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Clayton Garden Center: Quality services with a hometown touch

Soil testing can be used to evaluate fertilization practices and diagnose problems in lawns and gardens. Photo courtesy of MelindaMyers.com.

By Melinda Myers
Guest columnist

Soil is the foundation of a healthy garden, but let’s be honest, most gardeners don’t like to spend time, energy and money on it. It’s more fun to show off beautiful flowers or share tasty vegetables. But creating a healthy soil foundation will increase your growing success, which means prettier flowers, bigger harvests, and a healthier landscape to enjoy.

Melinda Myers

When creating a new lawn, landscape or garden bed, start with a soil testing. Use soil testing to evaluate your fertilization practices and diagnose problems in existing lawns and gardens. Prioritize and spread costs, starting with new and distressed gardens or lawn areas. Then implement an ongoing testing program that tests one or two existing gardens each year. Testing your lawn and gardens every few years can help improve their health while helping you avoid improper and over-fertilizing, which can negatively impact your landscape and environment.

A soil test report tells you if fertilizer is needed and what fertilizer is best to use for the plants you are growing. It also assesses soil pH, acidity and alkalinity, informing you of any necessary adjustments. Testing this before fertilizing or adjusting soil pH can help avoid years of problems caused by too much or the wrong application of fertilizer, lime, sulfur or other products.

You can take a soil sample for testing whenever the soil is not frozen and you have not recently applied fertilizer. Fall is a great time because it allows you to implement soil test results before the next growing season.

Contact your local or state University Extension Service to find a qualified soil testing lab near you. Many have a state lab that offers this service for a fee, while others offer lists of soil testing labs in your area.

Take separate samples for each type of planting, garden bed and, if necessary, lawn area. As you’ve probably discovered, soil can vary greatly from place to place. Fill may have been added when the house was built, topsoil used to create planting beds, and other incorporated soil amendments that can affect your growing success. Sampling individual planting beds, mixed borders and lawns gives better information about existing conditions and what is needed to grow these types of plants.

Use a clean trowel and bucket to collect the soil sample. If necessary, remove the mulch and remove a narrow slice of soil, four to six inches deep, where many plant roots grow.

Take several samples from the garden or lawn area you want to test. Collect samples from each edge and more in the middle of the bed or lawn area. Mix the samples, put about a cup in a plastic bag and send it to the soil testing lab. Please allow several weeks for the test to be completed and results returned.

Consider adding soil testing to your garden preparation and ongoing care. This investment will help you grow healthier, more productive and more beautiful gardens and landscapes.

Melinda Myers has written over 20 gardening books, including The Midwest Gardener’s Handbook, 2nd Edition and Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses”How to Grow Anything” instant video series and DVD and the national union Melinda’s Garden Moment radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine. Myers’ site is www.MelindaMyers.com.