Lawn and Garden

Rock River Laboratory, Inc. provides soil testing with lawn and garden recommendations. This is a great tool to help you determine what your lawn and garden fertility levels are, and what is needed for lime and fertilizer additions according to University of Wisconsin recommendations. If you have ever wondered how much fertilizer your lawn needs, or how much lime your tomatoes require, soil testing will provide you with the answer.  Dustin Sawyer can help you interpret your test results and provide you with the answers to any additional questions you may have on your soil test results.

If you wish to submit a soil sample for lawn and garden testing, please follow these instructions.
It is very important to sample at least 5 different areas of your lawn and garden. Make sure to avoid any areas that may be drastically different than the area as a whole (do not sample areas where fertilizer spilled, old compost piles were located, areas where pets frequent, etc.). These areas may be sampled separately if they cover a significant area, or you have separate concerns for these areas. When sampling, use a trowel or a shovel, and sample down to about 6 inches of depth. Try to trim the sample so that there is no depth that is represented in greater proportions to the other depths (ex. Trim the sample to about 1 inch down the center of the spade, and 1 inch in thickness down the depth of the sample, trim off any excess over 6 inches in depth). Place each of the 5 sub-samples into a bucket, and mix thoroughly. This mixed sample can then be placed into a plastic sandwich type bag or soil bag and labeled. Please include a sheet with your name and address, the type of area that your samples came from (ex. Lawn, flower garden, vegetable garden, sweet corn, etc.), and a check for $19.95/sample made out to Rock River Laboratory Inc.

This can be mailed to:
Rock River Laboratory, Inc.
710 Commerce Drive
P.O. Box 169
Watertown, WI 53094

Typically, samples are tested in one week, and results are received via USPS in two weeks or less. Do not hesitate to call if you have any questions regarding sampling procedures, or if you have any special concerns.