Question from a Westchester Landowner: I'm going to be planting trees, should I do a soil test?
Our answer: We don’t think it’s essential because you can tell a lot about the soil when you match the NRCS Web Soil Survey (map of soil types) up to the Westchester/Putnam Soil Survey (info about the soil types). It’s usually good enough for tree planting.
But this won’t provide nutrient levels or contaminants; something you might need if you’re planning a garden and concerned about lead/arsenic or other things. Also, the links above are only estimates/approximates. Actual soil conditions may vary. If you are going to invest in trees and shrubs, there are low cost testing options through Westchester CCE. They offer a $10 pH testing service, or you could order pH testing kits from Cornell main campus.
Our answer: We don’t think it’s essential because you can tell a lot about the soil when you match the NRCS Web Soil Survey (map of soil types) up to the Westchester/Putnam Soil Survey (info about the soil types). It’s usually good enough for tree planting.
But this won’t provide nutrient levels or contaminants; something you might need if you’re planning a garden and concerned about lead/arsenic or other things. Also, the links above are only estimates/approximates. Actual soil conditions may vary. If you are going to invest in trees and shrubs, there are low cost testing options through Westchester CCE. They offer a $10 pH testing service, or you could order pH testing kits from Cornell main campus.
I'm a fan of getting the soil test. It's so inexpensive, and it gives specific information for the area you want to plant. The web soil surveys are great, but the resolution on them can be pretty coarse. Definitely at the garden or suburban yard level, the web soil surveys are not going to be accurate enough. A soil test will sometimes also give advice on what (if any) amendments you should add if your soil is poor.
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