UGA Cooperative Extension
Bryan County Extension
Agriculture & Natural Resources
If You Don't Need It - Don't Buy It
"But, honey it was on sale." This is what my wife says every time she buys me a shirt. Just recently I went through my closet and counted forty-two shirts. I only wear about six. I think she has the mind set, that maybe this shirt will improve my looks. It's not gonna happen. I will still be a sow's ear when all the sales are over. I think us men have the same idea when we go to the garden center. We can't get out the door unless we have purchased the latest product that will make our lawn green and pest free. I have at least four different types of fertilizers and six insecticides on the veranda.
Most of the time we are adding chemicals to grasses, vegetables and shrubs that have had too many chemicals applied to them already. Over fertilization leads to chemical runoff after hard rains and this can pollute the streams and rivers. It is easy and cheap to find out exactly what fertilizer your vegetable garden and lawn needs. Just take a simple soil sample. Soil samples can be taken any time of the year, but now is an excellent time. Lime can be added to the soil now and it will have time to neutralize before next springs green up or before we plant the vegetable garden next spring. Soils should be tested every two to three years unless there is a suspected nutrient deficiency.
Here's what you do:
Dig into the soil with a trowel, shovel or spade approximately 4-6 inches deep and collect a small sample of soil from at least 10 different spots in the desired area. Mix well and place a pint of the soil in a clean container. You also have the option of picking up soil sample bags before you take your sample. These bags and detailed instructions for sampling are at Tim & Dave's Nursery on Highway 17 in Richmond Hill (Bryan County), and at the Bryan County Extension office in Pembroke at 131 N. College Street.
Leave your NAME, ADDRESS, TELEPHONE NUMBER, E-MAIL Address, CROP to be grown, and SAMPLE NUMBER (1,2,3) on a piece of paper with the sample or on the soil sample bag. This information is essential for the return of your sample results.
After sampling, take the soil sample to Tim & Dave's Nursery or to the county Extension Office in Pembroke. The fee for each bag or sample is $8.00 each and checks should be made payable to the Bryan County Extension. Results will be mailed to your home approximately 15-18 days after sampling. If you need any other help or information on soil sampling, you can call our office at 653-2231.
Take a soil sample, buy only what you need and put a hurtin' on the garden centers profit sharing, and help the environment and your wallet!
