New York Offers Soil Testing for Community Gardens Without Charge

The 2024 New York State Community Gardens Soil Testing Program will allow eligible food-producing community garden members in New York State to send soil samples for testing up to one time per year without charge. New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Commissioner Richard A. Ball noted, “Ensuring the quality of good, rich soil through soil testing is an essential tool for anyone growing food, and making soil testing more accessible to those operating community gardens will only make these critical spaces even more valuable. I’m grateful to our partners at Cornell for their work on this initiative and encourage any eligible applicants to take advantage of this opportunity.” Soil testing can help determine the relative acidity of the soil, the level of several essential nutrients, as well as the presence of heavy metals. Technical support and education for participating growers will be provided by garden specialists from Cornell Cooperative Extension Harvest New York to help gardeners interpret the results and provide recommendations to amend and support their soils for the best food production outcomes.