Soil Testing

Texas Plant & Soil Lab has been performing soil test and analyzing crop specific soil data since 1938. This page serves as a launch point for all your soil testing needs and questions.

Order Soil Testing Online

Texas Plant & Soil Lab makes soil testing orderable online in two different ways:

(1) Direct Purchase Price with no sample bag and no return mailer box. This testing is sold at the cheapest price with no materials or retail mark-up.

(2) Return Mailer Kit, sent to your address with order form, printed instructions, sample bag and return shipping box. Retail price includes printed materials, handling and shipping.

Soil Test Direct Pricing Category Page
For directions and a complete list of Direct Purchase Price soil testing, please visit this page.

Soil Test Return Mailer Kit Category Page
For a complete list of return mailer kits, please visit this page.

Soil Test by Packages
Soil test packages grouped together in the most popular bundles at a discounted price.
• Comprehensive Soil Test +(LOI) Organic Matter +Boron +Solvita
• California Comp Soil Test +Boron +Bicarbonates +Chlorides +Sulfates
• Comprehensive Soil Test +(LOI) Organic Matter +Boron
• Comprehensive Soil Test +Boron
• Comprehensive Soil Test +(LOI) Organic Matter
• Comprehensive Soil Test +User Controlled Add-ons

Stand alone Soil Tests direct pricing.
• Comprehensive Soil Test
• Standard Soil Test (NO Micronutrients) +(LOI) Organic Matter
• Standard Soil Test (NO Micronutrients)
• Subsoil Standard Test (NO Micronutrients, No Humus Fraction)
• Melich III Soil Test +Water Soluble Soil Test
• Melich III
• Basic Nutrients - N, P, K & Ca Only

Add-On Soil Tests direct pricing.
These Add-On test can be purchased in corresponding quantities to ordered tests.
• Add-on Solvita® Soil Health & Activity Test
• Add-on Chlorides Soil Test
• Add-on Texture (Bouyoucos) Soil Test
• Add-on (LOI) Organic Matter Soil Test
• Add-on Sulfate Soil Test
• Add-on CEC: Cat-ion Exchange +%Base Saturation Soil Test

Order Soil Testing offline
To download the printable forms for traditional ordering, please choose:

International Soil Testing

Learn More about our Soil Testing Method

The "How To's" of Soil Testing

Why should I have my soil tested?

A pre-plant soil test will tell you what fertilizers you need to apply to get your plants off to a good start by providing them with proper soil fertility at planting.

A post-harvest soil test tells you what nutrients your crop removed so you can start preparing your soil for the next crop.

Different plants remove different nutrients at different rates throughout the growing season. Worse yet, some soils readily leach out nutrients while other soils rapidly tie up nutrients into compounds that are not readily available to the plant. By the end of the season, there can be little available nutrients left.

Proper soil nutritional balance can reduce water usage by 40 to 60 percent and dramatically reduce fertilizer requirements by
applying only what the crop needs.

YOU CAN’T GUESS about fertilizer application and expect to attain the best economic yields and plant quality.

Why are TPSL^®'s tests and recommendations superior?

TPSL^® uses the Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Extraction Method because it mimics the way plants naturally take up nutrients in every soil type.

This method was developed in 1845 by Charles G.B. Daubeny of Oxford, England and was one of the first extraction methods. It was not until the 20th Century that analytical technologies advanced to allow the method to be further developed by the universities of Arizona and Florida, and others. TPSL^® has continued to build upon and develop those earlier works for more than 40 years.

Utilizing the Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Extraction Method reveals the amounts of soil nutrients that are immediately available to the plant, as well as those nutrients that are “in reserve” or slowly-available.

Other labs tell you only the total content, much of which may be unavailable to the plant. This explains why more recent testing methods may show certain nutrients as adequate or high, yet the plants show deficiencies in those same nutrients – and why you may see the same test results, year after year.

With our tests you get detailed recommendations for correcting problems and building healthy, live soils using the Albrecht System of fertility balancing – specifically for your soil, your plants and your cultivation practice – whether Conventional, Sustainable or Organic.

See Explanation of Soil Organic Matter here.

In addition to the Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Extraction Method, Texas Plant & Soil Lab also offers the standard methods to conduct nutrient analysis, including DTPA, Mehlich III, Ammonium Acetate (Modified Morgan) and others.

For more details and more information on why the Texas Plant & Soil Lab method of Soil Test is superior to assembly-line automated lab testing, please see our page, Why Our Method?

Please contact us today at 956-383-0739 and speak with us
about your needs.