Re: soil testing. I ordered SoilKit from Amazon (it's also available at Lowes) which tries to make it as easy as possible to test your soil. You register your kit once you get it and mark the area you want to test (could be the whole yard, just the vegetable garden, etc.) on a Google map of your property. In my case I wanted to know how acid the soil was around my hydrangeas. They enclose a bag for the soil sample and it's postage paid so you just mail it after it's sealed. A week later you get an email with a link to your online report and recommendations. Much to my surprise, I found the soil around my house wasn't as acidic as I thought, only a pH of 6. It needs to be lower than that for my hydrangeas to turn blue, and sulfur is recommended. I was disappointed that they didn't test for aluminum, because if your soil lacks aluminum the flowers won't turn blue no matter how acidic it is. Pros: very easy. Also pretty fast turnaround, and kind of fun doing it online Cons: heavily weighted towards lawns. There is a way to specify other gardening types, but they assume you are testing your lawn unless you say otherwise. The other con is they want to upsell you on the deluxe subscription and various amendments, but you can just say no to all that. And it's more expensive than doing it through cooperative extension. If you want, I can send you a copy of my test results, so you can see how it compares to yours.
Thank you! I think I got lucky with the rabbits this year, maybe because I started the seeds in a tray a few weeks before I carefully transplanted them when they were a few inches tall? I know sunflowers generally don't like to be transplanted like that, but it seemed to work with this variety.
OK thanks! I did try that also, but they were eaten too, up to 3-4 inches tall! Oh well, I did get some to grow and there's always next year! Have a great day!
Re: soil testing. I ordered SoilKit from Amazon (it's also available at Lowes) which tries to make it as easy as possible to test your soil. You register your kit once you get it and mark the area you want to test (could be the whole yard, just the vegetable garden, etc.) on a Google map of your property. In my case I wanted to know how acid the soil was around my hydrangeas. They enclose a bag for the soil sample and it's postage paid so you just mail it after it's sealed. A week later you get an email with a link to your online report and recommendations. Much to my surprise, I found the soil around my house wasn't as acidic as I thought, only a pH of 6. It needs to be lower than that for my hydrangeas to turn blue, and sulfur is recommended. I was disappointed that they didn't test for aluminum, because if your soil lacks aluminum the flowers won't turn blue no matter how acidic it is. Pros: very easy. Also pretty fast turnaround, and kind of fun doing it online Cons: heavily weighted towards lawns. There is a way to specify other gardening types, but they assume you are testing your lawn unless you say otherwise. The other con is they want to upsell you on the deluxe subscription and various amendments, but you can just say no to all that. And it's more expensive than doing it through cooperative extension. If you want, I can send you a copy of my test results, so you can see how it compares to yours.
Those sunflowers are gorgeous! How do you keep the rabbits or squirrels from eating the seedlings? I had so much trouble with that this year.
Thank you! I think I got lucky with the rabbits this year, maybe because I started the seeds in a tray a few weeks before I carefully transplanted them when they were a few inches tall? I know sunflowers generally don't like to be transplanted like that, but it seemed to work with this variety.
OK thanks! I did try that also, but they were eaten too, up to 3-4 inches tall! Oh well, I did get some to grow and there's always next year! Have a great day!