If you have ever come to my office to ask me a question about how to grow a garden, fix a production issue or renovate a pasture, one of the first things I seek from you is a soil sample from your property.

By knowing what is going on with the soil, a lot of questions can be answered. From there I can help home gardeners begin the process of figuring out the best way to grow a crop or fix a problem.

Soil sampling will not only save you money in the long run, but is better for the environment for at least one reason — you are adjusting the soil by not putting too many nutrients into the land that cannot be used by the plant.

Unused nutrients leach past the roots of plants or end up in a watershed. Lots of nutrients going into streams, rivers and lakes can cause algae blooms, which produce extremely dangerous toxins that can sicken or kill people and animals.

Soil testing is not new. It is the foundation of agriculture and gardening. Without having the correct information about the soil, it is like driving a car blindfolded. Testing your soil periodically gives you the information to make good decisions on managing a crop and future plantings.

So do the right thing for the environment and your wallet by having your soil tested.

After the test, you will receive about a dozen numbers from the results. Now what? What does all that mean to you?

The primary number I will focus on is the pH. Soil pH measures the acidity of the dirt. What that means is it regulates how well plants can use a fertilizer.

If it is too low, then nutrients never make it to the plant roots; they stay locked in the soil. Most plants stay the healthiest and grow the best in a soil with a pH of 6.0-6.5. The lower the soil pH, the more the soil is acidic.

A soil pH too high is just as bad for the plant. The major nutrients that plants need are less available and some nutrients that are toxic, like aluminum, become more available at a high soil pH.

Typically, Southern soils are naturally acidic so usually we need to add lime to improve or raise the soil pH. However, you can add too much lime over time.

I have always said lime is a poor man’s fertilizer. Many times you will see an improvement in plant growth just by adding lime to the ground. As lime works its magic, the naturally occurring nutrients in the soil become available and the plants can tap into them more easily. Another way of looking at it is your soil pH must be in an optimal range before you can get the most out of the fertilizer.

So there you have it. If you have gotten this far into the article, hopefully you now understand a fundamental concept of soil chemistry. So before time gets too far gone, pull a soil sample from your vegetable garden, pasture or lawn and bring it to the office to be tested. Then you can start the growing season on the right foot.

For the proper way on taking a soil sample, call or stop by the office for information and a soil bag.

Michael Wheeler is county extension coordinator for the UGA Cooperative Extension office in Hall County. You can contact him at 770-535-8293, www.hallcounty.org/extension. His column appears weekly and on gainesvilletimes.com/life.