Soil Acidity and How It Can Affect Your Home

Not sure why grass—or anything else—seems impossible to grow on your property? It might have to do with the acidity of the soil. If you don’t know the pH of the soil on your land, you might be using the wrong fertilizer or lawn care products, making it impossible for grass and other plants to thrive. Consider testing your soil acidity in Hudson, CO—it’s the only way to know for sure what’s causing problems for your lawn.

Why test your soil?

Testing your soil allows you to find out its exact makeup. Soil testing can determine the appropriate fertilizer for your crops or lawn, based on the amount of phosphorus, nitrogen, limestone and potassium present, as well as micronutrients. This is important because if your soil is already rich in one element, like potassium, using a fertilizer that’s high in potassium would have deleterious effects on your crop growth. In turn, when you use the right fertilizer, your plants will thrive—residential areas will notice lush grass and healthy trees and plants, while agricultural properties will see higher yields and can plan to replace the nutrients that the crops drain from the soil.

If you’re a residential property owner, testing your soil is an inexpensive way to make sure you’re not accidentally killing your lawn, and agricultural land owners will appreciate the opportunity to ensure they’re not wasting thousands of dollars on the wrong fertilizer, only to be rewarded with lackluster crops.

The soil testing process

To get your soil tested, you’ll first need to retrieve a sample. You can use a regular garden trowel or a specialized piece of equipment, like a soil probe, soil auger or sampling tube. Aim to sample at a depth of four to six inches, and remove any debris, thatch or grass that comes out along with the soil. Repeat this step six more times, then mix all the soil together. You should have about a pint of soil at this point.

Next, let the soil dry out over a period of roughly 24 hours—spread the soil on newspaper and allow it to air dry. (There’s no need to use heaters or fans unless you live in a truly humid environment in which the soil won’t dry on its own.) If it’s still slightly damp, that’s okay—most residential soil testing facilities in Hudson, CO can tolerate some dampness.

Finally, label the container and return it to the testing facility, and wait for the detailed results, which will help you determine the appropriate adjustments to make and identify which fertilizer to use.

Schedule residential soil testing in Hudson, CO

When you’re interested in testing your soil’s acidity, contact High Plains Engineering & Design, LLC. Since 2006, we have offered the Hudson area a complete array of civil engineering and project management services, including geotechnical, structural and environmental engineering for residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural properties. Reach out to us today to learn more about what we can do for you.

Categorised in: House Building