Instructions for Soil Sampling Home Lawns, Gardens, Fruits, and Ornamentals
ID
452-125 (SPES-856NP)
- Visit ANRLIMS.COM or scan the QR code.
- Create an account using your email address.
- Follow the instructions: Click “Start Here” on the left side of the screen for step-by-step guidance on creating your profile and submitting soil samples for testing.
Soil Sampling Instructions: See the back of this form for instructions for collecting your soil sample. Payment options: Enclosed check or money order OR credit card payment through ANRLIMS.COM. Testing fees: Routine Soil Test: $10.00, Organic Matter Test: $4.00, Soluble Salts Test: $2.00
No printer available? Use this form to submit your soil sample if you are unable to print the form from ANRLIMS.COM.
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Payment Information: ☐ Enclosed: or ☐ Online (ANRLIMS.COM):
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Payment and Mailing Instructions:
If you did not pay online, please include any voucher, if applicable, and your check or money order payable to “Treasurer, Virginia Tech.” Do not send cash by mail.
Mail your printed form from ANRLIMS.COM or this completed form, along with payment (if applicable), voucher (if applicable), and the corresponding soil sample(s), in the same shipping container to:
Virginia Tech Soil Testing Lab
145 Smyth Hall (MC 0465)
185 Ag Quad Ln
Blacksburg, VA 24061
Important:
For test results to be meaningful, use extreme care when taking soil samples. Each sample represents many tons of soil in your lawn or garden. Test results cannot be any more accurate than the sample submitted to the laboratory. Do not take samples when the soil is extremely wet.
Sampling Instructions:
Divide your lawn or garden into sampling areas. Each area should be uniform in soil type and in the past fertilizer and lime treatments it has received. For example, use separate samples (areas) for the front and back lawns. For shrubs and trees, select an area from the trunk to the outer edges of the branches. Take a separate sample from each area as shown in the diagram below.
Use the following procedure for each sampling area:
A – Take samples with a trowel, shovel, spade, or auger. Make a vertical cut 4" deep for lawns, or to plowing depth for gardens, and push the soil aside. Then cut a thin slice from the side of the opening that is of uniform thickness, approximately 2" in width, and extending from the top of the ground to the depth of the cut. Scrape away or discard any surface mat of grass or litter and place the soil slice into a clean bucket or other container. Follow this sampling procedure in 10 or more different locations within each sampling area, placing the resulting soil in the same container each time to create a composite sample.
B – Thoroughly mix the soil from the composite sample, then fill the sample box to the top with the mixture. Fill in the information requested on the side of the sample box (including sample number), complete the other side of this sheet, and send the sample, sheet, and payment directly to the Soil Testing Laboratory.
For additional sampling instructions, go to www.soiltest.vt.edu.
Reviewed by Courtney McCombs, laboratory manager, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences Reviewed by Ethan Frederick, ICP Spectroscopist, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences
Virginia Cooperative Extension materials are available for public use, reprint, or citation without further permission, provided the use includes credit to the author and to Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech, and Virginia State University.
Virginia Cooperative Extension is a partnership of Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and local governments, and is an equal opportunity employer. For the full non-discrimination statement, please visit ext.vt.edu/accessibility.
Publication Date
October 23, 2026
