General Question

kfingerman's avatar

Where can I get my soil tested for lead or other harmful metals (free preferably)

Asked by kfingerman (1012points) August 16th, 2009

I have a kitchen garden at my home in Northern California. Before going any further on growing my own food I want to make sure that my soil is safe. Where can I get test kits or send soil samples away to be tested. I believe there are some group that do this for free and would like to use one of them but can’t seem to find it in Google.

Observing members: 0 Composing members: 0

4 Answers

marinelife's avatar

I would start with the Master Gardeners in your area. What state are you in? The other resource would be your county’s agricultural extension agent.

marinelife (62485points)“Great Answer” (2points) Flag as…
jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities's avatar

Universities. Find a nearby university that has some sort of agricultural/environmental programs, and they will most likely have a soils testing lab. It won’t be free, but the price of a test should only be around $ 5 – 10.

jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities (20019points)“Great Answer” (3points) Flag as…
PandoraBoxx's avatar

County extension office. It cost me $6 to have the test done.

PandoraBoxx (18031points)“Great Answer” (2points) Flag as…
ekans's avatar

I never thought that this would be relevant, but it is.

ekans (1529points)“Great Answer” (0points) Flag as…

Answer this question

Login

or

Join

to answer.

This question is in the General Section. Responses must be helpful and on-topic.

Your answer will be saved while you login or join.

Have a question? Ask Fluther!

What do you know more about?
or
Knowledge Networking @ Fluther