Gardening In Kentucky Video Podcast: Soil Testing

🌱 Soil testing is essential for determining fertility recommendations based on pH levels and the presence of nutrients such as phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and zinc.

🌱 Nitrogen levels cannot be determined through soil testing as it can be easily lost through leaching or removed by plants.

🌱 When collecting soil samples, it is important to ensure that a small amount of soil accurately represents a larger area by sampling in smaller units based on soil type, cropping history, erosion, or past management practices.

🌱 Sampling during fall or spring is recommended, with fall sampling often resulting in faster results and recommendations.

🌱 Different tools such as a soil probe, auger, garden trowel, spade, and knife can be used to collect soil cores for testing.

🌱 It is important to collect representative samples from problem areas separately, especially during a growing season when troubleshooting is needed.

🌱 Soil samples should be taken at the recommended depth for each specific crop, and samples should be collected from different areas such as lawns, gardens, shrubs, flowerbeds, trees, and vegetable gardens.