Increasing the Yield!
October 23, 2010
Soil fertility fluctuates throughout the growing season each year. With the SVCA gardening season winding down, it was time to do a little soil research to determine what our garden plots needed.
Keith Martin from Labette County Extension office came to SVCA to help take the guesswork out of the kind and amount of fertilization we would need to put in our gardens to help maintain good plant health and maximum crop productivity.
Keith Martin spoke with SVCA students on how to take a soil sample. SVCA students used a probe to take soil sample cores from six to eight different locations in each of SVCA gardens. The soil cores were put in a bucket and mixed thoroughly. The soil was placed in a sample bag and labeled to ensure analysis of each specific garden.
The soil samples were then sent to Kansas State University to determine the amount of nutrients available in each of the eight SVCA gardens and determine what nutrients were needed to improve soil quality. This is the same process our local farmers use to determine what fertilizer their large fields need to get the best yield per acre.
SVCA will be anxiously awaiting the results of our soil testing so we to can improve our yields.
