Soil Test Results
Evaluating soil test results is important when it comes to avoiding problems that may arise with contaminants in the soil. Contaminants can refer to toxins like heavy metals, fuel spills, and lead. Some soil tests can also test for an imbalance of nutrients in the soil.
Types of Soil Tests
Nutrient Imbalance Tests
Thirteen out of sixteen essential nutrients for plants are absorbed through soil, and soil can acquire and replenish these nutrients through fertilizer. Proper nutrient balance has to be maintained in order to keep your soil healthy. An imbalance of nutrients can lead to nutrient deficiency, toxicity, or one nutrient interfering with absorbing other nutrients.
Testing for Toxins
We at Environmental Innovative Technologies specialize in soil testing kits for heavy and toxic metals. Soils tainted with heavy metals from industrial pollution and sewage sludge may poison organisms that live in the soil. Soil associated environmental contaminants such as toxic heavy metals can cause serious long term health effects, such as; tooth and bone aches, headaches, neurological and intellectual impairment, cancer, kidney damage, autoimmunity disorders as well as joint diseases.
One of the challenges that comes with maintaining healthy soil is interpreting soil test results. When people test their soil at home, which they can do with one of our soil testing kits, they will receive results back from the lab. Making sense of these results can be confusing for most people.
Getting Accurate Soil Test Results
The first step is to make sure you’re getting back accurate soil test results, which all has to do with how you take the soil test samples. When collecting a sample of soil for testing, don’t take any soil that’s near roads, fences, trees, fertilizer, or anything else that can contaminate the sample. Ideally the sample should be a representation of your entire lawn or garden.
If you’re testing soil because you’re concerned about growth of plants, grass, or crops in your garden it’s important to know that a soil test cannot determine if there are external factors affecting your soil. This includes factors like unseasonably high or low temperatures, improper drainage, diseases, pests, weeds, and so on. In addition, labs use a variety of testing methods. Good labs will use a regional database to give an individual reading of what’s found in the soil.
If you’re testing soil because you’re concerned about the presence of toxins, know that EIT’s soil tests are conducted using EPA approved methods. They’re also easier to interpret than other types of soil test results. Why? It’s because, after you ship your sample to our lab with our prepaid shipping label, a full analytical report is delivered back within days of the receipt of the sample.
Our test results are consumer friendly and will break down, in simple terms, if there are a high level of contaminants in your soil and what kind of danger they may pose. To get started, order one of our legally defensible, and laboratory certified soil testing kits today.
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