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Soil test kits are one of the most under-used tools for backyard homesteaders in their gardens.\u00a0 Most gardeners seem to prefer to treat all soil as equal, equally bad, or equally good.\u00a0 Adding compost and fertilizer to every square inch of growing space, and treating soil for every crop that goes in.\u00a0 But money and hours of hard work can be saved though testing your soil for pH and mineral content.<\/p>\n
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pH<\/strong><\/p>\n Without knowing what the pH of their soil is, most people will add acidic soil amendments like elemental sulfur to their soil if they are planting crops like blueberries that thrive in acidic soils.\u00a0 But what if your soil is already acidic?\u00a0 Then you will waste your money on the soil amendments, and likely damage or even kill your blueberries that you spent time and energy planting.<\/p>\n Mineral Content<\/strong><\/p>\n If you have a large garden, then more than likely you are composting more than just kitchen waste.\u00a0 You probably go out of your way to gather material like leaves that require raking, or even going and getting bags of coffee grounds from your local coffee shop.\u00a0 Then, if you don\u2019t test your soil, you probably apply that compost to every area of your garden.\u00a0 But time, energy, and resources can be saved if you test your soil.\u00a0 Areas that are rich in minerals can be maintained simply by mulching with comfrey and wood chips.<\/p>\n Guess Work<\/strong><\/p>\n Knowing the soil in each area of your garden will give you a better idea of where to plant what, and will help in determining why some crops might not be doing as well as you would like them to be doing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Soil tests don\u2019t need to be performed regularly, they don\u2019t take long, and don\u2019t cost much.\u00a0 But they can give you valuable knowledge about the soil in your garden.<\/p>\n