Soil Testing in Arizona

Soil testing, in Arizona as much as anywhere else, is the first step towards growing a lush and healthy garden. It involves a few steps: collecting a soil sample, getting it tested, interpreting the results and knowing how to act upon them.

Collecting a soil sample
The quickest way to get an idea of the soil quality in your garden as a whole is to collect an “average” sample. This involves digging a small hole in each area of your garden that will be used for planting, taking a small amount of soil from each hole and mixing them together – hence, “averaging” the quality.

Getting it tested
The next step involves getting your soil tested. You can do this at home with a home soil test kit (readily available at garden centers) and decipher the results yourself, or you can take your soil to a garden centre to have it analyzed (A list of garden centers in Arizona is available at http://www.desert-tropicals.com/nurseries/nurseries.html).

Interpreting the results
The results of your soil test may uncover any of several problems, with each one requiring a different plan

of attack. These problems include high or low levels of potassium, nitrogen or phosphorous; high or low pH (causing acidity or alkalinity); and the issue of too much or too little drainage.

How to treat soil problems

*Acidity problems can be corrected by liming the soil or adding calcium carbonate, which has a neutralizing effect.

*Adding elemental sulfur to soil will acidify it, correcting alkalinity

*Breaking up waterlogged soil and adding organic matter to entice earthworms will help improve drainage in finely-textured soil, helping resolve insufficient drainage

*Adding organic matter deep down in sandy or over-drained soil will help increase its moisture-holding capacity.

Soil testing in Arizona, and fixing any problems, can be made fairly simple if you have the right resources and knowledge – and your garden will certainly be better off for it.