Get your soil tested!

I know first hand from living in the Pacific Northwest that you can add organic matter, plant the right varieties, fertilize, water, manage pests and STILL have crop failures if you don't pay attention to the nutrients in your soil. There is nothing worse than seeing your lovely greens turn yellow, your tomatoes end up with blossom end rot, or your plants just stall in the ground.

The best way to avoid this kind of disappointment is to get your soil tested. If you are planning on a fall garden, now is the perfect time to find out exactly what type of soil fertility or pH issues you may have.

Don't waste your money on those cheap soil testing kits. They are often unreliable and many times don't come with any instructions on how to interpret the results. The best thing to do is to spend $10 or $15 and have the Texas AgriLife Extension Service do it for you. All you have to do is provide the soil sample.

The great thing about the Extension Service is that they will tell you exactly what you need to use for fertilizer based upon the crop you are going to grow. Lawns, shrubs, flower and vegetable beds all have different fertilizer requirements, so it's best to send in separate samples. Right now I am trying to get my fall vegetables in, so I just sent in a sample from my raised beds. Next spring I will probably test my front yard and the area I plan on planting fruit trees in.

These limestone soils in Austin can be problematic because they can have too much phosphorus. I was worried that if I added a lot of compost to my clay soils, it would cause a build up. Thanks to my soil test I found out that my vegetable garden beds are in pretty good shape. My pH is average, and more importantly, the phosphorus levels aren't too high. I can safely pour on organic matter and putter away. I plan on testing at the end of each summer until I get the hang of gardening in Texas, then will probably slack off to every other year.

If you are interested in learning more about the soils in Austin, here is a really good article from Skip Richter that I found. And if you are ready to get your soil tested, here is another link that tells you how to take a sample and where to send it. Knowing exactly what your soil needs will save you time and money. More important though, is that I will be able to show off my rich green spinach and lovely red tomatoes to the neighbors! Not that I am competitive or anything...