Garden soil testing, especially in vegetable gardens, should be done periodically. Because you’re growing plants that demand more than their fair share of resources to produce food, your soil may at some point become less fertile and produce stunted plants, low yields, or other problems. But the only way to know for sure if the problem is with the soil or if it’s caused by pests or disease is with a soil test.
If you test your garden soil once every few seasons, you’ll discover problems before they affect your plants. A soil test can reveal problems with pH, a lack of organic matter, nutrient deficiencies, and soil texture. Soil pH is often overlooked by gardeners, but plants grown in a too-low or too-high pH may have problems taking up or utilizing nutrients, even if they’re plentiful in the soil. The soil testing lab will send you a list of recommendations along with your test results.
