Want to know more about your plants? Test Your Soil.

October 12, 2016 | By webadmin

Is your lawn in decline for no apparent reason? Do you have an area of the landscape where nothing will grow? Soil testing can provide the answers you seek for what’s going on beneath the soil in your landscape.

Because soil quality, good or bad, is the basis for all plant health, it is the absolute most important factor in growing vigorous lawns, lush ornamentals, tough perennials and long-lived trees that are not only beautiful, but also better able to ward off insect and disease problems naturally.

Why test your soil?

Testing your soil allows you to identify exactly what nutrients and trace elements your soil might be lacking, as well as recommendations on how to address these deficiencies to improve the plants you’re growing and give the best start to the plants you're hoping to grow.

Live in the Dallas area and unsure you need a soil test? Since our soil is mostly heavy clay, a test will help you decipher which nutrients are bound up in this notoriously dense soil. The small particles in clay compact tightly, locking up nutrients and preventing them from being taken up by plant roots; plus, our tough clay soil makes it difficult for plant roots to grow freely, and suffocates them by reducing the flow of oxygen and keeping water from draining properly.

Tests can indicate soil alkalinity or acidity, which is important to know if you're interested in growing azaleas or other acid loving plants such as Japanese maples or hydrangeas. Not only is the soil in our area on the alkaline side of the spectrum, but our water is as well. Acid loving plants appreciate seasonal applications of acidified fertilizer treatments to slightly nudge the pH down to the more appropriate range they prefer.

More extensive tests can provide information on the somewhat mysterious trace minerals, which can sometimes be a factor in plant health, particularly in vegetable gardens which quickly deplete even the best soils and need regular amendments to continue producing healthy crops.

My soil test is done. Now what?

Now that you better understand what is going on with your soil, you can amend it with the appropriate nutrients. Working in organic matter such as compost, is an essential first step to giving a boost to your soil condition no matter what crops you're growing. Other nutrients soil might be lacking include:

• Nitrogen for yellowing, chlorotic lawns.
• Potassium for improving heat stress, especially in trees.
• Phosphorus to improve new flower bud production, especially in vegetable gardens.
• Unwanted elements such as environmental pollutants and salts from water runoff can also be detected in a soil test.

Knowing, and understanding, what your plants need from your soil will reward you with beautiful, robust trees, shrubs, perennials and vegetables that require less high-impact pesticides and less effort from you.