Soil Testing Offered by UT Extension

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Ready your garden for spring by learning what is in your soil. The University of Tennessee Extension offers an affordable basic test so gardeners can learn the proper amount of lime and fertilizer needed for lawns and gardens. Here’s how to get your soil tested:

  • Get a soil sample box from your county’s UT Extension agent, or use a sandwich bag with a zip seal.
  • Fill the box or bag with at least one cup of soil collected from several areas of the yard or garden. Dig down six inches for your sample.
  • Enclose a check for $15 made out to the University of Tennessee, and send the package or deliver it to the Soil, Plant and Pest Center, 5201 Marchant Drive, Nashville, Tennessee, 37211. Your soil will go through a nine-step process in the lab and will be checked for potassium, phosphorus and other elements.

Your report should arrive in a week or so by email or mail. It will show the phosphorus and potassium levels – you want both to be high. The report will make recommendations for amending the soil to give you a proper balance for a productive crop.

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To get your soil tested, visit the UT Extension Soil Testing website.

15 Comments

  1. Lisa says:

    I want my soil tested, please.

  2. Jonathan says:

    2 questions about a soil sample.. How do I get a sample # it says to put a number on the box but… How do I get the number.. Also For a garden/ grass which service do you prefer the 7$ or 15$

  3. Jere Davis says:

    I would like to submit a soil sample for testing. Is the fee the same as last year for the basic test? Thank you very much. Jere

  4. Dawn Bowen says:

    Hi. I will be moving in about a year. Since the acreage I have is under 5 acres, I was told I had to have a soil scientist to test the soil for septic and so forth. Is the sample boxes the same thing as this?

  5. Marshall Blum says:

    Does this test provide the ph level ?
    I need to know the ph level before I add wood ash.
    Thanks in advance,
    Marshall

  6. Donna Kotara says:

    Can soil be tested for unknown contaminants to determine what may be causing issues with dying vegetation ?

  7. Luther Rogers says:

    Who does water testing

  8. Sara Brown says:

    Sending soil to test. It is clay like on top dirt underneath after few inches. Cant get much to grow in it. What do I do? Am.veteran and retired and just bought this place a year ago.

  9. Carlos Sandoval says:

    Just wondering the status of my soil test. It’s been about 2 weeks.

  10. Joseph McKeon says:

    I have not received the test results from my 3 samples dropped off on February 28th, 2022. I really need a printed copy so I can prep our fields. If it was emailed, I would appreciate you re-sending it. I have so much junk email it is hard to find anything I am looking for. At age 72 I don’t care about all this email stuff, I still prefer a good old letter in the mail where I can touch the paper and make notes on it. email, stinks because then I have to find a computer, then a printer, then….

    • Jessy Yancey says:

      Hi Joseph, I think you would need to contact UT Extension directly. We are a magazine and website about Tennessee that once did a story about UT’s soil testing offerings, but we have no direct connection to them and cannot relay your message. Thanks!

      Jessy Yancey
      managing editor
      Tennessee Home & Farm

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