The simple process of soil testing is the starting point of the plant production process. Soil testing is needed to determine the fertility of the soil within a given field or area in which plants are to be grown. Soil fertility is the ability of a soil to produce a yield. It is simply the foundation of all cropping systems whether it is an athletic field, golf course, orchard or row crop field. Soil testing allows one to determine which nutrients are present and at what level. From the soil analysis report one then can determine which and how much of the nutrients to apply. 

        The next step is to determine which soil sample testing lab to submit the sample too. Now you are ready to collect soil samples to send to the lab. Soil sampling is not complicated, but one should follow a few basic rules for the best results. As a rule, collect one sub-sample for every 2 field acres with a minimum of fifteen sub-samples per sample. If your field or sample area is a small area such as a home lawn, collect a minimum of 15 sub-samples to make up one sample. The sample depth should be 4 inches for any sample area that is not going to be till deeper than 2 inches. For any sample area to be tilled deeper than 2 inches, the sample depth should be 6-7 inches deep. Sub-sample locations should be representative of the entire sample area. I like to divide the area in half and walk in a zigzag fashion from one end to the other collecting sub-samples. Then repeat the process on the other half of sample area.

    You will need something to extract the sub-samples with and that is why you visited our site. There are many choices on the market with the most common soil sampling tool being the manual soil probe of which there are several styles and qualities to choose from. The Collect-N-GO kit is the best choice and is not a “soil probe”. The Collect-N-GO is a kit allowing one to collect soil samples using a cordless or electric drill. This kit allows one to collect soil samples twice as fast and twice as easy as compared to using a manual soil probe. It was developed for hard soil conditions, but found it works well in loose sandy soils and all soil conditions in between. The kit includes a specially designed collection bucket, specialized soil auger, and a security tie.

     The collection bucket is loaded with features to facilitate the job. It is intentionally oversized to the size of a 5 gallon bucket to allow operator to lean easily on the bucket to stabilize it and give the operator back support. It has a molded in collection tube; LH and RH stabilizer handles; large easy pour spout; imprinted ruler for depth checking. The lime green color is intentional to make it easy to find if ever lost. The soil auger is specially manufactured to provide the best designed auger bit for maximum functionability and operator safety. It has a working depth of 9.5 inches and 24 mm in diameter. The ribbon twist allows for minimum soil sticking to auger and operator safety. The 34 inch security tie is a giant twist tie to use to secure the collection bucket to a moving vehicle to prevent loss.