Guides
Garden soil test
Use a lab report you already have — this page covers how a sample is taken and which field names often appear on a report. It does not sell a kit or prescribe lime or fertilizer. Interpretive bands wait on a sourced registry. Save a reading as a record, not a program.
Results are educational context, not a diagnosis or treatment recommendation. Use the lab report, local guidance, and your site conditions before changing a soil or crop-management program.
A soil sample ready for a lab report.
What the sources say — at a glance
One source per card. Facts are not averaged.
Iowa State Extension (Iowa)
Without existing grass, dig to 6 inches; with grass, 3 inches. Mix many small slices; they describe repeating the slice 15 times and submitting 3 cups.
Details and limits (3)
Sampling
For areas without existing grass they describe digging to 6 inches; for areas with grass, 3 inches. Sampling depth on their sheet — not a nutrient interpretation.
Sampling
A sample sent for testing is a mixture of many small samples; they describe repeating the slice 15 times, mixing in a pail, and submitting 3 cups. Lab-process note — not a kit sale and not a reading of results.
Limit
Iowa sampling sheet. Not a kit sale and not lime or fertilizer.
Arizona Extension (Arizona)
A basic soil test usually includes nitrate-nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, pH, and electrical conductivity. Field names — not interpretive bands.
Details and limits (2)
Report
They list a basic soil test as usually including nitrate-nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, pH, and electrical conductivity. Field names on a report — not interpretive bands and not an amendment list.
Limit
Arizona sheet. Field names are not an amendment list.
Make it yours
Save the bed in the Field Book so next season is not a guess.
Verified suppliers only
No supplier on this page
When a partner is listed, it will be outbound and disclosed. Nothing to buy here. Fertilizer, soils, and pesticides stay off this slot.
How can I get a garden soil sample tested?
Cooperative Extension offices and independent labs run tests. Follow the lab’s sampling sheet. This site does not sell a tester or prescribe an amendment from a number.
How we know — methodology. Ranges and assertions are cited per source, not blended.