Soil Testing
Those interested in having their soil tested may do so through Virginia Tech. There are soil test kits available from the public libraries in Loudoun County. Basically, the kit consists of a small cardboard box and instructions. You only need one kit per parcel of land, the idea is to take samples from different parts of your property and mix them together, dry the soil and send to Blacksburg for testing. The program is run through the VA Cooperative extension in partnership with Virginia Tech. Soil testing is useful for obtaining information on what is going on with your soil, especially prior to undertaking a large planting or establishing a vegetable garden. The soil is alive, it contains micro and macro organisms, water, and minerals. Organic gardeners focus on feeding and building their soil, which in turn provides nutrients for plants within their micro-habitat. I mainly wanted to test for how much organic matter was in my soil, especia...