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I'm planning on starting a vegetable garden in my back yard and I am wondering if I need to have the soil tested for contaminants first. So people eating the harvest don't get sick. Is this necessary?

Unless you live on a nuclear dump...the soil is probably fine to use as a veggie garden! :)

If you test it, there will probably be a huge fee for the test.

If you would like to test something then you could test the soil components and pH. You can usually buy a do-it-yourself kit at a garden centre near you (or on eBay!) or you can get it done through a garden centre or send it away. These tests run about $10-$20 depending on who does them.

Also, a side note, usually you are good to go if you are producing your own food. You control the contaminants by putting pesticides (or not) on the veggies, you can save rain water really simply by setting up a few barrels or you can get a system of rain watering sprinklers...and you can control how ripe the food is that you eat. Don't worry about the little things like Organic seed (these usually don't grow well and are costly) or the soil contaminants. You can get some wonderful heirloom quality seeds from almost any seed company (my fav is Heritage seeds) these are seeds that produce true produce and have not been cross bred with anything (some are 100's of years old) and you can save seed so that you can save money by growing your own seed (another way to know that you are giving your family healthy food).

I really hope that this helps.

2007-09-06 12:44:48 by triplet dad

Learn how to prepare your garden soil for planting vegetables. From the Southwest Yard & Garden series.

I keep reading garden tips which involve "sterilised soil". What is it and how do you do it and why would you do it and what benefits are there

mainly as a last resort for eradicating pests.
good start when preparing a new garden, to avoid bringing weeds or bugs.
usually done by spreading soil in a thin layer under strong sunlight.

2006-05-01 03:40:30 by JayStar

Price: $24.99 $4.29

Delivers nearly double the yields of topsoil naturally.
Contains an exclusive mix of 100% organic ingredients
Feeds for up to 3 months.

Ok, So I did a soil test it yesterday. Can anyone help me with the results?
It was a home test kit by Ferry Morse.
The results are pH:Acid,
Nitrogen: Low
Phosphorous: Medium
Potash: Low

Ok, So what does this mean for my garden?
Thanks in advance!
More Details: The test say's 6.0 Acid for pH, the other results were just low and medium, no decimables. I'll be growing veggies, corn, beans, tomatoes, potatoes, and more.
If I need to add something, How much should I add or how do I figure what I need?
There are so many types of fertilizers out there..
We're in zone 7, Maryland, Sandy soil. Going to plant potatoes on St. Patricks Day.

Ph Acid This means that you can grow acid loving plants such as blueberries. Most plants prefer a pH of 6 to 6.5 If you are too acid, I would have to know your reading, most garden vegetables will not do well unless your soil tests in the 6 to 7 pH range. Adding lime to your soil will help reduce the acid. also you will need to begin to mulch heavily.

Nitrogen low-this means that little to no mulching or vegetable matter has been added to the soil. Grass clippings are an excellent source of nitrogen. Grass clippings can be placed around your plants but do not let fresh grass clippings touch the plants. You can allow the grass to dry and then shovel it under into the soil. You can also plant a ground cover in late summer than can be dug into the soil in the spring.

Phosphorus- you probably do not want to add any fertilizer to your garden that has a heavy phosphorous ingredient.

Potash-low Burned wood ashes are great for upping potash in the soil. Just be sure that if you are adding ashes that only wood has been used and not other stuff such as paper, foil, etc.

I am an organic gardener so these are "organic" suggestions. You can add fertilizer but fertilizer is not long lasting. Your best bet is to start composting and use compost in your soil. Before you begin your garden this year, add lime, rototil the lime in add lots of material into your soil. Examples: shredded leaves from your yard, decomposed wood chips, etc. Your soil needs care. Also, the best way to get a real accurate soil test is to contact your local USDA agricultural extension. The cost varies from $12 to $20 but you will get a real accurate assessment of your soil and you will get specific recommendations at to what you need to do. The results will tell you how much lime per square feet. It will tell you if there is lead in your soil. It will tell you what to use to balance your pH. The home kits are not worth what you get from the USDA for the same price.

2007-03-12 06:40:02 by Corinne

Price: $11.99 $11.48

Great for flowers and plants
8 lb bag
Also, great for herbs and vegetables

can i plant aquatic plants in garden soil IF i am not planning to put any fish in that pond i just want my cobomba, java fern etc. to grow fast i give it natural sunlight and rain. what sub straits should i add? is regular garden soil ok?
can i mix it with soil and use?

Buy a bag of aquatic soil and plant in baskets. Java fern doesn't grow in the substrate anyway
As previously mentioned the problem is the roots become anaerobic and rot - and stink!

2008-11-23 22:38:47 by nic

I grow veggies in my backyard. When I originally dug the garden, the soil was mostly clay. I added a lot of topsoil to it and grew a summer's worth of veggies.

The next summer (this summer) the soil was rock hard. I ripped my hands up trying to break up the large chunks of hard topsoil/clay. I don't want to go through that again next year.

At the end of this summer, is there something I can add to the soil to prevent it from hardening? It has to be safe to grow veggies in.

Thanks in advance.
10 points will be awarded....I need help!

unit & Julie gave you a great answers:

Gypsum & organic matter

Gypsum will help break down the clay. The organic matter will do the best as far as making it easy to work. Organic matter means tilling a lot of manure, leaves, grass, etc into your garden. Clay is hard ground, but it holds nutrients and water well. The more organic matter you add to it the better it become.

I know this may sound a little much, but I normally put about a 4 inch thick layer of rabbit manure on my garden each year. Rabbit manure is better than the other manures because it is not acidic and it doesn't have weed seeds in it like cattle or horse manure does. My dad and I have done that for several years on the garden at my parent's place and that soil is now rich and black and real easy to till. I now have my own home and am starting to add plent of rabbit manure to mine to make it grow better and work easier since I till mine by hand since I have a small garden.

Pete moss can add water absorbing ability to your soil, but with clay that should already be good. And the more organic matter you ad, no matter what it is it will help hold water and nutrients.

One thing I do recommend though, don't add all of the stuff this summer. Wait till fall so it has time to break down in the ground over winter. Some things like straw and other organic matter draw nitrogen out of the soil while they are breaking down and don't actually start putting nitrogen back into the soil until they have broken down.

2007-06-13 06:10:37 by star_lite57