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-

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Galen Davis 2016