Diggin' in the Dirt (a.k.a. Soil Sample)

Soil sample - sound complicated?

Certainly NOT!!

But the real question that many people ask is - 

What is the point of a soil sample?

It is reccommended that before initiating any new landscaping - whether it be laying sod, starting a veggie garden (like me) or just putting in flowers or perrennials that you take a sampling of soil.

You will want to do this a number of months in advance so that you have time to adjust the Ph balance of your soil if needed. It is a quick and easy way to ensure proper fertilizer application.

Soil samples to be analyzed for soil pH, salt content, zinc (Zn) and phosphorus (P) can be taken nearly any time of year. Potassium (K) values from samples taken in frozen soil may test high compared to other times of the year. Sulfur (S) and chloride (Cl) are mobile in the soil, so sampling in the fall or spring is recommended.

While it is the beginning of December, I live on the east coast so we are still having mild temperatures during the day however for those colder climates I would recommend waiting until the ground isn't frozen.

And here we go -

The directions are actually written right on the box so you have to make a huge effort to mess up which means - NOT complicated!

Now I just used a little trowel since I'm just testing the soil to prep for a vegtable garden.

The depth of the soil that you get for your sample is important. You don't want just a the top layer. As you can see my spot has dead grasses on the top layer. I got a 6 inch depth for my sample.

There are various recommendations for what depth you should get your soil for your sample but this depends greatly on the type of crops/ plants your looking to grow and the depth the roots will shoot down.

Here is one suggestion I found to be helpful- 

Get soil from different spots on the land so you get a good idea of what your fertilizing needs truly are instead of a blanket of fertilizer which you may not need and you could spend you money elsewhere. (sound good to you?)

And then we sit back with some hot cocoa & put our feet up to wait for the results -

ha! Who has time for that stuff?!

Give a few weeks for the information.

See how easy that was? Aren't you wondering why you haven't already done this?