Soil Testing: A Practical Guide to Ensure Your Trees Thrive

Soil testing, a crucial step before tree planting, offers many benefits. It pinpoints nutrient deficiencies, reduces resource wastage, and reveals your soil’s pH level and nutrient needs, among other things. This knowledge is key to ensuring your tree or trees thrive. The optimal time for soil testing is a few weeks before planting.

You can test the soil with a home testing kit, readily available at garden centers and big box stores. Or, you can go to a soil testing lab like the University of Rhode Island’s Cooperative Extension. You can also go to private companies that offer soil testing services.
Tips on Soil Testing Yourself
Below is a step-by-step breakdown of how to test your soil:

1. Gather your tools—You’ll need a clean trowel or spade, a bucket, and a permanent marker. Wear gloves for ease of handling soil, and use a stainless steel or chrome-plated soil probe. Brass, bronze, or galvanized tools can contaminate samples with copper or zinc.
2. Choose the testing method—Decide whether you’ll use a home test kit (faster but less accurate) or send a sample to a lab (more precise but takes longer).
3. Target planting area—Collect samples from where you plan to plant your tree.
4. Sample depth—Aim for 6-12 inches deep, where tree roots will establish. (If you’re testing soil for lawns, go 3 inches down.)
5. Multiple samples—Take 10-15 samples in a zig-zag pattern to get a good representation of the area. Avoid areas with obvious signs of contamination or recent fertilization.
6. Mix it up—In your clean bucket, combine all the collected soil samples and mix them thoroughly. Remove any large rocks or other non-soil particles from the soil.
7. Sample amount—Depending on your chosen testing method, take the recommended amount of the composite sample (usually 1-2 cups) for testing. Label the container with your name, collection date, and intended planting area.
   Soil testing is a valuable tool that can help ensure your tree’s success. If you’re unsure about the process contact RI Tree. Our experts can provide the guidance and support you need to test your soil successfully.