Virginia Tech Soil Testing Lab

The lab’s site doesn’t say which tests it runs. Ask before you send a sample, and check your report.

Labs pull nutrients out of soil with different chemicals, and each one gives a different number for the same soil. 20 ppm on one test and 20 ppm on another don’t mean the same thing, so check which test your report used before you compare it to a chart.

• Basic test. pH, phosphorus and potassium, usually with calcium and magnesium. Enough for most gardens and lawns.
• Organic matter. How much organic matter the soil holds, which sets how much nitrogen it releases.
• Salts. Soluble salts (EC), and sodium where salt or poor drainage is a problem.
• Micronutrients. Zinc, iron, manganese and copper, sometimes boron.
• CEC. Cation exchange capacity: how many nutrients the soil can hold on to.

• The routine test covers pH, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, micronutrients and an estimated CEC, with lime and fertilizer advice.
• Get sample boxes and the homeowner sheet from your county Extension office, and enter sample details online.
• Results are emailed.

Sources: [1] [2]

• Compost, mulch, potting soil, manure or biosolids

This lab takes samples from other states.

• Take 10 or more small cores across the area and mix them in a clean bucket. One spot tells you about one spot.
• Sample gardens and lawns about 6 inches deep, below any mulch or thatch.
• Keep beds that are grown differently, like a lawn and a vegetable garden, as separate samples.
• Wait a couple of months after fertilizing or liming, so the test reads the soil and not the last bag.
• Use the same lab and the same tests each time, so the numbers compare from year to year.

Your county Virginia Extension office can help you take the sample and read the report.

Once the report comes back, type the numbers into the soil test calculator to see what to add for your bed or lawn. The soil test guide walks through each line of the report.

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Bizon is an independent business and isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by any university or Extension service. Details were checked against each lab’s or Extension service’s own pages in October 2026. Why Bizon supports Extension.