First, determine why and where you would like to test your soil or compost.
Do you have questions about the quality of your soil on certain areas of your land? Do you want to make sure your compost is of good quality before applying it? Is a certain plant struggling, or group of plants? Or are they doing especially well after a treatment you applied? These are all great reasons to assess your soil biology.
What you’ll need
- An apple corer for soil, or a teaspoon for compost
- A clean cloth with vinegar to wipe above tool clean between samples
- A clean cloth to dry above tool
- A quart-size ziplock bag for each sample
(no apple necessary!)
Taking your sample
Follow the steps below. Each sample bag should have at least 3 cores for soil and 5 teaspoons for compost.
1) FOR SOIL:
For plants, position your apple corer about half way between the plant stem and the drip line (outer edge of the foliage). See red arrow above for a guide. Insert it as far as you can (down about 3 inches). Sampling at this position will allow you to get close to the roots without damaging them.
TAKE 3-5 CORES from around one plant or a group of plants (if you want to test that whole area) and place into a single plastic bag. DO NOT BREAK UP or MIX. Leave cores as clumps in the bag.
If you’re sampling grass or bare dirt, just take cores that are spaced apart from an area of concern or that’s representative of the average – no edge areas.
If you’re taking another sample, wipe your corer clean and make sure it’s dry before you use it again.
1) FOR COMPOST:
Use your teaspoon to gather 5-7 SPOONFULS at different places in the pile – near the top, edges, bottom and middle. Place all spoonfuls into plastic bag. DO NOT MIX.
If you’re taking another sample, wipe clean your spoon clean and make sure it’s dry before you use it again.
2) SEAL YOUR BAG
Again, do not mix. We want to allow the soil food web that your microorganisms are creating to stay as is. Your bag should be no more than 1/3 full. Seal it WITH AIR INSIDE. Then label it on the outside with date, time, and sample type. The seal is important so your sample doesn’t get contaminated with flies or other insects, but the air is critical so your organisms don’t suffocate.
3) DROP OFF OR MAIL TO ME.
Contact me for instructions and timeframes for receipt (these depend on several factors). If you’re dropping your samples off to me, it would be ideal to receive them the same you take them, or the following day.