Collecting Soil Samples for pH and Other Testing

It is important to get a representative sample of any area you wish to monitor, almost regardless of the size of the plot or field, since you will be treating the area in the same way. Unless there is a significant difference in the soil across particular parts of a field you will expect to treat a whole field in the same way and therefore you can combine your samples for testing.

The total amount to be collected for each test is between a half and one kilogram.

Collect the samples in a roughly 'W' pattern, with sample points at fairly regular intervals, put each sample in a clean polythene bag and label it clearly.

To make the sampling process easier, use a soil auger that takes a representative core sample, then either send your samples to a laboratory or use a soil testing kit, such as those available from Novanna.

Repeated testing over a period of about a year or more will help you to build a picture of your soil's character and response to treatments, climate, planting, harvesting and so on, while a more prolonged period of testing can only add to your understanding of your soil's behaviour.

Soil pH Testing and pH Meters

Chemists use pH as a measure of acidity or alkalinity, on a scale from 0 to 14. The higher the pH number the more alkaline a substance or mixture is, and 'neutral' is therefore around pH 7.

As it happens, this neutral pH is also the best acidity level in soils and growing media for the majority of plants, as it allows nutrients in the soil to be released and absorbed by the plants' roots. This acidity can be measured in a number of ways, including liquid analysis using indicator strips (like the litmus paper you might have used in school chemistry lessons) or electronic measurement of soil activity or conductivity (measuring the level of positive hydrogen ions in the soil), with pH meters.

Acidity can be different when the soil is 'resting' compared with when crops are actively growing and so it's important to measure the pH of your soil at different times of year and at different stages of the growing cycle to build a clear picture of your soil's pH cycle.

Soil can also have very high levels of nutrients 'locked up' due to non-optimal pH, and adding fertiliser to soil in these circumstances is expensive and wasteful.

By measuring at testing your own soil you can take these measurements as often as you like and in as many sample sites as you wish, to build a full understanding of your soil and take the appropriate action (often simply liming) without overdoing it 'just to make sure'.

A full range of soil analysis kits and equipment is available to buy online directly from Novanna Measurement Systems. 

Article - Why Soil Analysis?

We've added a new page to the main website, called Soil Analysis - the Whats and Whys.

On that page you'll find an explanation of the role of soil analysis in optimising crop yield and nutritional value by making existing soil nutrients available to growing plants, thereby minimising waste and pollution from excessive fertiliser and chemical use.

You'll the article at http://www.novanna.co.uk/why-soil-analysis

Soil Analysis and Testing - New Video

Here's the latest video from Novanna, highlighting our soil analysis and testing equipment. We also supply all ancillaries and consumables for soil analysis and other agricultural measurements.



This is a perfect time of year to test and analyse your soil and Novanna will deliver your analysis kits and equipment within days of ordering online at www.novanna.co.uk.

Agricultural Measurement Systems, Soil Analysis and More

Our new video has just been uploaded to Youtube, and here its is!



As`you can see, the video explains many of the types of products available online from Novanna, including soil analysis test kits, water test kits and biogas measurement and control systems.

Soil Analysis - When to Test Your Soil

Soil can be tested at any time, as long as you're not suffering a prolonged drought and no nitrates or sulphur have been applied recently. "Recently" in this instance means about 30 days for nitrates and about 3 months for sulphur.

You can test your soil when crops are growing, and doing so will help you to plan any treatment that may be needed after harvest. Testing bare stubble fields may give unrealistically lower nutrient levels, but measuring your soils pH at this stage will give you a good guide to the need for liming.

If you haven't tested your soil for a while, then the best time for testing is right now. You can get soil testing and soil analysis kits delivered from Novanna within a few days, saving you the waiting time for lab results and giving you control over your soil analysis and conditions.

Testing Soil pH

Measuring and controlling the pH value of soil is essential for commercial growers, as each crop variety has an optimal pH range to produce the maximum yield.

In general, the optimum pH range for uptake of nutrients is around 6.5 to 7 but this will vary for individual varieties. A value significantly higher (more alkaline) or lower (more acidic) will affect the availability of essential nutrients and hinder plant growth and development.

Testing the soil yourself in situ means you can quickly detect and address a non-optimal soil pH without needing to wait for lab results. The same goes for all aspects of soil, and test kits are available to test each important characteristic of your soil.

Until recently, buying agricultural quality soil testing kits online was very difficult, but now Novanna Measurement Systems offers you a complete range of pH measuring devices in our online shop.

Each of the soil testing kits and other measurement systems we offer will give you all the speed and accuracy you need to get the maximum yield from your agriculture or horticulture business.

Why Carry Out Soil Testing?

There are numerous reasons for testing your soil, just as there are many characteristics of soil that you can test, either for agriculture and horticulture or for civil engineering and construction.

But soil testing for farmers and growers mainly helps you take control of your soil and create optimum growing conditions with the minimal use of pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers.

These chemicals are not just potentially harmful to the environment, they are also expensive to apply in large quantities. With our equipment and your expertise and experience as a farmer or grower, Novanna helps you produce better, more nutritious crops or healthier animals, and all at lower cost.

Reducing the chemical usage on one field will probably save you the price of the test equipment!

Soil testing, water testing and biogas equipment are all available from the Novanna website, to buy online today. Delivery takes about a week (sometimes less) and we're constantly adding to our range of top-quality testing and measurement equipment for agriculture, horticulture, biogas and similar industries.

Visit www.Novanna.co.uk and find the best range of testing and measuring equipment available online.