"Bob S." wrote in message
om...
"Ben Blackmore" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I've been reading posts in the group about trying to get clay soil
in a
better condition.

Most people seem to be at the general consensus that you need to
add gypsum,
peat moss and sand, along with other organic material. But someone
mentioned
that before you go adding too much stuff to it, you should get the
soil
tested for ph balance, to make sure you don't make a bad problem
worse! My
question is...how do you test the soil? I'm fairly knew to
gardening in
general, I used to just potter around at home with my parents,
however now I
have my own place, with very very thick clay soil!

Cheers

Ben

You should get your soil worked up using the materials you mentioned
before getting a soil test. You want to test the soil you are going
to
plant in, i.e. the finished product. For example, gypsum will
probably
change your soil's pH so you want to test it after the gypsum is in
the soil.

Don't waste your money on a DIY soil test kit! The agricultural
professors at a local major college did a study of numerous
different
DIY kits from various retail outlets. Many soil samples were checked
with the kits and then checked against their lab equipment. The
results varied drastically, some not even in the same ballbark.

I have used the chemical pH test sets available from garden centres on
many occasions. I have compared the results with measurements using a
professional pH meter. The results always agreed well enough for
gardening purposes. The bad errors invariably arise from poorly
chosen samples, bad preparation of the samples and the use of tap
water or rain water instead of deionised or distilled water

Here's what you need to do. In the garden to be tested, take a
sample
from 5 or 6 different places in the garden/yard. Take about a cup of
soil 6 inches below the surface at these points. Mix all the samples
together thoroughly - this gives you an average for the whole
garden.
Put about 2 cups of this mixed soil in a baggie and take it to your
local Extension Service office.

What is a local Extension Service office?

They should be listed listed on the
phone book under County Government.

There is no entry "County Government" in my phone book

Price usually runs from $5-$10.

The US Dollar is not legal tender in the United Kingdom.
What on earth are you talking about?

Tell them what you intend to grow in the spot -flowers, vegetables,
grass, etc. They will send it to a lab for analysis. They will mail
you a complete detailed analysis, not just pH level, with
instructions
on how to correct any deficiencies.

You must be joking.

Good luck on your project.

Franz