Now that spring has officially begun, many of the gardeners among us are anxious to get digging.
If you have had problems with your gardens in previous years or are starting your first garden here in Pagosa, the best place to start is with a soil test. A soil test can’t help with “gardener error” (i.e. wrong location, shade, watering, poor choice of varieties, etc.), but it is useful to establish a baseline on soil limitations related to soil pH, salt levels and the need for fertilizers.
Because of neutral and alkaline soils, a soil test is best repeated when any dramatic changes have been made to the soil, such as the addition of larger quantities of manure, biosolids or compost that may be high in salts. It is also recommended that a soil test be conducted every four to eight years to reestablish the baseline.
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