Is our soil any good?
November 14, 2010 5:07 PM Subscribe
We are interested in buying a block of land, and would like to know if the soil is good quality for growing produce. How can we learn more about the soil? can we have it tested?
This is in Australia: We would like to know more about the properties of the soil on some land we would like to purchase. Is there anywhere we can take a sample? Who is qualified to tell us if land is suitable for growing produce like vegetables and fruit trees? We have observed that people close by seem to have no trouble growing regular gardens, but we would like to go deeper in understanding the properties of the soil. Any tips?
This is in Australia: We would like to know more about the properties of the soil on some land we would like to purchase. Is there anywhere we can take a sample? Who is qualified to tell us if land is suitable for growing produce like vegetables and fruit trees? We have observed that people close by seem to have no trouble growing regular gardens, but we would like to go deeper in understanding the properties of the soil. Any tips?
You could send a sample to a soil lab like APAL. They've even got a report aimed at home gardeners to help them maximize their soil's potential.
posted by katemonster at 5:15 PM on November 14, 2010
posted by katemonster at 5:15 PM on November 14, 2010
Response by poster: Thank you - great answers. Appreciated.
posted by lottie at 5:19 PM on November 14, 2010
posted by lottie at 5:19 PM on November 14, 2010
The national soil survey is fairly broad-scale, but will give you an idea of the basic soil type most common to an area. What's actually there can vary wildly within even a single small farm. If you're looking at land in a rural or semi-rural area, I'd suggest either talking to a few old-time locals or ringing the local DPI office for an informal chat.
If you're planning on just a few trees & veges for yourself & friends, then you'd want at least an experienced local eye to look over the land (to get an idea of what soil types might be where) & some simple testing you can do yourself. If you're planning on farming for fun and profit, then I'd recommend a proper soil survey + lab testing.
(Seriously, most Australians don't realise how crap our soils are, especially once you get away from the coastal plains. In general they're old, organic nutrients are in sparse supply, and inorganics have long been leached away. In many cases they're not much good for anything other than stopping your plants from falling over (and often fairly average at even that!), so for agriculture you need to start with the best possible soil structure and do everything you can to maintain and upgrade it.)
posted by Pinback at 6:23 PM on November 14, 2010 [1 favorite]
If you're planning on just a few trees & veges for yourself & friends, then you'd want at least an experienced local eye to look over the land (to get an idea of what soil types might be where) & some simple testing you can do yourself. If you're planning on farming for fun and profit, then I'd recommend a proper soil survey + lab testing.
(Seriously, most Australians don't realise how crap our soils are, especially once you get away from the coastal plains. In general they're old, organic nutrients are in sparse supply, and inorganics have long been leached away. In many cases they're not much good for anything other than stopping your plants from falling over (and often fairly average at even that!), so for agriculture you need to start with the best possible soil structure and do everything you can to maintain and upgrade it.)
posted by Pinback at 6:23 PM on November 14, 2010 [1 favorite]
if you're not doing this for commercial horticulture (and you're not, because the question is from that stance naive), chances are excellent that your soils are either already good enough, or are easily improved.
But start with a simple pH test, available from any nursery or hardware store.
posted by wilful at 6:28 PM on November 14, 2010
But start with a simple pH test, available from any nursery or hardware store.
posted by wilful at 6:28 PM on November 14, 2010
It depends what you want to test. Testing for toxins (industrial, agricultural), testing the pH or testing for nutrients etc. You can do a few of these yourselves with a pH kit or a fuller soil testing kit but if you suspect toxins, a professional test will be needed.
If you want soil for growing veggies etc, you can make poor soil into good soil by adding the right organic materials. The kits above will help you decide what your soil needs.
posted by Kerasia at 7:09 PM on November 14, 2010
If you want soil for growing veggies etc, you can make poor soil into good soil by adding the right organic materials. The kits above will help you decide what your soil needs.
posted by Kerasia at 7:09 PM on November 14, 2010
Find someone who has horses and offer to muck out the horses in exchange for the muck. Rototill that into your soil and Bingo decent soil. Also start composting all of your waste bits of fruit and veggies and other organic material (shredded paper is great) and just keep piling it on. Eventually you will have wonderful soil.
You can grow plants easily in just manure that is well rotted so even if the soil is just sand it will be fine given enough manure.
posted by koolkat at 1:47 AM on November 15, 2010
You can grow plants easily in just manure that is well rotted so even if the soil is just sand it will be fine given enough manure.
posted by koolkat at 1:47 AM on November 15, 2010
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I am sure you can get it tested and for not very great expense, but I'm in the U.S., I don't know where one does that in Australia. :)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 5:13 PM on November 14, 2010