Why When and How Often should you Soil Test

1. Why When and How Often should you Soil Test? Soil testing is an important practice to know the soil structure and its fertility in modern agriculture. Organic matters and microorganisms in your soil are the keys to productive farming, and soil testing helps you identify soil deficiencies and how you can correct them. There are many ways you can conduct an organic soil test at your farm to understand what going on with your soil. You can either send soil samples to a soil testing laboratory or buy a soil testing kit for organic soil test on your own. There are three most important questions that come to everyone’s mind when they decide to soil test: 1.Why should I Soil test? 2.When should I soil test? 3.How often should I soil test? Let’s find out the answers to all these questions in this post. Why should I soil test? There are many benefits of conducting organic soil tests. Some of the most common benefits of soil testing and the reasons why you should do soil tests include: It determines nutrient levels in the soil It determines pH levels It Helps you understand ways to improve soil structure Potential for higher-yielding and quality crops It helps you with more efficient fertilizer use When should you soil test? Organic soil testing is done to understand soil structure and find ways to improve soil fertility and productivity. If you notice the following problems with your soil, it’s time for a soil test: Nutrient deficiencies in crops Poor plant growth Poor response from applied fertilizers Hard to manage weeds Low crop yields Irregular plant growth When to soil test is also depends on the crop type you aiming to farm. For example: For vegetable and crop production, take the samples in the fall of the year for a soil test. For perennial crops and pastures, late summers are the best time to tale soil samples. How often should you soil test? Taking regular soil tests is essential to yielding high-quality crops and vegetables. Typically, one should soil test every 2-4 years. It helps you understand any major nutrient deficiency or pH changes in your soil.

2. So, when you know why, when, and how often you should soil test, it’s time to take an organic soil test either by sending samples to a laboratory or getting a soil test kit for immediate results right at your farm. You can buy a soil testing kit and refill kit as per your requirements. It contains everything, including instructions and guidelines you need for an organic soil test. Source: https://microbiometer.com/