I often see new homes built on construction sites that have
turned soil. Some of the soil making up these new yards are soil
that was once, in many cases, over five feet deep, brought up to
the surface for grading purposes. This soil is not the greatest
for plant growth, it wasn't designed to be, and may not be
appropriate for plant growth with out a lot of care and
maintenance. So what do we need to do to fix our soil problems?
Lucky for you and I, we don't have to have the answers. There is
no book that can tell you your soil conditions as they are
drastically different from site to site, and often neighbors
will have completely different soil profiles, even thought they
are in such close proximity! Soil tests are the best and most
effective way to ensure you are getting a full and accurate
profile of your planting area. These tests used to be
troublesome and expensive, but now you can get a professional
lab to test a soil sample for mere dollars. One great resource
is the University of Missouri Extension r