Soil check

[manjety.livejournal.com]

Hi everybody!

Do you know how can I check the soil on my backyard for chemicals and whatever bad could there be?
Are the self check kits trustful? What would you recommend?

Comments

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

The old-school residents grow and consume all kinds of wonderful things from their front and back yards here. If you're friendly with any of them, they might know. A few houses down from me, Italian neighbors filled their split front yard with lush chicória. I've seen corn, watermelons, hot peppers, and lovely carport grape arbors, year after year. I'd worry more about how you're going to find the time to garden -- if you walk around the back residential streets, many residents are eating (and probably winemaking) well from the soil here ... I recommend talking with any old-school yard gardeners if you can.

[manjety.livejournal.com]

Thanks!
Here is my little 'story' :)

Every year since we moved in here (4 years ago) we help our landlord to take care of the garden. Tomatos, peppers, cucumers, herbs are just WONDERFUL! We eat our own tomatos till late October (except last year when the summer was cold). It's just today I was talking to some friends who are very organic-all-natural-grown concerned... so I've become curious about our soil and how clean it is.

About finding time to garden. It does not take THAT much time :) Most time consuming steps are prepering and planting... then it's all the fun part: weeding, watering, and feeding once in while.
I grew up in Russia where summer houses (aka 'dacha') and gardens are VERY popular. I used to go there on weekends or on summer vacations when I was a kid. At that time I hated gardening :) wanted to hang out and play with friends. Back there it was a bit further than 4 steps down from my porch here - there it was 2-2,5 hours trip one way :)

I don't mind to spend some time on our backyard after work :)