Soil Tests

Nitrogen Test

Safety disclaimer: Please be sure to wear the gloves provided in the kit when handling the capsule and the powder. Dispose of the liquid in the trash after you have finished. This test should be done with adult supervision.

Materials Required

• In kit: 5 mL tube, purple capsule, and plastic dropper. 

• Not in kit: 5 mL of bottled or distilled water (tap water okay too)

Instructions

1. Dig 2 to 3 inches into the soil and collect a soil sample. 

2. Fill a small container with one part dirt and five parts water. We’d suggest a few tablespoons of soil at most. 

3. Shake or stir the mixture vigorously for at least one minute, or until there are no remaining clumps of soil. Then, allow the mixture to sit undisturbed until the soil settles to the bottom for at least 12 hours. 

4. Once settled, use the dropper to add the liquid from your container to the 5 mL tube provided until it is full. Do not disturb the soil at the bottom, take only the liquid. 

5. Next, take one of the purple capsules, hold it over the tube, and gently break it or cut it open to release the powder into the 5mL tube. 

6. Cap the tube and shake vigorously for at least 10 seconds.

7. Wait 10 minutes for color to develop. Do not wait more than 10 minutes. 

8. Now, compare the color of the solution in the tube to the color of the color chart in the pamphlet. Do this by holding the tube up to mild sunlight, direct sunlight may not work well.

Phosphorus Test

Materials Required

• In kit: 5 mL tube, blue capsule, and plastic dropper. 

• Not in kit: 5 mL of bottled or distilled water (tap water okay too) 

Instructions

1. Dig 2 to 3 inches into the soil and collect a soil sample. 

2. Fill a small container with one part dirt and five parts water. We’d suggest a few tablespoons of soil at most.

3. Shake or stir the mixture vigorously for at least one minute, or until there are no remaining clumps of soil. Then, allow the mixture to sit undisturbed until the soil settles to the bottom for at least 12 hours.

4. Once settled, use the dropper to add the liquid from your container to the 5 mL tube provided until it is full. Do not disturb the soil at the bottom, take only the liquid. 

5. Next, take one of the blue capsules, hold it over the tube, and gently break it or cut it open to release the powder into the 5 mL tube.

6. Cap the tube and shake vigorously for at least 10 seconds.

7. Wait 10 minutes for color to develop. Do not wait more than 10 minutes. 

8. Now, compare the color of the solution in the tube to the color chart in the pamphlet. Do this by holding the comparator up to mild sunlight, direct sunlight may not work well.

Soil Texture Test

Materials Required

• In kit: 50 mL tube

• Not in kit: dish soap/detergent, tap water, measuring device

Instructions

1. Dig 2 to 3 inches into the soil and collect a soil sample. Try to remove any debris from the soil sample (e.g., sticks, rocks, leaves).

2. Fill the 50 mL tube ⅓ full with the soil.

3. Fill the tube with tap water to the 45mL line on the tube.

4. Add a teaspoon of dish soap/detergent to the tube.

5. Cap the tube and shake vigorously until the soil forms a uniform slurry. Invert the tube so the cap is on the bottom and place it on a level surface. Now your soil layers should begin to separate out. 

   1. The bottom layer will be the sand layer and begin to separate out after a minute. 

   2. The next layer will be the silt layer and will separate out after about 2 hours. 

   3. The top layer will be the clay layer and that will take 48 hours to settle out. 

6. After all the layers have been separated, measure the total height of the soil/water in the tube and the height of each layer. If you have a lot of bubbles at the top of the tube, measure the total height from the bottom of the tube to where the bubbles start.

7. Use the below equations to calculate the % of each soil component.

% SAND=(sand height)/(total height) x 100 =___________ % SAND

% SILT=(silt height)/(total height) x 100 =____________ % SILT

% CLAY=(clay height)/(total height) x 100 =____________ % SILT

8. Look at the soil texture triangle in the Soil Test Pamphlet. Trace the line that matches the percentage of clay (horizontal lines), the percentage of sand (upward diagonal), and the percentage of silt (downward diagonal) in your soil. 

9. Look at where the lines meet. This will tell you what type of soil you have.

Directions modified from https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/soil-texture-analysis-the-jar-test/.

pH Test

Materials Required

• In kit: 5 mL tube, green capsule, and plastic dropper. 

• Not in kit: 5 mL of bottled or distilled water (tap water okay too) 

Instructions:

1. Dig 2 to 3 inches into the soil and collect a soil sample.

2. Remove the cap from the 5 mL plastic tube. 

3. Fill plastic tube to 1 mL line with soil sample.

4. Holding the capsule horizontally over the tube, carefully break or cut the  green capsule and pour the powder into the plastic tube. This may be tricky so take your time. 

5. Slowly with the plastic dropper, add water to the 5mL line.

6. Cap the tube tightly and shake vigorously for at least 10 seconds.

7. Allow soil to settle to the bottom of the tube and let color develop for about a minute.

8. Now, compare the color of the solution in the tube to the color chart in the pamphlet. Do this by holding the tube up to mild sunlight as direct sunlight may not work as well.