One thing that I hear people talk about is the safety of their soil and general health. When I first started gardening as an adult, I thought I needed the best seeds to get a good harvest. You know, the overpriced ones that are heirloom, organic, non-GMO, kissed by celestial beings in the Andes. As I felt like I was learning, I realized soil is important, like crucially important. I started using raised beds, buying the expensive soils, you name it. I had to have fast growing plants.
Time travel to now, I’m learning to be patient with my yields, and faster doesn’t always mean tastier. And raised beds aren’t always the answer. One thing we’re doing to prepare for the start of the garden is to have the soil tested. I would recommend doing this for a couple of reasons, I’ll go down the list below.
- Understanding Nutrient Composition – the general test will give us results in terms of what nutrients are available.
- Understanding Deficiencies – if we know what our soil is lacking, we will have an easier time adding soil amendments.
- Toxins – the site hasn’t had any pollutants but it’s nice to rule it out.
We are working with Wallace Labs located in El Segundo – the initial test is $80 and hormone growth inhibitor testing is another $120 bucks = $200 total. I’m putting this out there for full transparency. Check them out here if you’re interested, they’re very professional, even when lugging in dirt to drop on their desk!
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Dropping off Soil -
This is an XL soil sample -
Wallace Labs El Segundo