Hello, I represent a group of students in LFS 350 who are looking at possibly doing some soil testing out on Gambier Island and we have a few questions. Where can we take soil samples to get tested for cheap here at UBC or in Vancouver? What kind of tests can we do ourselves in the field with minimal equipment and can you provide instructions or links to instructions? Any tips, advice or referrals to outside sources of information would be valued. Once we have our results I am sure we will want to post more questions about what it means. Much thanks!
I used to have a ph meter, it came from a garden supply catalog... I didn't get much use from it, I've always found that adding organic material to the soil covered a world of soil problems... I don't know if y'all have an extension service up there, like we do in the States... I wasn't too thrilled with their test... It came back with recommended chemical fertilizer list... Not much help in an organic garden. One of the simplest low-tech soil tests you can do is to id the plants currently growing on the plot... Different weeds are indicators for different soil conditions. Try a search for "weeds as indicators of soil conditions".
The Ministry of Agriculture maintains a list of soil testing labs: from: http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/faq/#soil Looked up that phone number, and the contact name is Lolita Aumuller. As for doing such tests at UBC, I imagine it would have to be done in the labs of one of the following researchers: http://www.landfood.ubc.ca/graduate/programs/soil-science
When we first moved into our house 30 years ago I was struck by how badly things were growing and sent a soil sample from the front lawn to be analyzed. I still remember the answer: "Man your soil is dead dead dead!"