Soil Testing

Soil testing is a seemingly simple process of sending a soil sample into a lab. There they perform analysis of the soil sample based on what is grown in that soil and can determine corrections needed. Not all soils are the same, even your front lawns soil may be different from your neighbors front lawn and your very own back lawns soil. The reason for this is there are so many variables that affect the natural ecosystem such as mowing, watering and fertilizing. Often times I hear things like it needs topdressing, more fertilizer or more water. These things may give you a temporary improvement but in the end it all adds up to expensive lawn care. With a soil test being performed there is no guess work on what needs to be done to have a lawn that will surprise your friends and neighbors, and ultimately a soil test can greatly reduce the cost of achieving such a lawn. Soil testing is not just for lawns either, it can be done for flowers and produce gardens at home too. Farmers do soil testing to maximize the gain from their crops and you can too.

Do I Need A Soil Test?

I encourage anyone who is not totally thrilled with their lawns appearance to consider having a soil test done. I believe the biggest reason many people do not offer or promote this service is because it seems expensive. What is expensive is all the extra water, fertilizer and services that all add up to much more then what a soil test will cost. Many service providers make way more money on these other services and therefore there is no motivation to sell and perform a soil test. You may be asking what my motive is and I am happy to share it with you. If I can provide a better healthy looking lawn for less cost to you by having a soil test done, then I will achieve my goal of your friends, family and neighbors noticing, and very likely leading to more work for me.

What Do You Get From The Test?

First I take a soil sample. The soil sample is submitted to the lab, which takes between 3-10 days for testing. I get a report back with recommendations and corrections needed. I can then sit down with you at this point and discuss the results and finally decide on a game plan to getting the best looking lawn on the block.

Further reading: Soil test From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia