How to Test Your Garden Soil
First, let me tell you why it is important to test your soil. Plants need certain nutrients for healthy growth, namely Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potash. Nitrogen (N) is needed for the growth of the leaves of the plants. Phosphorus (P) is needed for root and fruit or vegetable growth. Potash (K) contributes to the over health of the plants. Another thing that needs to be tested is PH which, simply stated, determines how well your plants use the nutrients in the soil.
Gone are the days when you had to scoop up a sample of your garden soil and mail it to a lab to find out the nutrient values of your soil. Now is the time to test and prep your garden and raised beds to prepare for the spring planting! In this post I’m going to show you how easy it is to test the soil yourself! I used the Luster Leaf test kit (Amazon affiliate link). The first step is to dig down a few inches and put half a cup of soil in a container.
Add 2.5 cups of water to the container and mix it with the soil. Let the mixture settle for 30 minutes. Use the N-P-K containers and add the soil infused water, and the contents of the appropriate colored capsule. Shake the containers with the lids closed and wait 10 minutes.
Above are the results from my garden testing. My garden appears to be in need to added N-P-K. I will purchase this EZ Grow liquid plant fertilizer product (Amazon Affiliate link) and apply it to my garden this month. I also tested the PH of my soil (see instructions on the Luster Leaf kit) and it showed that my garden was at a normal level.