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Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 20
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OP
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 20 |
Ok when guys talk about taking a soil sample.... 1) Where am i taking the sample? Am I simply pulling up some grass and dirt? Am I digging down X amount of inches or feet? 2) How much of a sample do I need? 3) Who am I bringing it to for testing? Thx guys...
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,579 Likes: 853
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,579 Likes: 853 |
Soil samples are taken a few inches below the surface of the ground, and are below any grass roots. Take soil from multiple places of an area, mix them together really, really well in a 5 gallon bucket so it is all homogenized. Then take the amount of soil that the testing lab requires from that mixture.
If you are talking about soil samples for a newly dug but not filled with water yet pond, I would take soil samples from the surface in the watershed area that feeds the pond for sample 1 and other soil samples from the pond basin (bottom) for sample 2. Get two tests done.
Oops, I didn't answer #2 and #3. Call a local farm fertilizer supplier or a local feed co-op. They will know where to take the samples. Call that place and ask how much soil they need.
When I send in samples (I have an account with the testing lab) I send in about a quart from each sampling site. That quart is taken from the 5 gal bucket that I talked about in the beginning of the post.
Last edited by esshup; 03/10/16 11:26 PM.
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Joined: Mar 2016
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Joined: Mar 2016
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Thx that was detailed.
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Joined: Oct 2014
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Joined: Oct 2014
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Esshup has done a great job of describing taking a soil sample to help you determine what your water quality will be from a PH, alkalinity, etc standpoint.
I m not sure what he described will tell you if the soil will hold water if that is what your trying to determine. For that I think you will need to dig a test hole to at least the depth of the proposed pond to get a sample and have a permeability test run. I'm not a pro, others can give detailed instruction if that is your goal of testing.
Last edited by Bill D.; 03/11/16 06:47 PM. Reason: Typo
Be Brave Enough to Suck at Something New!
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,579 Likes: 853
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,579 Likes: 853 |
Esshup has done a great job of describing taking a soil sample to help you determine what your water quality will be from a PH, alkalinity, etc standpoint.
I m not sure what he he described will tell you if the soil will hold water if that is what your trying to determine. For that I think you will need to dig a test hole to at least the depth of the proposed pond to get a sample and have a permeability test run. I'm not a pro, others can give detailed instruction if that is your goal of testing. Or stop at your counties NRCS office and ask them. They will be able to give you a good idea on how to construct a pond in your area, and the specific soil type on your property. Some even have coring tools to take samples. IIRC the one a few counties over from here can take a core sample 12' deep.
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Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 20
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Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 20 |
This is all real new to me, things like "NRCS office" is greek to me! I dont expect the pond to be perfect, i have neither the skill nor money others have, i just want to make a nice one i will be happy with. One of the Pond professionals whose videos i watch has been corresponding back and forth with me, stated he prefers liners to clay. Everyone seems to have a different opinion.
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,062 Likes: 279
Moderator Lunker
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Moderator Lunker
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,062 Likes: 279 |
Not having the $ is a pretty common problem with me and a lot of others here.
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,579 Likes: 853
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,579 Likes: 853 |
This is all real new to me, things like "NRCS office" is greek to me! I dont expect the pond to be perfect, i have neither the skill nor money others have, i just want to make a nice one i will be happy with. One of the Pond professionals whose videos i watch has been corresponding back and forth with me, stated he prefers liners to clay. Everyone seems to have a different opinion. Here's a link to the NRCS. Use the link to find their nearest office to you. http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/site/national/home/
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Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 20
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Joined: Mar 2016
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Moderated by Bill Cody, Bruce Condello, catmandoo, Chris Steelman, Dave Davidson1, esshup, ewest, FireIsHot, Omaha, Sunil, teehjaeh57
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My First
by Bill Cody - 05/06/24 07:22 PM
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