How to collect soil sample
Soil contains nutrient elements in varying amounts. These elements usually become insufficient when the soil is continuously farmed. Nutrient supplements in the form of fertilizer are, therefore, required. The kind and amount of fertilizers to be applied to the soil can be determined through chemical nalysis of the soil.
Have your soil analyzed by regional or provincial soil laboratory nearest to your area for effective fertilizer use and increased crop production.
Steps in collecting soil samples for analysis.
Prepare the following: Pail, shovel, bolo, plastic and meter stick.
Divide your farm area according to the kind of crops grown or to be grown, type of soil (sandy, clayey or loamy) and topography (level, flat, sloping or hilly). Collect soil samples separately from the different soil unit areas and place them in separate containers.
Brush away stones, rubbish, trash or grass on the surface of the land.
Using a shovel, push it down the surface or topsoil to a depth approximately 25 centimeters and get a slice of soil sample tow centimeters thick and five centimeters wide. Place this in a container.
Get similar samples at random from as many as the sites and mix them in a container. Get a composite soil sample of about one kilogram to represent the soil unit area.
For areas to be devoted to an orchard, for instances, citrus orchard, get subsoil samples from below the 25 centimeters down from where the topsoil sample was taken. A composite subsoil sample is also required for fruit trees/permanent crops.
Air dry the soil samples by spreading them on old newspapers or mats under the shade or indoors. Be sure to avoid contaminating the samples. Keep them away from dirt or foreign matter, especially cigarette ash. Divide representative soil samples into four. Remove soil samples one and three and retain soil samples two and four. Repeat the process four times until you obtain one kilogram.
After air-drying the samples, get at least one kilogram from each composite soil sample and place then separately in a cloth or plastic bag.