Soil Testing

vagabond

In true localvore style, I am thinking of planting a small veggie garden this year and already have several big healthy raspberry bushes in my PH backyard. Has anyone tested their soil for lead and other heavy metals?

The Botanic Garden strongly recommended testing and said that soil contamination was common. I have noticed that the community gardens usually have their veggies planted in raised beds...

alafairnadia

does it cost a lot to get it tested? I'd give it a shot before you start in on figuring out raised beds. if you get it tested and everything is normal, chances are you're not having ground-seepage issues and can go ahead and plant in your garden proper. otherwise, construct some beds, or head to ikea for some cheap alternatives.

vagabond

The testing is $40 and can be done through Cornell University Nutrient Analysis Lab:
http://cnal.cals.cornell.edu/Default.aspx

I definitely will test this year. Just wondering if any neighbors have experience with this. Hopefully, I have not been eating leadberries for 6 years! I grew loads of tomatoes one year too. The soil is amazing, 3 ft of rich topsoil that is hopefully not laced with poison...

pitu

The book they use to teach the master class at the BBG is called "Teaming With Microbes: A Gardener's Guide To The Food Soil Web" and you can check it out at their library (but not the BPL, I already checked.)

There's a $9, less info test through UMass. So you could afford more samples.
(I just went to urban dirt class at the BBG last weekend. Who knew concrete makes soil alkaline?)

There was a soil mapping project that they rec'd, if you're really into it
http://www.nycswcd.net/soil_survey.cfm

This is obvious, but they recommended paying attention to the nutrients/pH/CEC profile as well as lead or arsenic (leached from pressure treated wood) and other contaminants.

Since you've got 3' of loamy topsoil, perhaps your building has a good history and there was a garden there before.
I lived one place that revealed a buried fridge and all kinds of other crap, so went for container gardening only. Where I am now, I know the history (Italians gardening, not burying lead paint, leaving me a figs) and I wouldn't be that worried about it -- unless I had small kids.

One strategy - especially if you're in a minimal risk situation - is to plant cover crops/things that draw the bad stuff out of the soil for a couple of years, and recondition with compost (which binds with stuff like lead and makes it unavailable to move into your fruits. The other thing I learned was leaves and stems are more risky on the contaminant front, and the long the growing season, the more contamination. So greens are less of a good idea than tomato and berries.

vagabond

Wow, a wealth of info, thanks. My backyard is huge, about 1500 sqft but I have zero front yard. I thought this may have been designed this way so that the original owners would have more garden space but who knows. The house was also owned by Italians who left me a bunch of very old grape vines. I have dug in every part of the garden and besides a bit of broken glass and an occasional piece of metal, there has been no garbage. I have my fingers crossed. Will post the results.

I will check the umass website. Cornell has fertility reports that measure ph and nutrients for much less than the test I am doing for the heavy metals. This test for only lead it is 20 but for all contaminants it is 40.

renoqueen

Subject: Rutgers soil testing

I had my soil tested at Rutgers:
http://njaes.rutgers.edu/soiltestinglab/

It's pricey -- $100 but incredibly thorough. I tested 3 areas of my yard which actually varied in acidity before planting some trees and shrubs.

Then later I sent in some plant samples for different trees that were suffering from some vermin. They sent me back a lot of detailed info with a correct ID on the spider mites and powdery mildew. The spider mite ID allowed me to finally get the right non-toxic spray:
gardensalive.com

and i may have saved the 2 junipers.