Soil Samples

I am due to begin the Garfield County Master Gardener program next Tuesday and we are to arrive with a $100 check and a bag of dirt. Not just any shovel full of dirt, but a representative sample of our non-cultivated fields. I am excited and don't want to look like a complete slouch, so I prepared a graph with a semi accurate diagram of my house and the existing cultivated beds. I have plotted my sample sites with a little "s" and will be using a spade since a soil probe is not handy! I feel very scientific at this point. It is 3:00 and I plan to allow five minutes per 20 plugs at a depth of 6 inches - Ready, Set, GO!

OK, I finished in 25 minutes! Five minutes per sample was an overkill estimate. One hour and 40 minutes would have resulted in a lot of dirt. There are concerns. As in a urine test, do you fill up the bag (cup) to the brim, or does the lab need just a test tube full? What if there are 21 plugs in the bucket and some grass. Also it's doubtful this dirt all came from the precise six inch level of mother earth and I've yet to sample the seven to 24 inch center of the earth's core as suggested. There was a curious sucking sound emitted from 65% of the sample sites but unfortunately the test bag has no box to mark for DROWNING GRASS.

In conclusion my test field was definitely random, my method of obtaining samples was simple and I'm erring on the side of "less is best" so my work for this day is done. Garden on and may all your dirt be rich.