Get it tested
(your soil, that is)
The air is warming up, robins are chirping and gardeners are preparing to plant. Before the first seed or transplant is placed into the garden, however, it's essential that the soil be tested. This is especially important for people who live in urban areas.
After a century of industrialization, improper waste disposal, the accumulation of vehicle exhaust and the decay of leaded paint, urban soils can contain harmful amounts of lead, heavy metals and other contaminants. The only way to know the level of contamination within the soil that you want to use is to have it tested by a commercial or university lab.
If soil lead or other contaminants are measured beyond a certain level, then it will be necessary to avoid, detoxify or remove that soil. Avoiding or removing tainted soil is of particular importance when it comes to children's health. Children less than seven years old are most susceptible to lead exposure, which can cause a range of health problems and developmental deficiencies.
Planting in raised beds with a buffer between plant roots and the ground is one option for avoiding contact with tainted soil. Planting in containers is another method.
The University of Illinois Extension can provide gardeners with information for commercial laboratories that provide soil testing services. While the Extension itself does not process soil tests, the Extension's Urban Horticulture office in Chicago can provide gardeners with a free soil test kit. Collected samples are sent to a third-party lab for analysis. The processing fee for each sample is $15. Call 773-233-0476 for more information about those free soil test kits.
A couple of community garden groups that I'm familiar with have sent soil samples to the UMass-Amherst Soil and Plant Tissue Testing Laboratory. The lab's standard soil test, which analyzes soil pH, nutrient balance and heavy-metal concentration, costs $9. What I found useful about the results from this testing service (though it is certainly offered by others) is the interpretation of the testing data. Not all labs provide this information, since their typical clientele (large-scale growers) are already familiar with horticultural lingo. So be sure that the lab that you choose accepts home soil samples, and that interpretative information is provided with the results.
One last thing: although spring is when people are most likely to think about garden preparation and soil test, autumn is actually the best time to have testing done. Labs are far less busy at that time, and you will have several months (instead of perhaps several days) to condition or replace your soil.
After a century of industrialization, improper waste disposal, the accumulation of vehicle exhaust and the decay of leaded paint, urban soils can contain harmful amounts of lead, heavy metals and other contaminants. The only way to know the level of contamination within the soil that you want to use is to have it tested by a commercial or university lab.
If soil lead or other contaminants are measured beyond a certain level, then it will be necessary to avoid, detoxify or remove that soil. Avoiding or removing tainted soil is of particular importance when it comes to children's health. Children less than seven years old are most susceptible to lead exposure, which can cause a range of health problems and developmental deficiencies.
Planting in raised beds with a buffer between plant roots and the ground is one option for avoiding contact with tainted soil. Planting in containers is another method.
The University of Illinois Extension can provide gardeners with information for commercial laboratories that provide soil testing services. While the Extension itself does not process soil tests, the Extension's Urban Horticulture office in Chicago can provide gardeners with a free soil test kit. Collected samples are sent to a third-party lab for analysis. The processing fee for each sample is $15. Call 773-233-0476 for more information about those free soil test kits.
A couple of community garden groups that I'm familiar with have sent soil samples to the UMass-Amherst Soil and Plant Tissue Testing Laboratory. The lab's standard soil test, which analyzes soil pH, nutrient balance and heavy-metal concentration, costs $9. What I found useful about the results from this testing service (though it is certainly offered by others) is the interpretation of the testing data. Not all labs provide this information, since their typical clientele (large-scale growers) are already familiar with horticultural lingo. So be sure that the lab that you choose accepts home soil samples, and that interpretative information is provided with the results.
One last thing: although spring is when people are most likely to think about garden preparation and soil test, autumn is actually the best time to have testing done. Labs are far less busy at that time, and you will have several months (instead of perhaps several days) to condition or replace your soil.
posted by mr damon at
1:40 PM
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