Soil & Compost Testing Services
Soil Nutrients Testing
A soil test reveals the nutrients composition of the soil or compost. Since different plants require nutrients with different quantities to grow best, determination of the nutrients in soil or compost could help gardeners or farmers to optimize their crops or plants.
Soil & compost tests usually include major nutrients such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K); and secondary minerals such as calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), boron (B), molybdenum (Mo), aluminum (Al), etc.
Soil TextureTesting
Soil can be classified into four major textural classes, namely, sands, silts, loams and clays. Soil texture is important characteristic as it affects various soil properties such as drainage, water holding capacity, aeration, susceptibility to erosion, organic matter content, cation exchange capacity, etc.; all these factors could have in turn a large impact on plant or crop growth.
Soil texture is categorized by determining the proportion of particles with different size present in the soil.
To ensure the accuracy of the test results, testing should be carried out by the laboratories accredited by the Hong Kong Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (HOKLAS). Enviro Labs Ltd. (ELL) is registered as a HOKLAS accredited laboratory (HOKLAS 128) in Environmental Testing and our company holds HOKLAS accreditation for ALL the tests listed as above.
Compost Maturity Testing
The maturity of compost refers to the completeness of the composting process. Determination of the maturity of compost is important as it reveals the potential impact of the compost on the availability of nitrogen, a major nutrient for plant growth in soil or growth media. Mature compost benefits plant growth without depleting the oxygen or nitrogen in soil. While immature compost could be used to increase the amount of organic matter in soil, despite the fact that it may have undesirable properties like odor or even substances inhibiting plant
growth. Compost maturity could be determined from the Carbon to Nitrogen ratio. According to the CCQC (California Compost Quality Council), Compost Maturity Index could be related to the characteristics summarized in the following table:
Please feel free to find us to know more information about the tests. Call us at 2676 2983 or e-mail info@envirolabs.com.hk for details of the services.