I also used CSU for testing soil, they were very helpful, even CALLED ME personally, they'd changed the format for submitting. Now in Ohio, which (gag) THE Ohio State University is supposed to be so superior, debatable, they don't do soils test anymore, contract out to private entities in Indiana? Go figure. I had AMAZING soil at our place in CO, perfect for root crops, grew amazing potatoes & beets, OMG! I'm now starting from scratch here in Ohio, so I need all the help I can get. The old fellow that owned this before me was a BIG gardener, SO the soil may be built up. Normally it's got a lot of clay here. Recent hole I dug has at least a good 10 inches of good looking top soil. Then you hit the clayish layers. I JUST got my test results back, so your channel is very helpful. I'm trying to rely less on commercial fertilizers, make homemade fertilizers - I'm kinda a mad scientist (Chem degree from UCCS). Commercial chemical Fertilizer production are really bad for the environment, and relying on more natural biosystems I think are better in the long run. Looking forward to your perspective on gardening.

Thank you Scott for all this valuable information

Wishing you all the very best for 2020 my friend. Looking forward to more great stuff in the year to come.

Thanks for sharing this information Gardener Scott! Have a happy New Year!

Thanks for taking time to make these very informative videos. Wish you and your family a very good 2020.

$15 at the local Missouri Extension office. I called them to ask questions about the report I received. Very helpful information for a minimal cost.

Good info. video, Thank you! Happy New Year!

My corn didn’t produce well and some tomatoes were colorless which I never saw so soil testing is needed so thank you.

Happy New Year ☺️

Looks like a simple easy to understand layout. I like the suggestions sections. Getting my first this spring hope it's easy to read.

I was making some leaf mulch with a mower, and it only weighs about 1 pound per gallon. Sand is about 10 pounds, so with 1/2 gallon mulch to 1 gallon sand, it's only 5 per cent.

really interesting. thank you !

INTERESTING

I had watched your previous video on soil testing and after some challenges in my 1st year of gardening, sent off samples for testing. Very interesting report, lots of information. As I listened to this, I was going over my results. Basically my loamy sand soil is/was very low in nitrogen. This fall/winter I have planted a cover crop to help (hopefully) amend the soil and covered all the raised beds (horse troughs and Birdies Beds) with leaves from my maple tree. This is all so fascinating. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

Good stuff. Due to corrective action based on a soil sample I nearly doubled my apple crop. Happy New year!

Wow! Colorado and Northern Arizona have similar gardening needs. My soil is more clay, and it’s more alkaline.

Thank You So Much ❗for demonstrating and explaining how to amend and feed my soil for change & health. Food was growing, but not flourishing. Only enough to share small amounts. I will have the soil test done ~ my meter reads 7.0, but the trace minerals must be terribly off. For a couple of years, I didn't even have worms. ~ I will also need to pay more attention to my watering patterns. 🚰 I have 3 water butts for rainwater capture so as to lessen the use of tap water💦. I live in Virginia, which means hot & humid summers but OK winters, so that has prompted me to build & experiment with small insect netting cages {to protect my blueberries}. The cages also helped with raising the temperature for overwintering my kales, cabbages, beets, carrots, swiss chard, spring onion & mustards. They are small enough that I can move them from bed to bed as needed. I also have 3 medium polytunnels that help with sowing, potting out, & storage. ~ I hope to be able to inspire & teach a small group of youth soon. You have been a mentor & blessing to me, & I will pay your lessons forward!!!🌱🪱🥬

I definitely think I will break down and finally get my soil tested. It's so different in the front and back yards I'm thinking I should submit as two separate tests. Thanks for the video!

Several years ago, before deciding to have my soil tested, I did a little bit of research about the topic. Among many things I learned is that soil tests for N may not be very accurate or helpful. The reason being that N levels are relatively transient (I hope that's the right word). If I remember correctly, the longer the time period between collecting the soil sample and the time the sample is analyzed is critical. Cheers and thanks for posting.

Happy New Year from Auckland, New Zealand it’s Wednesday, January 1, 2020.

I pay attention to what testing "method" they use (preferring the Albrech method). I ignore anything they say about nitrogen as 1) it's volatile, so a sample today and a sample tomorrow will be completely different. 2)In over 40 years (some growing up on a row crop farm, and gardening as well), I've never ever received a report that didn't suggest adding some kind of nitrogen, and that in ground that when growing say beans, have had enormous aphid pressure, a sign of excess nitrogen. This last go around I split my samples into two and sent one to the Univ of Arkansas extension office as well as Logan Labs, supposedly using the same method. There was an overall 10% difference between the two on the same samples. Logan includes organic material in the base test, UofA it's an add on. I'm hoping to start Elaine Ingham's course in Jan. The ultimate test is.. how are your plants doing. Secondarilly, how is the life in and under the soil doing. Those can tell you a lot. The soil tests are good when starting on new (to you) ground to see where you are starting from chemically. Perhaps annually (or even bi-annually if in intensive growing) for a bit then semi-annually and as an occasional spot check to add data to observations. In the end, if the soil is healthy, if there is abundant life in the soil, if pretty much no matter how much rain falls there is little run off (the organic material is soaking it up and holding it), while at the same time less need to irrigate in drier times (compared to neighbors who do the whole cake mix chemical growing style) and the plants grow like Jacks magic bean stalk, the numbers on the paper are interesting, but not critical. Kinda like going to a Doctor, she may write "orders" but in the end.. the doctor is just a consultant, you are the decision maker and overall artist.

Chúc anh và gia đình năm mới vui vẻ và hạnh phúc.

I am waiting for my soil test to come back, I got my leaf tissue sample results back, I have high NPK, Boron, the only low is Magnesium. What crazy is I haven't added anything but tons of wood chip cover, and tilled some in after decomposing. So I'm hoping I can remedy it, easily.

These videos about testing your soil inspired me to send my sample off for a complete analysis. Thank you! I've been using a set of 10 raised beds (4'x8') for several years with good results. But, other than testing PH, I had no idea how I was doing. The test results were very encouraging. I was "high' on organic content and "very high" on the important elements and minerals EXCEPT nitrogen. So, now I know to focus this year on nitrogen and slow down on the other organics I've been using in my homemade organic fertilizer. I blend lime, cotton meal, bloodmeal, kelp meal, etc.for my slow release that I add each year along with a fresh layer of compost. It is reassuring how good the soil has become after so many years of augmenting it. Thanks for all your good advice.

I heavily composted my garden two years ago and tilled the soil, big mistake. My garden was a disaster. I destroyed my nitrogen level which was tied up decomposing the organic matter. I had the soil tested. The potassium was very high, phosphorus was high, calcium and magnesium very high. Salt was low (thank goodness). Copper, boron and iron were okay. My tomato plants looked like sticks. Basically, I had no garden. I am a master gardener and knew better. This year the garden looks better but still not what it should be. It will take years for the compost to completely decompose, especially the wood chips. If a little bit of something is good for you, that does not mean that more will be better. I will have the soil tested again this fall. Learn from my mistake.

I like the minerals part... Potassium banana peeling potatoes peels.. Phosphorus I think is in ash and charcoal? I think but not positive... Zinc?... I added rocks around my garden and a few week plants perked up I know being newly blasted road cut rock it would let the minerals leach out slowly... I added some rock dust for minerals too...... Love how they suggest natural ways with compost you will get more than just nitrogen many minerals as well

I'm going to take a soil sample this week! Any body use, Midwest Laboratories? Sounds like the pricing is similar, too.

The county soil survey I found pretty accurately describes the soil in the 8x4 bed I turned over this fall as a grey silty clay loam. It has moderate permeability, high water retention, and low organic matter content. I'm pretty sure adding organic material is the first thing needed, and I've added a large bag of leaves and about 6 gallons of coffee/tea grinds. I also have a compost pile that will be ready to add when the soil can be worked again in March. I also tested a couple of dried samples, one with vinegar and the other with baking soda. Neither fizzed, so it might be slightly acidic or alkaline, but it's probably close enough to pH neutral. If I scale up to growing more than a small bed and 20 containers, then I think professional testing would be needed, but for now I'm just growing food for me.

time to add some pot/wood ash?

i am planing to do a soil test after i have spent some time improving my soil a little. Im on London clay so i know whats wrong with it. LOL I am a Geologist so i know the benefit of testing lol

I'm trying my utmost to understand soil composition for healthy veggies and this video, along with another of yours, gave me the encouragement I need to send in soil samples to my local extension office-so thank you!! But I have a question: I have three 8x4 garden beds and I suspect each of them has a different soil composition. This is partly due to the fact that one bed looks like the previous owner added wood ash, while the other beds don't appear to have that matter. Also, I'm not sure how careful the owner was in mixing the soil components that he ordered delivered (unmixed) from a garden center. Would you recommend getting three separate tests-one for each bed? Thanks, Gardner Scott! (I've been scouring your channel, watching all your videos and I really, really love what you're doing here. Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge. :) )

diddnt need a soil test in my yard. It was clear the moment I stuck a shovel in it that it was all rocks and hard packed solid clay. Been unable to grow anything in it so I have done all raised beds with compost. Even the peach trees I put in couldnt handle the clay and have all hardly grown.

What are your thoughts on planting something like clover in with the plants to increase the nitrogen level?

I got my soil sample back, 1% organic, I took it deep in a area that hasn't been amended with organics. So now I'm going to send 2 more soil samples, to see what the Alfalfa/wood chips have done. I know it's healthy as it's loaded with earth worms, and the trees are putting roots into the layer of humus altered top layer. Not I need to research how to reduce the Boron, as it's high in the native soil. Need to study how to read these samples, as in high PH, calcium, what surprising high sulphur to, so I'm in study mode, any suggestions.

Thank you for video to test the soy. Could you tell me and give me the address of University of testing you so please?

how would you improve the soil ability to retain little more water, so you dont have to water that often??.

Soil tests through the extension where I live is $60 for a simple one, so I don't think it's worth it to do it every single year. However, my new arctic kiwi plant's leaves were yellowing this past summer, and I really don't want to lose it, so I'll get a test done in that area this year - too late for the optimal autumn test, but better late than never. I also need to bring some extra compost in, as my pile isn't enough for my entire garden. I'm thinking about getting some city compost (the "green bin" pick-up is mandatory where I live). What do you think about that kind of compost?

It would be interesting to compare your results with test kits on the market. My understanding is that it is important to use DISTILLED water when doing a do-it-yourself soil test.

Please HELP I have a great deal of used coffee grounds. What can I do with them. I know this hasn't got anything to do with reports,but I hate just throwing them away. I also have a lot of goat manure. Thank you in advance for your help. Happy New Year.

Sorry, first time big bogus. Learn to understand how the soil food web works and You´ll have all the plants need in abundance as the plant is in need of it.Including less watering, no fertilisation and so on... anyway, thumb up, I really and honestly appreciate Your work!

How much cost to test the soil?

It just seems like an unnecessary step 😬