How To Take Soil Samples For Analysis
Soil samples are so critical and most cases it will determine if you fail or succeed. I want you to succeed so please follow along…
We all want instant results. With most things in life it takes time. Food plots are one of those things. Food plots are a excellent way to attract deer and other wildlife. With that said, if you are creating a new food plot its very very important to get a soil sample For it to grow and be palatable. Most food plotters skip this step and that’s a very silly thing to do. Some times you can plant a food plot and it may grow ok and folks will say oh i saw a few deer eating it. But what if you actually did a soil sample and corrected it? Would you see the true attracting power?
When you are creating a food plot the whole point is to help provide a nutritional food source and it needs to be the most palatable food source in the area. If it isn’t anymore palatable then anything else why would the deer eat it. Make sense? Soil samples are very cheap to do and most times you can get them done under 15 dollars. They tell you simple things you can do to have better results. It will tell you how much lime and fertilizer to add. Most cases soil PH will be low and you will need to add lime. Most times lime is fairly cheap but its a investment and that’s how you have to look at it.
I beg you not to use a liquid lime because there is a lot of false claims about it saying a gallon equals a ton of lime and nothing could be further from the truth. Will is help some? yes. But its a quick fix that doesn’t last long at all so please use actual lime.
If the soil ph is very acidic 6.5 or less when you fertilize a lot of that fertilizer cant be used by the plants. The acidity of the soils binds up the nutrients and youll end up with a poor result. Keep in mind also that when you are trying to grow deer the soil gives the nutrients to the plants and the plants give them to the deer. Deer consume 4-6 pounds of green and growing plants a day. The soil needs to be the best it can be to make healthy plants.
Some tips would be to just do it. Start it and get a soil sample. Follow what it says and add lime anytime you possibly can. What you do this year benefits next. Another tip is to check soil on the uphill side. If your plot slops down take the soil sample up hill because nutrients run down hill. The higher side will give you a more accurate result. When taking soil samples try to take the soil at around 4-5 inches deep.
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