Soil Tester

[BU54]

Every fall I till in maple leafs from the tree in the back yard. Then in spring, this time of year here I usually till in 5 bags of cocoa bean shells.
I've been planting this garden for 15 years now and so far good results. However the last couple years overall production is down. I've talked to friends and some recommend lyme.
I'd rather test the soil with a hand held tester that you just stick in the ground.
What's a good one and do they tell you what and how much you need to add to the soil if needed.

Thanks!

[PaulF]

With more than 40 years experience in gardening and working with several home garden style soil testers I am convinced...more than convinced, positive those testers will not give you any results you can actually trust.

Get a real soil test. Most States have a University Extension soil testing department that will give you a professional soil test with recommendations for pretty cheap. Most are in the $10 range. They have professional people doing the test using state of the art equipment worth many thousands of dollars. Nebraska does not have that service but there a several soil testing labs in the area who charge 10 bucks and get the results fast.

Those self testers are throw away at best. My opinion and I'm sticking to it.

[jal_ut]

I am with PaulF on those testers. Please consider that soils are made up of clay, silt, sand, organic matter, and a variety of living organisms. Soils vary a bunch across the country. Here the soils are pretty clay based. The addition of a little sand helps. The addition of organic matter helps, but it needs to be added in the fall and tilled in so it has time to decompose. Organic matter used as mulch is good to help hold in water from evaporation. Doesn't do much for soil fertility this season though. What I would recommend to feed the plants this season, is go to the garden store and get a bag of something that says NPK 16-10-10. Put it on as recommended on the package. You can assume that almost any native soil will benefit from the addition of Nitrogen. Rather than a soil test meter, get one that measures the water (soil dampness), this will help you to water as needed without going overboard on the water.

[BU54]

Thanks guys! I'll google for a soil testing facility in my area.
Found this site.
https://www.soiltesting.org/certified_labs

[PaulF]

Looks like a couple of good ones in your immediate area. Also listed is Midwest Labs in Omaha, the one I use. Jal_ut makes a good point. At this time of year it would be better to do the best you can for this year and soil test for next year.