Do you want to be a frustrated, boggled gardener or one who is empowered with information? Silly question, I know, but the way many home gardeners operate, it seems that they want to choose confusion over knowledge. Before you even till the soil under or plant a single seed, you need to know what kind of soil that you’re working with. This information will guide you throughout your gardening and alert you to problems before they even happen, all without costing you much at all.
It’s a simple fact that different vegetables appreciate different pH levels and nutrients in the soil. Knowing what the pH level of the soil for your garden plot is can help you space out what plants can naturally thrive in which locations. A soil tester can also tell you that your soil is just not ready to grow a certain type of vegetable yet.
What can you do in that situation? Well, no soil is irredeemable. Once you know the pH level of your soil, you can add lime or sulphur to make it less acidic or more acidic, depending on what your soil is and what you’re trying to grow. You can also keep your soil at a stable, neutral pH in the long run by fostering the growth of earthworms in your garden and using compost for a natural and organic fertilizer.
You may think at first that such powerful information about your garden would come at quite a high price. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. A basic soil tester is quite affordable and will provide you will good information. For more detailed information and instructions on your garden, you can send away a soil sample to a testing lab. I would say that this is only necessary if you’re having trouble growing things in your garden or the stakes are high for some reason, like you want to enter your vegetables in a fair or other competition.
No matter what sort of gardening you’re doing, you will be sure to benefit from the use of a soil tester. It will give you the information you need to make smart gardening decisions instead of playing guessing games.
