Soil Testing in Northwest Georgia
and other ornamentals. One suggestion that could assist in outdoor gardening or agriculture activities is soil testing. The data from soil testing could help in making sure your grass or landscape items, for example, have proper nutrition and the correct pH when we get into next growing season. I will be sharing information from an excellent UGA circular by Leticia Sonon and David Kissel with the UGA Ag and Environmental Services Lab.
First, do not let the thoughts of a soil test scare you. I think many clients, when they hear the words test, lab or even taking samples for the lab, think it is too difficult to take advantage of this resource. When results come back from the lab, the report is simply a one-page report that gives very specific recommendations.
The report will normally tell you what specific fertilizer to buy and how much of that product to apply to every 1000 square feet. If your soil pH is low, it will tell you how much lime to apply. In addition, don’t let you taking your own sample scare you. If you own a trowel or shovel and can find a clean plastic bucket to put the sample in, you can take soil samples.
One key that you will have to understand is the sampling procedure. If you follow the correct procedure, you will be following the scientific process in sample collection and the results should be accurate. I always like using the home lawn as a good example in explaining on how to sample. You will need clean sampling tools and containers to avoid reducing the accuracy of the lab report. Use a plastic container such as a plastic bucket to hold the samples. A metal container should not be used.
Again, you will need a digging tool such as a trowel, shovel or hand probe. This drought has left us some hard soils right now. It could be difficult in taking samples at the correct soil depth. For home lawns, samples need to be taken to a depth of 4-inches. For vegetable gardens, ornamentals, wildlife plots and mixed fruit trees, the depth is 6-inches.
When you sample, you need to walk the area to be sampled in a zigzag pattern. When you walk the area, you need to randomly stop 8-10 times to collect samples. How you collect the individual samples is important also. First, you need to clear the ground surface of grass thatch and then push the digging tool in the ground to the correct depth. For our lawn example, it is 4-inches. You will then need to push the handle forward with the tool still in the soil to make a wide opening. Again, this could be tough with our drought conditions. Then, from the side of the opening cut a thin slice of soil of uniform thickness.
The slice should be ¼ inch thick and two inches wide and should go from the top of the ground down to the depth of the cut, which in this example is 4 inches. You will put each randomly taken sample in the plastic container. When you have taken the necessary samples, you will mix them all together in the bucket. You will then bring our office one pint of the mixed samples. The cost to take advantage of this resource is $9 per sampling procedure.
If by chance we do get rainfall and the samples are wet, you will need to air dry the sample overnight on a flat surface on white paper, like a paper towel. Once we receive the sample, it normally takes five working days to get results. If you are sampling hayfields or pastures, for example, a sampling procedure should not represent more than 15 acres and results will come in a per acre format.
Finally, I know over the years clients have probably brought me one pint of soil from one scoop of soil from their property. I have to advise against that practice since it does away with the scientific process and the results will not be accurate. Take the time to try to sample the best you can and get the best recommendations.
For more information, contact UGA ExtensionGordon County or email gbowman@uga.edu.