What will my soil test tell me?

After you have returned your soil sample to CALMAR, we will return your test results to you in the mail. These results will include:

Magnesium Organic Matter Cation Exchange Capacity (C.E.C.) Percent Base Saturations for potassium, calcium, magnesium,
and hydrogen (when applicable)

Now, if you happen to be a soil scientist, these results may be more to you than just a bunch of meaningless numbers. However, we know that even if you know what potassium is and even if you know what potassium does and even if you know where to get potassium, you may not know how much should be in the soil.

Because of this, another feature of the CALMAR soil test report is a bar graph. This will show you how your soil test ranks relative to optimum levels. Using the bar graph you can easily see which nutrients are low and which are high.

Just knowing what is wrong with the soil is no good unless you have some idea of what to do to correct it. This is what the CALMAR recommendation is for. We will provide you with individual nutrient recommendations for the three major nutrients needed by all plants:

We will also recommend lime or sulfur as needed to attempt to optimize the soil pH.

Your recommendations will be in terms of pounds of each nutrient or lime or sulfur that should be applied per thousand square feet. We will provide information that will help you determine what fertilizer is needed based on your soil test and what you are trying to grow. Your local garden center or extension agent can be a valuable resource in providing even more specific information about products to use in your area.

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