Home gardeners will have an opportunity to have their garden soils tested at the Coles Extension Office during the week of March 30-April 3. The program "Soil Testing Week" is a new pilot program, sponsored by University of Illinois Extension and Master Gardeners. As a service to the local gardening community, you are invited to bring in samples of your lawn, flower bed, vegetable and landscape bed soils and have them professionally analyzed for key plant growth nutrients. A modest fee will be charged for each sample analyzed.

Soil testing provides important insight into the status of soil nutrients. From the results, recommendations can be made for proper application of fertilizers to maximize plant growth through the growing season. This helps to avoid over or under application, reduces environmental impact of excess nutrients, and maximizes dollars spent on fertilizers.

When taking samples, gardeners should test a specific area such as a particular section of lawn, flower bed or the vegetable garden. A separate sample should be taken for each area you would like to have tested. When sampling the area, use a spade to dig a 6 to 8 inch deep slice of soil. Collect two or three subsamples for every 100 square feet tested (that's a 10x10 feet area). The subsamples should then be combined by placing in a clean bucket and mixed thoroughly. Place 1 cup of this combined sample in a clean plastic bag and bring it to the Coles County Extension office. It should be labeled with name and site, (such as Jones, vegetable garden).

Soil samples will be sent to a professional lab for analysis. Within a week to ten days, local Master Gardeners will contact you about the results and recommendations for fertilizer application.

Cost for the soil testing is $7 per sample. The samples can be taken to the Coles County Extension office beginning Tuesday, March 31 and must be received by noon on Friday, April 3 to be included in the shipment. The office is located at 707 Windsor Rd, Suite A, Charleston and is open from 8 am – 12 noon and 1 – 4:30 pm Monday through Friday.

If you live in a county adjoining Coles, check with your local county U of I Extension Office to see if they are participating in the program.

For further details on the soil sampling program, use the Coles County website at: http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/coles/. Information is on the home page under today's feature. Or, you can call the office at 345-7034.

Squirrels and Deers! Vegetable Gardening! Learn more from the Coles County Extension Master Gardeners:

March 21 – Come to the Lawn and Garden Show at the Cross County Mall this weekend. At noon, Esther Lutz, who has completed both Extension Master Gardener and Master Naturalist training, will discuss "Squirrels in the Yard". If you have several of these furry little creatures scurrying around your yard, you will be interested in Esther's presentation. She will help you decide if they are pest or friend.

Following Esther's presentation, at 1:00 pm, Kathy Hummel will talk about "Deer Resistant Plants." Kathy will provide tips on plants that deer usually ignore and share techniques to assist in keeping deer away from your treasured plants. If the tall four-legged creatures have been venturing into your yard all winter, you may want to check out Kathy's list of resistant plants before you plan and plant all of your gardens for summer.

Esther and Kathy will have their presentations in the space across from the Elder Beerman store.

March 28 - 'Small Space Vegetable Gardening' will be the topic presented at Douglas Hart Nature Center by Max Davis, Extension Master Gardener. Starting at 10 am, Max will discuss the importance of location selection, soil tests and choosing appropriate vegetable varieties. First time vegetable growers will find this an excellent introductory session as the gardening season gets underway. Max's practical knowledge will get you started on your 2009 fresh vegetables.