SMALL SPACE GARDENING: Grow healthier gardens with the help of a soil test

by Melinda Myers

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

When creating a new lawn, landscape, or garden bed, begin with a soil test. Use soil testing to evaluate your fertilization practices and diagnose problems in existing lawns and gardens. Prioritize and spread out the cost by starting with new and struggling gardens or lawn areas. Then implement an ongoing testing schedule that tests one or two existing gardens each year. Testing lawns and gardens every few years can help improve their health while helping you avoid improper and overfertilization that can negatively impact your landscape and the environment.

A soil test report tells you what if any fertilizer is needed and what fertilizer is best to use for the plants you are growing. It also evaluates the soil pH, acidity, and alkalinity, advising you of any needed adjustments. Testing this before fertilizing or adjusting the soil pH can help avoid years of problems caused by applying too much or the wrong 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 an excellent time as it allows you to implement the soil test results before the next growing season.

Contact your local or state University Extension Service to locate a qualified soil testing lab near you. Many have a state lab that provides this service for a fee while others provide lists of soil-testing labs in your area.

Take separate samples for each type of planting, garden bed, and if needed, lawn area. As you may have discovered, the soil can vary greatly from one place to another. Fill may have been added when the house was built, topsoil used to create planting beds, and other soil amendments incorporated that can impact your growing success. Taking a sample from individual planting beds, mixed borders, and the lawn provides better information on the existing conditions and what is needed for growing those types of plants.

Use a clean trowel and bucket to gather the soil sample. If needed, slide away 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 several throughout the middle of the bed or lawn area. Mix the samples together, place about a cup in a plastic bag, and send it to the soil testing lab. Allow several weeks for the test to be completed and the 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 Midwest Gardener’s Handbook, 2nd Edition and Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” instant video and DVD series and the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine. Myers’ website is www.MelindaMyers.com.