Question
I have a sister that lives in South Jordan. She and her neighbor planted their gardens at the same time with the same type of soil. Her neighbors vegetables are thriving and my sisters are on the verge of death. What should she do and where can she have her soil tested?
Answer(s)
That's not an easy question to answer why one garden is doing well and the other is not but I can give you an answer to the soil sampling. - The link to
Utah State University Analytical Laboratories is
http://www.usual.usu.edu/ .
The form you need to fill out and information on how to sample can be found on the soil sampling form http://www.usual.usu.edu/forms/soilform.pdf . Mail your sample and form to the analytical lab in Logan and you should get results in less than 10 working days. The routine soil analysis is $14 which gives you results on pH, salinity, texture, phosphorous and potassium. To understand the soil analysis, the webpage also has information on "What Next" http://www.usual.usu.edu/about/next/index.html
If you have specific plant problems, we hold a plant problem diagnostic clinic at our Salt Lake County office http://extension.usu.edu/saltlake/htm/directions, on Mondays, from 1 to 4pm from June through August. Master Gardeners are available for identifying problems and offering recommendations.
Other Questions In This Topic
- Can an olive tree survive in Utah?
- We are putting in a backyard with grass seed instead of sod. I am wondering if we need to add lime to our soil to change the pH and also what types of grass work best in our area. I assume that Kentucky Bluegrass would be best, but should I get a mix or just the Bluegrass? Are certain brands better than others?
- Someone told me not to use cherry tomatoes in my spaghetti sauce due to inadequate acidity. If I pressure can the sauce and it also includes zucchini, onion, eggplant and fresh herbs, could it not also include some quantity of cherry tomatoes as part of the mix? I like to use up excess veggies in my sauce.
- We recently purchased new sod for our yard. It came with small redish brown beetles. I asked the sod company what they were and they didn't know. Are these beetles bad? Will they kill my lawn?
- I just bought a house and the yard is a mess. We have multiple varieties of grasses and weeds, dry spots, dead spots and rodent damage. I am a staunch do-it-yourselfer but the number of different problems to attack is overwhelming. Where is the best place to get educated or to get started? If I take a bunch of digital pictures of the various problems and plant types is there someplace I can take them to get good advice? Tru Green also came by and said we have grubs, but all they did was LOOK at the grass. I can pull up the dirt myself, but I don't know what to look for.
- Two questions; I have an dwarf Honey Crisp apple tree that is about 5 years old. Last year it had a dozen apples. I didn't disturb the fruit spurs when I picked the fruit. This year there were no blossoms on the tree. I didn't prune it at all. What can I do to help it produce every year? Second question; I have peach borers in the main branches of my nectarine tree. The tree seems healthy other than the borers. What can I do about them at this point? Will it help to dig them out? Will it help to spray? Will they winter over to next year?
- I have old cottonwoods in my yard. Vines are growing up about 5-6 feet on them (honeysuckle, ivy or virginia creeper) They are dying about on a year for the past 4 years and I lost another one this summer. Are the vines killing them or could it be the age of the trees?
- How many gallons per hour are needed for mature fruit trees? Also how many times a week and how long each time should trees be watered?