Submitted by: Coy McCorkle Seminole County Extension Educator Ag / 4-H / CED

It is that time of year again. Our office is overwhelmed at times with soil samples, but

that is a good thing. The first step to growing a good lawn, flower bed, or pasture is a

soil sample. A simple $10 soil test may save you hundreds of dollars on fertilizer. We

will be able to tell you the soil pH and if you need lime or not. We can also tell you the

nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium levels in your soil. However and probably most

importantly, we can help you determine which crops will grow best in your soil. Here are

a few tips on how to get an accurate soil sample:

· Right now is a great time to sample your soil. Soil samples need to be done

during the dormant season. They are much more accurate when nothing is

growing.

· Soil properties tend to vary from place to place. Your sample needs to be

representative of the entire lawn, garden, or field. Do not sample unusual areas.

· Scrape plant debris from soil surface before sampling. The nutrients in the dead

plant material can affect your sample.

· Lawns need to be sampled 3-4” deep. Pastures, crop fields, and gardens need to

be sampled at a 6”depth. Grass roots in lawns typically do not go very deep into

the soil.

· Make sure that all of your bag full of the mixed soil. equipment is clean before sampling. This includes

buckets, spades, and soil probes. Combine all of the soil cores from at least 10

different locations scattered throughout the lawn, garden, or field. Fill the soil

bag full of the mixed soil.

· Submit samples to the OSU Extension Office. We will send the samples to the

OSU lab and will have your results in one to two weeks.

Please contact the Seminole County OSU Extension Office at (405) 257-5433 for

questions about soil testing.