If you are a homeowner, landscaper, farmer, or farm owner, I urge you to pay special attention to the information I share with you in this column today. If you have any association at all with plants and soils, you need to know just how important it is that you know the basic conditions of the soils in which your plants grow.

It does not matter if you are growing farm crops for a living, own farmland that is used for growing trees or crops, have a small home vegetable garden, try to maintain an attractive landscape on your own, in the business of developing and maintaining landscapes for others, or just own a few prize plants such as pecan trees or grapevines. The condition of the soils in which your plants are growing is very important. These soils must be in good condition for the plants to do what you expect them to do. You will never know the condition of these soils unless you periodically take good soil samples. Your plants will do their best when you follow the recommendations from the laboratory that analyzes your samples.

Here in North Carolina we are very fortunate that the North Carolina Department of Agriculture provides soil sample analysis at no cost for citizens of the state. This includes all citizens, not just farmers.

I am often asked, "when is a good time to take soil samples?" Actually, there is no bad time to take soil samples, unless it is immediately following heavy rains when the soils are saturated. If your soils have not been sampled within the past two to three years, if you are experiencing problems with the plants you are trying to grow, or if you are planning to plant new or different crops, you should take the time to get some good soil samples.

Although there is no bad time to take soil samples, this time of the year is the most ideal time. The soil labs in Raleigh are not yet overwhelmed with the thousands of samples that will be sent in by farmers when they finish harvesting their crops and start planning for the coming year. Soils samples sent to the lab at this time of the year will be processed within a few days, and you will not have to wait for weeks and weeks to get the results back from your samples.

Most importantly, by taking samples at this time of the year, you can get the results of those samples early enough that you will have plenty of time to prepare for next year's growing season. If your soils are acid and lime is needed, you can apply the lime this fall, so it will have time to become activated by the time the plants start growing next spring. You will know ahead of time what fertilizers or plant nutrients are needed, so you can make plans in advance to purchase and properly apply exactly what is needed. If there are special problems with your soils, you will know in advance what needs to be done to get the soils back into the right condition.

You might ask, "why are soil samples so important?" Soils are the very foundation of plant life. Without proper soils, no plant will be able to perform as it should. Here in Robeson County most of our soils tend to be acid because of the mineral composition of the soils. If the soils are too acid, plants cannot grow properly. Any fertilizers we might apply will most likely not provide the benefits for the plants that we expect and need. Many of the herbicides we apply will not control weeds as well as they should. Plants will be weakened and be more susceptible to diseases and insects, causing additional problems.

If soils are too acid, agricultural lime can be applied to bring the pH up to the level that is needed for a specific crop. However, if the soils are not acid and lime is applied anyway, the pH may become too high which will create other problems. You will never know if lime is needed or not unless you periodically take good soil samples.

All plants require a certain amount of nutrients, or fertilizer, in order to grow properly. Plants will do poorly if they do not receive enough nutrients or if they receive an unbalanced amount of nutrients. On the other hand, if too much fertilizer is applied, it may harm the plants, and it will definitely be a waste of money and create environmental problems as the excess nutrients are leached into our groundwaters or run off into our surface waters.

Although there is no charge to have soil samples analyzed, you must gather the samples and send them to the lab in Raleigh. All the supplies you need can be obtained from my office. My agricultural agents and I would welcome the opportunity to teach you how to take good soil samples and will help you understand the soil reports when you receive them from the lab. We will even help you get your samples delivered to the lab in Raleigh. Just give us a call at 671-3276 or stop by our office at the O. P. Owens Agriculture Center which is located on Highway 72 West, directly behind the old Cancer Institute.

E-mail address: Everett_Davis@ncsu.edu

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 2280
Lumberton, NC 28359-2280

Phone: 910-671-3276
Fax: 910-671-6278

Date Created 11/15/06