover tube with aluminum foil)
- Use the tube with the red cap and remove the cap.
- Fill the tube with the clear solution from the paper cup to the bottom line.
- Add a NITRATE tab to the tube.
- Put the cap back on tube and shake vigorously for 2 minutes.
- Wait 5 minutes and then match the pink color to the Nitrogen Color chart.
Phosphorus Test
- Remove the blue cap from its tube.
- Add ¼ teaspoon of the clear solution from the cup to the tube.
- Fill to the top line with water.
- Add a PHOS tablet to the tube.
- Cap with the blue cap and mix until the tab disintegrates.
- Wait for 5 minutes for the color to develop and match the blue color to the Phosphorus Color Chart.
Potassium Test
- Take the yellow cap off its tube.
- Fill to the top line with the clear solution from the cup.
- Put a POTAS tab in the tube.
- Put the cap back on and mix until in disintegrates.
- Hold the tube over the black squares on the Potassium color chart. Match the cloudiness of the solution in the tube to a gray square on the color chart.
What to do with your results and what I plan to do
pH (acidity)
Neutral (7.0-7.5) – this is a good spot to be. There are no necessary amendments that need to done to this soil unless you are growing a place that specifically requires an acidic or alkaline soil.
Acidic (lower than 7.0) – This can be great for plants like blueberries or azaleas that love an acidic soil. Not all plants thrive in these conditions though.
- A good way to amend this soil is to use agricultural lime. I like to use this because it also contains calcium which helps with blossom end rot on tomatoes, however, you want to be careful with not over doing it with this option because tomatoes like an acidic soil.
- Dolomitic limestone is another option because it adds magnesium.
- Compost that is well decomposed will also lower pH.
- Alkaline (higher than 7.5) – Many plants like an alkaline soil such as cabbage, broccoli, and cucumbers. For those that don’t there are a couple some good options.
- I like to use organic options like coffee grounds or pine needles that will break down slowly.
- Peat moss, aluminum sulfate, and sulfur are other option.
Nitrogen
I had very low Nitrogen in the soil that I tested. I wasn’t overly surprised by this because I knew that before we bought our property a lot of sand had been added to the soil in this particular garden plot to offset the heavy clay that is in our area. This means that we had lower proportions of organic matter which is the holder of Nitrogen.
- Do I need to say it? Compost, compost, and more compost. Ok, not too much. But this is what I will be adding to my garden this spring with all the broken-down manure from the barn that has been sitting all winter.
- Adding coffee grounds
- Planting Nitrogen fixing plants like peas, beans and clover
- Fish emulsion is one that I love and add by mixing into a garden sprayer
- Using grass clippings as mulch. I love this one too being as it breaks down its adding all sorts of great nutrients to the soil. Just make sure that you aren’t using grass clipping that have had any chemicals added to it.
- Commercial fertilizer, which I will cover more later
Phosphorus
My phosphorus levels were pretty good, but I have found some great options
- Bat guano and bone meal
- Manure (put this on in the fall, or it will burn your plants)
- Commercial fertilizer
Potassium
I actually had really high potassium. There isn’t a way to lower potassium necessarily except to make sure that you aren’t putting a fertilizer that contains potassium so that your plants will pull some of it out throughout the year. Here are some ways to add it though.
- Banana peels
- Ashes
- Coffee grounds
- Commercial fertilizer
Understanding commercial fertilizers
There are some that can be purchased from garden supply stores that are specific to one nutrient. But more fertilizers are a blend of the macronutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) with usable amounts or many micronutrients like iron and calcium. So to make sure you are getting the right amount of each macronutrient you’re going to look the break down on the label. Its going to look like 10-10-10. These three numbers stand for Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium, or N-P-K.
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