Have you tried this soil test kit ?

[tempbond]

I haven't bought it yet, but I found this at Canadian Tire for 9.99$. Is it any good and is it important to test my soil ?

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/2/OutdoorLiving/GreenhousesIndoorGardening/AeroGarden/PRDOVR~0592250P/CIL+Lawn+and+Garden+Soil+Test+Kit.jsp?locale=en

 

[BarG]

Tempbond, your test kit cost the same for the soil test results sent to a testing facility less shipping for Texas soil samples.
I trusted people clear across the country to help interpret those results. If your results from using that tester could be made available and as clear as your soil condition truly is than thats a definite maybe.

Post your results so people who understand them can respond.

 

[Knucklehead]

I get free soil tests from the local Farmer's Co-op. They supply the envelope. If you put on the paper what you're growing you'll get the soil test back with their recommendations on what the soil needs and how much.

 

[Jack in NB]

There was a review of some soil test kits in Fine Gardening Mag some years ago.

The kits tested varied considerably from regular soil test lab results - pH as much as one full unit up or down.

While they appeared to give relative readings (if you raised pH .5 they responded) they wouldn't be much help unless calibrated against a lab test of the same sample. They could then be a useful tool.

I prefer the lab tests, because they're needed only every couple of years or so, and the critical ingredients in the test kits might change over that time period.

 

[PlantTeacher]

Sending soil for testing to an MSU lab is $25 before shipping. At least that is what is said on the website versus the person I spoke to via phone who said $22 if you drop it off, but $23 by mail. That is the best I've found so far tho, according to an internet source (trusted or otherwise) they range between $5-10.

 

[Knucklehead]

They can save you that much in fertilizer if your soil tests pretty close. Not to mention healthier plants than the "that looks about right" approach. Nitrogen especially is super expensive. I use a cover crop like clover that puts nitrogen into the soil and can usually get away with the cheaper lower nitrogen fertilizers because my soil already starts out with a good amount of nitrogen. Lime is going up in price also. Knowing when enough is enough adds up money wise. If you take care of your pennies, the dollars take care of themselves.

Also check around with your local county co-op or Ag stores. Mine does my soil samples for free. Several places do, hoping to get your lime and fertilizer business.

 

[deluxestogie]

I hear that if you send your soil sample to Mars, the Curiosity Rover is capable of returning a soil analysis. There is no charge for the analysis on Mars. Not sure of the addess.

Bob

 

[Knucklehead]

I hear that if you send your soil sample to Mars, the Curiosity Rover is capable of returning a soil analysis. There is no charge for the analysis on Mars. Not sure of the addess.

Bob

My point exactly. It doesn't hurt to check around. Way to do your homework Bob. This guy doesn't miss a trick. If you really want some out of this world ideas read his grow blogs.

 

[johnlee1933]

They can save you that much in fertilizer if your soil tests pretty close. Not to mention healthier plants than the "that looks about right" approach. Nitrogen especially is super expensive. I use a cover crop like clover that puts nitrogen into the soil and can usually get away with the cheaper lower nitrogen fertilizers because my soil already starts out with a good amount of nitrogen. Lime is going up in price also. Knowing when enough is enough adds up money wise. If you take care of your pennies, the dollars take care of themselves.

Also check around with your local county co-op or Ag stores. Mine does my soil samples for free. Several places do, hoping to get your lime and fertilizer business.

Knucks, I say again-- You should check out cotton seed meal. Cheap N, slow release.

 

[johnlee1933]

I hear that if you send your soil sample to Mars, the Curiosity Rover is capable of returning a soil analysis. There is no charge for the analysis on Mars. Not sure of the addess.

Bob

or the shipping and handling.

 

[Knucklehead]

Knucks, I say again-- You should check out cotton seed meal. Cheap N, slow release.

I've used it for years. Good stuff. I know the cotton gin owner. I just have to wait until my cousin is hauling stuff and get a load.

 

[johnlee1933]

I've used it for years. Good stuff. I know the cotton gin owner. I just have to wait until my cousin is hauling stuff and get a load.

I wonder what the shipping on 20 pounds would be. That's about all I'll need.

 

[Knucklehead]

I guess about the same as for 20 lbs of leaf. USPS has a shipping calculator. Let it get bone dry so you get more dirt.

 

[johnlee1933]

I guess about the same as for 20 lbs of leaf. USPS has a shipping calculator. Let it get bone dry so you get more dirt.

OK When you get your load remember me and I'll pay the shipping. Thanks.

 

[Knucklehead]

One question I would have about those DIY soil test kits is where do you get the information to take the results to the next level? When I send off a soil sample I write on the bag that I'm growing clover, or grains, or tobacco. And when my analysis comes back, it not only shows what my soil currently has in the way of nutrients, but their recommendations to bring my soil into condition for my proposed crop. Usually expressed in tons per acre, but I can calculate down from that. It wiil show how many tons per acre of lime to bring the ph into the proper range for clover or whatever crop I write on the envelope. Etc.,etc. Blah, blah, Anyway, I'm wondering how you interpret the information given in those DIY tests for tobacco? Anyone know?

 

[PlantTeacher]

Oh, wow, Mars, and free shipping and handling. I guess that means I would have to walk there myself.

I had been searching for a co-op. Have found nothing online. Know some people who know some people but I have to see them to ask them about it and I . . . haven't seen them lately.

Looking for a woodburning stove right now.

JohnLee, about fertilizer, I had been looking at feather meal which is about a dollar a pound, before the soil analysis talk which has a release time of 6-9 months and contains nitrogen levels between 11 and 14 percent.

 

[Knucklehead]

your county extension office can point you in the right direction.

 

[Jitterbugdude]

I'd skip those slow release fertilizers. Tobacco takes up a boatload of nitrogen and potassium in the first 2 months.

 

[PlantTeacher]

Walking will be the first obstacle. The angle and trajectory have to be correct. I've been thinking of learning levitation. Once I've mastered that and have a map, I must learn to breath in very thin air. Yogic breathing, maybe? And then I must be able to live without food for a while. And be able to withstand the high temperatures of our atmosphere so I have to be able to master my own body temperature. By that time I will have mastered living without breathing. And all that's left is extending my life for the journey there and back which basically discovering the secret of sepeternal life in this mortal coil. I don't know. I think I can do it.

JBD, I must do something. Mine have been growing for eleven months. Seeds in soil, wee. Oh, wait. Six inches is the TALLEST plant? And when I found out that tobacco grows between 4-5 feet tall in a year. Um, obvious I wasn't doing something.

Not so bad now, though. Many of them have doubled in size since I started using rain water, then I put them in bigger cells, then I started blowing my hookah smoke on them and the growth is more and more noticeable. Still . . .

 

[leverhead]

What's in that Hookah?