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porterville,california usa

has anyone ever tried using one of the do-it-yourself soil test kits such as Ferry Morse or Rapitest? any conclusions pro or con?

3/26/2003 11:16:12 PM

syracuse, ny

no matter what, you'll be better off sending in a sample
to a soil lab...may cost four times as much as the off the shelf, but sooo much more informative! just my idea; i must do it soon also! good luck 'pal

3/27/2003 12:06:44 AM

Sloughhouse, CA

My mother-in-law gave me a spreader and a box of seeds, etc. and had one of the kits in it. I haven't tried it yet.

3/27/2003 2:11:30 AM

porterville,california usa

i`ve used them several times. they only give ph and N-P-K readings. i`m mainly concerned with reliability and accuracy. after reading some of these posts questioning different labs results i`m wondering what to use to compare them to. bio-chemistry was my major, i guess i`ll have to get out my old books and see for myself.

3/28/2003 1:18:34 AM

[email protected]

Commercial lab tests are the way to go. Even though results may vary a little, they're still the most thorough & consistent.
The most likely cause of inconsistent results is the uneven integration of amendments. THOROUGH incorporation after EVEN application of amendments is critical to consistent results. I'm guilty too. Ever try getting a good sample of frozen soil? Even with a good coring tool, it's not easy. And with the early arrival of winter last year, many of us never finished tilling. Some didn't even start before the ground froze.

In the absence of a good coring tool, a piece of conduit or other smooth metal pipe can be used. Or even the very careful use of a garden trowel, as long as each area is represented by an equal amount of soil taken from a similar profile. I use a 3/4" soil profiler in the field & here at home.
Sample a depth of soil that best represents the likely root zone or about 12". Do this in a regular patern over the entire area. Place all collected soil in a clean bucket. Blend the soil well. Pull the sample from this. Clumps of leaves & other organic amendments will toss off the results just as they will the plants performance. Remove these.

Steve

3/28/2003 5:48:22 AM

porterville,california usa

tremor; how much of the mix do you send to the lab? are there any labs in Ca.? UCLA, USC, Cal Poly SLO?

3/29/2003 1:36:34 AM

[email protected]

Booth,

I'm going to email you later with a word doc that has all the commercial labs I know of. We have a contract with CLC Labs in Westerville, OH. We send them samples from about 40 states.

Some labs request a quart of soil. This isn't necessary if at least that much was placed in a clean conatiner and is thoroughly blended together. From this, I pull about 3/4 of a pint (By volume) to send. I send either UPS or Priority Mail. Priority mail is almost $4.00 now. But single samples that need to be expedited I ship this way.

It stands to reason that the less soil I ship or the more samples there are in a box, the cheaper the shippping charges are. I can't let this reduce the integrity of the sampling though.
Steve

3/29/2003 9:54:23 AM

Western NY

booth, the closest lab to you is probably A+L labs modesto facility. you can find the info for them at: http://www.al-labs-west.com/SoilTesting.htm many of the pumpkin growers use that lab.

Andy

3/29/2003 1:25:24 PM

porterville,california usa

thanks Tremor and Andy, modesto is only about 100 miles or so from here so i`ll look them up. booth

3/30/2003 1:26:22 AM