For Healthier Lawns and Gardens
and a Cleaner Chesapeake Bay...
Test
Your
Soil
Go to: extension.umd.edu/hgic/
soils/soil-testing for soil test
information.
Open the PDF titled List of Regional
Soil Testing Labs (HG 110a).
Select a soil testing lab from the list
and click on the link to go directly to
the lab’s website.
Order the basic soil test that gives
readings for soil pH (acidity/alkalinity),
calcium, phosphate, potassium, and
magnesium levels. Some labs include
lead in their basic test. If you’re
planting a vegetable garden, ask for
a lead test.
Follow the lab’s instructions for taking
and submitting soil samples. Collect
separate samples for lawn and
garden areas.
Follow These
5 EASY STEPS
“Ask an Expert”
Contact the Home and Garden Information Center
if you have questions about how to take a soil sample
or about the results and recommendations you receive
from the lab. Go to:
extension.umd.edu/hgic and
click on the Get Help tab.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
When to Test Your Soil
• New Lawns: Test after grading, but before seeding.
• Vegetable Gardens: Test every three years.
• Established Lawns, Landscape Plants, and
Perennial Gardens:
Test every 3-4 years.
• It’s best to test in the fall.
Did You Know?…
• No special kits or bags are required—just a clean
plastic bag.
• Costs vary from $9 - $20 per sample for the basic test.
• Results are typically available in about two weeks.
• The results will include recommendations for fertilizer
and lime, if needed.
• For lawns only: Follow Maryland’s Lawn Fertilizer
Law and apply nitrogen to lawns based on University
of Maryland guidelines, not the recommendation
provided by the lab. Visit: extension.umd.edu/hgic/
plants/fertilizing-lawns for instructions.
Follow These
5 EASY STEPS
Why Should I Have My Soil Tested?
• Soil testing takes the guesswork out of
gardening and lawn care.
• A soil test can help you diagnose plant
and lawn problems
and determine what
type of plants to grow.
• Lab results provide fertilizer/soil
amendment recommendations unique to your
lawn or garden.
• Soil testing saves money that might otherwise be
spent on unneeded products such as lime and fertilizer.
• Soil testing helps protect streams, rivers, and the
Chesapeake Bay
from excess nutrients.
mda.maryland.gov/fertilizer
extension.umd.edu/hgic/soils/soil-testing
How Soil pH Affects Fertility
• The soil’s pH level is important because it
influences a plant’s ability to absorb nutri-
ents from the soil. No amount of fertilizer
can make plants grow in soil that has the
wrong pH.
• The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14. A pH of
7 is neutral. Soils with pH levels below 7.0 are acidic
and soils with pH levels above 7.0 are alkaline or basic.
It’s a logarithmic scale: a soil pH of 6.0 is ten times
more acidic than a soil pH of 7.0.
• Some plants prefer acidic soils and others grow best in
alkaline soils.
• Most garden and landscape plants grow best in soils
with a pH of 5.5–7.0.
• Lawns grow best in soil that is neutral to slightly acidic
(between 6.0 and 6.8).
• Acid-loving plants like azaleas, rhododendrons, and
blueberries grow best in soils with a pH of 4.5 to 5.5.
• The pH level for vegetable gardens should be in the
6.2-6.8 range. Soil pH can be lowered by adding sulfur
or raised by adding limestone based on your soil test
recommendations.
Grow Smarter –Know Your Soil
MDA 15.07.18 Recycled Paper
