NJ Tree and Lawn Care Services by Plant Solutions:
New Jersey lawn and tree soil testing services
Soil testing is a necessary component for any lawn because it can tell you the general health of your lawn, trees, shrubs and other plant life you have in your landscaping. Not all soil tests are equal, either. Plant Solutions NJ has a comprehensive soil test solution that delivers important insights to truly understand how balanced your soil is. You can download and example report here.
Some other reasons you may want to conduct a soil test are:
-
To understand the total health of your trees, plants and lawn, ensuring all nutrients are balanced.
-
To increase the effectiveness of your fertilizing efforts - pH balanced soil plus fertilizers delivers beautiful results!
-
Protect your landscape against environmental stressors such as diseases and insect infestations.
-
Soil testing can also help you cut your fertilization costs because your landscaping is getting everything it needs to grow on its own.
Soil testing explained - things to know
-
When the pH is wrong, nothing works right – not fertilizers, not weed killers, and especially not the biological components within the soil.
-
When the organic matter content is low…the soil is unproductive, and crops, trees or turf lack the energy sources to help them grow.
-
When soluble salts and chlorides are too high, the microbes that live in the soil and help aerate and digest dead plant material (turning them into organic material) are killed, thereby increasing soil compaction.
-
When the soil is compacted, not enough air, water or nutrients can enter the root zone, so the plants suffer greatly.
-
When the soluble salts and chlorides are too high, the roots gets burned, significantly reducing the amount of water and nutrients the plant can absorb.
-
When nutrients are out of balance with each other, in either short or excessive supply, or not available for the plant’s use, the plant is not as healthy and therefore more susceptible to disease and insect attacks.
-
When secondary & micro nutrients are lacking, plants are weak and damaged more easily by wear & tear, drought conditions and insect/disease problems.
Understanding soil test results
These conditions cannot be determined accurately unless a comprehensive soil test is taken.
The soil test will determine what unhealthy conditions exist and what corrective actions are required. Without soil testing, here are some possible health issues that could occur to your landscape:
For turf
Thatch, weed, insect and disease problems will inevitably develop resulting in additional chemical usage, mechanical intervention and unnecessary costs.
For trees & shrubs
Fewer/smaller blossoms, reduced leaf size and vigor, slower growth and greater likelihood for disease.
For agriculture
Lower yields, increased N-P-K requirements (more expense) reduced nutrient levels, and less drought and disease tolerance.
For gardens
Whether flowers or vegetables, quantity, quality, shelf life and, in the case of food crops, nutritional content are all impacted by poor soil quality and nutrient imbalance.
