Easy Steps To Taking a Proper Soil Sample

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How to take a proper soil sample

Having poor soil can sabotage your organic gardening efforts before your even get started.  You have no idea who planted what or did what on the land prior to your garden so make sure you get your soil tested prior to putting in the work.  What’s worse than having poor soil for gardening?  Having soil that is great for gardening and you messing it up b/c you took an incorrect soil sample and contaminated the sample or your took the sample incorrectly.

Follow these soil sample steps to ensure a proper sample and save yourself a lot of work.

First, you need to decide who is going to test your soil.  You can contact your local Cooperative Extension Service for info to the land grant University in your state and they should also provide sample bags.  If you intend to send your soil to a private testing lab, contact them and ask them how they want the soil submitted.

Make sure you follow the directions given by the soil test provider precisely. Below are some basic guidelines about to make sure you take a correct soil sample.

• Make sure the soil is moist but not too wet or dry.
• Make sure your sample bag or pale is clean.
• Clear the top layer of grass or covering
• Using a clean shovel, dig a hole about six inches
• Put the soil from the hole into the clean soil bag or pale
• Repeat the previous steps for each test area.  (You can use the same test bag or pale.)
• Mix the samples together thoroughly
• From the mixture take a sample that will be used for analysis
• Send to testing facility or test immediately.

Once your soil has been tested you can easily decide what to do to improve your garden soil organically.

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