Pictured is The unfinished backyard of my new construction home. I need to till the soil because there is a lot of construction debris in there as I found when I trenched it to run irrigation. I also know that I need to add topsoil before I lay down sod. My plan is to lay down topsoil and then till in the topsoil into the existing soil so that I can remove the construction debris and then I do not have to till twice. My question is should I get a soil test of the current soil or should I get a soil test of my current soil mixed and tilled in with the topsoil?
by FerrousMan33
4 Comments
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You’d want to do it before and after to see the difference. You need to know what p.h. you are dealing with for your particular age region. P.h. is a very slow process to alter.
Anything you do immediately after installing new soil is going to be a stop-gap. Install the top soil and then take a sample to the appropriate depth. It should be a core sample, so that’s going to be a representative section that will be mixed together.
Just make sure to do it again several months from now to see how things have progressed as it all incorporates.
Either before adding the topsoil or several months after… The pH of the top soil itself is likely to change over time as it “settles”… It would most likely become more *neutral* over time.
So it would be a shame to have the test tell you your soil has a pH of 8, so you add sulfur… Only for the top soil to neutralize on its own and leave you with acidic soil.
I’d honestly lean towards waiting for several months after adding the new top soil.
P.s. use your state extension service, not mysoil… Or god forbid, yard mastery.