Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler sits down each week with Southern Farm Network’s Rhonda Garrison to discuss “Today’s Topic.”
Farmers are accustomed to using soil tests to help them determine their crops’ nutrient needs. Homeowners can benefit from the tests, too.
The NCDA&CS Agronomic Services Division’s soil testing lab also provides tests of residential soil samples. This time of year, soil tests are particularly useful to homeowners who have warm-season grasses in their yards. These grasses include Bermuda, centipede, St. Augustine and Zoysia.
Warm-season grasses grow mostly during late spring to summer and are dormant in the winter months. These grasses can benefit from applications of nitrogen fertilizer during their active growth period. But when it comes to fertilizer, you don’t want to apply too much or too little, which is why a soil test is important. The test results will provide lime and fertilizer recommendations. (Lime adjusts the pH level, helping fertilizer do its best work.) A soil test also can tell you if you need to apply phosphorus or potassium.
Soil testing is free from now until around Thanksgiving, and from now through early fall, you can expect results back in seven to 10 working days. For more information, click here.
Click on the link below to listen to Commissioner Troxler and Rhonda discuss the benefits of soil testing.
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