Soil Testing Available Through UW-Extension

Warmer weather means it’s a good time to do a soil test for your home landscape or food plot to learn important information about your soil’s nutrient needs, pH and organic-matter content, as well as recommendations to remedy any deficiencies. UW-Madison’s Division of Extension in Door County is the agency that handles soil samples. 

To collect a sample, take soil from multiple locations in your garden or food plot to ensure that it’s a representative sample. Dig down five to seven inches, and place that soil core into a bucket, along with your other representative cores, and mix them together. Put about two cups of the mixture into a sturdy plastic bag, and take it to the UW-Madison Extension office, 421 Nebraska St. in Sturgeon Bay, for sampling. Results are typically received within 10 to 14 days. Soil testing is recommended every three to five years to keep landscapes at their best.

The cost of $22 for a lawn and garden soil test provides results for pH, nitrate-nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, organic matter, soluble salts, cation-exchange capacity, calcium, magnesium, as well as fertilizer recommendations based on your results. 

Learn more about soil sampling and other horticultural services at door.extension.wisc.edu or by calling 920.746.2260.