Fox Lake Soil Test

I mixed garden soil with water and then added the mixture into these test containers with chemicals that change colour depending on the concentration of nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium.

I tested the soil for the Fox Lake community garden to check for pH and the three major plant nutrients—nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). Here’s what I found:

·       Soil pH: 7.0 – The pH scale runs from 0 to 14, with 0 being very acidic and 14 being very alkaline. A reading of 7.0 is right in the middle, meaning the soil is neutral—just like pure water. That’s great news, because most plants do best in neutral soil. While some plants prefer slightly more acidic or alkaline conditions, we don’t need to adjust the pH since this level works well for most varieties.

·       Nitrogen: Depleted – Nitrogen is often the biggest limiting factor in plant growth. That means without enough nitrogen, plants can’t grow properly—even if everything else is in place. To fix this, we’ll need to add nitrogen to the soil. One natural option is to spread about an inch of composted manure over the surface. Fertilizers like Miracle-Gro also supply nitrogen in a form that plants can readily absorb. We're also adding potting soil to the tops of the raised beds, which already contains fertilizer and should provide a balanced nutrient mix. There is a bottle of high nitrogen fertilizer in the greenhouse, and adding 15 ml to 1 watering can of water and using it to water your garden plot once a week will help maintain nutrient levels throughout the growing season.

·       Phosphorus: Deficient – Phosphorus is essential for strong roots, flowering, and fruit production. When it's lacking, plants might grow a lot of leaves but fail to produce flowers or fruits—especially crops like tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, broccoli, and cauliflower. To boost phosphorus levels, we can use compost, bone meal, rock phosphate, or fish meal. Bone meal and fish meal attract dogs and other animals, who often dig in and eat the bone or fish meal in the soil, so it might be better to avoid.

·       Potassium: Adequate – Potassium plays a big role in disease resistance and overall plant health. Thankfully, our soil already has enough of it. Compost also contributes potassium, so the compost we're adding for nitrogen should help maintain those levels, too. Composted plant material and food scraps, especially things like banana peels, potatoes, and eggshells all contribute more potassium than composted manure.