Unexpected soil test results - pic attached
- Thread starter WCD4
- Start date
Smallplot
Active Member
Soil conditions and results can very quite a bit within a few acres. This is why some farmers are going to grid sampling and adjusted rate applications. With that said when looking at test results we are shooting for the average which is why we want to take several samples within the plot and mix those samples together before submitting a single sample to be analyzed from the mixed samples.
Sample probes allow one to take the same sized sample from each sample site. Thanks s can be done with a spade to an extent but getting the same sized sample is more difficult.
While I am sure the OP is already aware, some newcomers may not be. We want a sample from the surface down to about 6 inches (make sure the results given to you are based on a 6 inch sample as calculations may differ if your lab uses a 4 inch zone).
I have an auger bit attached to a battery powered drill. The bit is marked to show the six inch depth and I take samples by drilling into a small plastic container with an hole in the bottom to collect the dirt as it is brought to the surface before being transferred to a mixing bucket to get a combined sample.
Guess I need to do a video of my set up sometime.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sample probes allow one to take the same sized sample from each sample site. Thanks s can be done with a spade to an extent but getting the same sized sample is more difficult.
While I am sure the OP is already aware, some newcomers may not be. We want a sample from the surface down to about 6 inches (make sure the results given to you are based on a 6 inch sample as calculations may differ if your lab uses a 4 inch zone).
I have an auger bit attached to a battery powered drill. The bit is marked to show the six inch depth and I take samples by drilling into a small plastic container with an hole in the bottom to collect the dirt as it is brought to the surface before being transferred to a mixing bucket to get a combined sample.
Guess I need to do a video of my set up sometime.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Jason Broom
Well-Known Member
Extremely high calcium and almost no phosphorus, with a pH over 8? That's odd enough that I'd want a second survey done.
