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5. Break clods by rolling and
"kneading" the bag of soil
or mix in the bucket.
6. Prepare 1 quart of well-
mixed soil for each 15-20
acres to the lab
7. Label the sample for the
lab with name, address,
sample number, and origin.
8. Write down relevant
history of the fields for the
samples:
past crops
herbicides
insecticides
nematode or
disease problems
quantity and type of
fertilizer
Taking soil samples is useful
for establishing the
requirements for agricultural
crops. Larger production
farms, small farmers, and
backyard gardeners can all
benefit from the information
that soil analysis provides. It
will save money and labor by
knowing ahead of time what
the mineral content of the soil
is, the amount of fertilizer
required, and the expected
irrigation requirements. In
addition to cost and time
savings, knowledge of a field’s
makeup can minimize runoff
from excess nutrients that
causes water pollution.
The only specialty tool that
you may want is a soil probe.
This may also be called a soil
core sampling tube or soil
recovery probe.
Choose locations that do not
have any contaminating
chemical spills, such as lime or
unusual concentrations of
fertilizer. Avoid unusual
"patches". The final collection
of samples will be combined
to give an average.
In order to get a
representative sample, take
Procedure
1. Move aside any non-
decomposed plant materials
from the surface.
2. Take samples 6 to 8 inches
deep. (Figure 2.)
3. Use a soil probe to take
cores, or use a spade or
trowel to take 1/2 inch thick
slices, and trim the sides,
leaving a 1 inch strip. (Figure
3.)
4. Dump the cores or strips
into a clean bag or bucket
several samples from an area
that is as uniform as possible.
Gather 10-20 cores of 1/2 inch
thick slices from 15-20 acres in
a uniform zig-zag pattern.
(Figure 1.)
Supplies
clean sample bags or
buckets
clean trowel, spade, or
soil probe
measuring tape, or
ruler on this job aid
Fig
ure
1
Figure 2
Soil Sampling
Figure 3
nitrates (NO3-N)
phosphorus content
potassium (K) content
calcium (Ca) content
magnesium (Mg)
content
boron (B) content
micronutrient
content: zinc (Zn), iron
(Fe), manganese (Mn)
and copper (Cu)
cation exchange
capacity (CEC)
An additional consideration is
plant tissue tests during crop
growth. Monitoring the actual
crops is another aspect of
agriculture evaluation not
described here. For further
information, refer to Sources
at the end of this and the
accompanying document.
Taking soil samples is a
valuable way to determine the
makeup of a field, its needs
and shortcomings. With a few
simple supplies and access to
Lab
Refer to a reputable lab.
"Free" soil tests may not be
reliable, and can cost you
more in the long run. Getting
reliable results requires that
the samples are taken
carefully, and that the lab uses
the correct test methods.
Many universities have soil
testing labs. See Sources at
the end of this and the
accompanying document.
Once you have found a lab,
choose the appropriate soil
tests. Depending on the crops
being grown, some of the
tests to consider include:
drainage and
saturation in soil
types: sand, loam, silt,
clay, peat
pH (acidity/alkalinity)
nitrogen content
salinity, Sodium
Adsorption Ratio (SAR)
a good lab, you can discover
irrigation, fertilizer and other
amendments that will save
time and money that could be
lost to failed crops and wasted
inputs. Environmental
pollution can also be
minimized with knowledge of
a field’s requirements.
Sources Available in companion document: http://www.slideshare.net/GalenDavis2/soil-samping-by-
galen-davis
Galen Davis 2016