How to sample for Soil Grown Plants

Introduction

To make the most of our analysis and recommendations for drip fed soil grown flowers or other crops it is best to take the following samples for each fertigation unit:-

A sample of source water (200 ml), or the sample number of a previous analysis that we can link your fertigation program to. (Note that borehole water should be sampled every 6-12 months and surface water more regularly).
A sample of drip water (200 ml)
A composite sample of the soil (500 g)

Do not take samples on the same day as acidification or flushing. Allow the system and the soil to stabilize for about two days before taking your samples.

How to collect a Drip sample

Before collecting your sample:

Ensure that all the basic maintenance procedures have been followed on your fertigation system as recommended by your supplier,i.e.clean all the sieves and ensure all dosing channels are working efficiently, calibrate regularly.
Do not take the sample in the first cycle;take sample in the second or third cycle after the fertigation system stabilizes.
Put clean plastic cups below the drippers at different positions in the green house as the fertigation process is ongoing. Mix the cups from the same green house and take a composite sample solution of minimum 200 mls and put it in sampling bottles which are available from our laboratory. Or use clean bottles that have been rinsed out 3 times with the sample liquid.

How to collect a Soil Sample

Procedure

One sample should consist of about 20 cores taken from the set area.It is recommended that the cores be taken from the area in a zigzag pattern as shown below:

Scrape away surface litter and crop residues and sample the whole core from the true soil surface to 25 cm depth.
Put the soil cores in a bucket and mix thoroughly. Label the bag carefully with your company name,farm name,field name,sample depth and date, and crop to be grown. Fill the soil bag half full (500g), from this mixed representative sample.
Different tools such as a soil sampling tube,soil auger,or spade may be used to take soil samples.Do not use galvanized,soft steel or brass equipment if trace metal analyses are desired. Clean all tools between sampling.

The quality of any analysis is directly related to how well the sample is collected.

For more information please contact us through:

Crop Nutrition Laboratory Services Ltd.

Off Limuru Road, Limuru, Kenya

Telephone +254 (0) 711094444, + 254 (0) 720 839 933

Email support@cropnuts.com