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Found out 90% of soil tests at nurseries in my area are wrong
I was at a local garden center last month and got to talking with the owner. He told me most of the soil tests people bring in from big box stores are useless because they don't sample deep enough. Said we should be digging 6 to 8 inches down, not just scraping the top. Has anyone else run into this with their test kits?
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the_lisa27d ago
Hmm I actually kinda disagree with "most soil tests are wrong." I've used those cheap kits from Home Depot for years and they've been pretty spot on compared to what my local extension office found. Maybe the trick is just digging a little deeper like he said.
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kimmurphy27d ago
Read something recently about how labs test differently too. The guy from the article said some places just grind up the whole sample including roots and rocks, which messes up the pH reading. He recommended rinsing the soil through a sieve first to get rid of the junk. I've also heard that letting your sample dry out before sending it in can change the nitrogen numbers big time. So even if you dig deep enough, the way you prepare it matters just as much as where you dig. Makes me wonder if the big box tests are even calibrated for our local clay soil.
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