Soil Testing Method
Most plants prefer particular kinds of soil. If your soil is overly acidic or too alkaline, for example, you might inhibit growth or even kill the plant entirely. In general, gardeners test the soil to decide whether to add soil amendments such as lime or manure. Some of these tests are easy to perform in your own garden. However, in some cases you may need to send samples to a local test laboratory. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
-
Simple Test
-
Six types of soil exist in most gardens, according to BBC Gardening Guides. A basic test to find out which type of soil you have is to judge it by touch and sight. For example, white, crumbly soil tends to be chalky. Soil that becomes heavy and sticky when wet and cracks when very dry is usually clay. Sandy soil is gritty and runs through the fingers. The most sought-after type of garden soil is loam. Loam is dark and crumbly, but it doesn't stick together too tightly or form tiny granules.
pH
-
Basic garden store soil pH kits often require mixing a little soil and water in a container. A piece of litmus paper or a gauge turns a different color depending on the pH of the soil. For example, orange might suggest an acidic pH of around 5, while green suggests alkaline soil of over 7. Using more elaborate laboratory or specialist pH kits involves an electronic device with pH-sensitive electrodes. However, in most home garden situations, this isn't necessary.
-
Organic Matter
-
Some laboratory tests determine how much organic matter your soil contains. Organic material is what your plants draw their nutrients from. For example, the Soil Testing Laboratory at the University of Minnesota offers an organic matter test that starts with putting a scoop of soil into a muffle furnace for two hours. From the amount of weight lost by the sample over that period, scientists can tell how much organic material is in the soil, letting you know if you need to add lots of compost and manure.
Phosphorus and Potassium
-
Tests for both phosphorus and potassium tend to take place in lab conditions. Along with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are the other two of the three most crucial elements for growth in most plants. The soil test method for phosphorus involves using a small sample mixed with a solution called Bray-1 extractant. A device called a spectrophotometer measures the resulting color, which scientists use to determine phosphorus quantity. The same method applies to potassium, except you will use ammonium acetate instead of Bray-1.
-
References
- Photo Credit Arid soil image by Igor Baryshev from Fotolia.com
