We are accepting appointments for this spring. Click here to purchase soil samples and get on the list! You may also email our Conservation Planner Nat Bickford-
Our services include soil sampling to Worcester County landowners and occupiers. For a reasonable $50 per sample and $35 for each additional sample, Nat will visit your site and take soil samples, dry your samples and mail them to the Soil Lab at University of Maine in Orono, ME. If interested, once the lab has finished their analysis, our Nat can walk you through the results, and can make recommendations based on your needs.
Each sample sent to the lab will be made up of several sub-samples taken from different areas of your yard, which will give you a better representation. We collect samples according to the USDA-NRCS protocols, and recommend one sample per “management unit,” which means sampling your lawn separately from your garden, for example. This allows for greater accuracy of results and to make sure you get appropriate fertilizer recommendations.
The sample(s) will be brought back to our office, where they will be dried and send to the Soil Lab. We currently offer UMaine’s routine soil analysis, including organic matter. This includes pH, plant-available nutrients (P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, B, S), lead (Pb), and aluminum (Al), and cation exchange capacity and base saturation. The methods used in UMaine’s lab were developed to be used for New England soils and climate. The results take up to several weeks.
The cost is $50 per sample, and $35 per each additional sample. If you have an average garden, it’s not likely that you will need to take more than one sample, but we can determine your needs on site. We are happy to help interpret test results if there is a specific product or management technique you’d like to use.
