Soil testing
Cheyanne and Danny
What is soil testing?
Determines the need for lime, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium in soil.
Soil sampling.
Why test soil?
To determine whether your soil has the correct nutrient levels for your plants and or crops.
What information does a soil test give?
Determines the amount of nutrients in the soil. Too much or too little
How do I correctly perform a soil test in my yard?
- Get soil information sheets and cartons from your local extension agency
- Clean tools and containers
- Take one sample from each composite area
- Take 10-15 small cores or slices from the large uniform area
- Mix the samples in a bucket and take a 1 pint sample from the bucket to represent the area sampled
- Complete the sample information sheet and carton information
- Draw a map and keep record of where you sampled and numbers
- Send carton with information sheet to the testing laboratory
- Avoid unusual spot unless you are localizing the test.( dead or yellow spot in lawns or fields)
- Place soil samples in a box obtained from the county extension office with the information sheet, send the box and information to agronomist division soil test lab in Raleigh for a free soil test
What do I do with unusual spots in my yard?
Avoid them unless you will localize to those spots only.
Where do I send a test for analyzing?
Agronomic division soil test in Raleigh.
How much does it cost?
It's free.
How long will it take for results?
Depends on the time of the year, allow adequate time for the tests to come back.