Soil Testing
Know Your Soil. Grow Better.
Find a soil testing laboratory and learn how to collect a good soil sample before planting. A soil test can help you understand what your soil needs and avoid spending money on the wrong fertilizer.
1. Soil Testing Directory
Contact a laboratory below to ask about soil testing for your farm.
Type a company name to find it quickly.
7 companies listed
Crop Nutrition Laboratory Services (Cropnuts)
Top pickKALRO National Agricultural Laboratories (NARL)
SGS Kenya
Yara East Africa
Votex Limited
Hyper Kenya Ltd
Airsense Environmental Lab
No matching company found
Try another name or search using fewer letters.
2. How to Take a Soil Sample
Follow these three steps to collect a sample that represents your field.
Walk across the field
Divide your farm into separate areas if they differ in slope, soil colour or crops grown before. In each area, walk in a zigzag and collect soil from 10 to 15 different spots. Avoid field edges, manure heaps and places where fertilizer has spilled.
Dig and take a slice
Dig a V-shaped hole about 15–20 cm deep for crops, or about 10 cm deep for pasture. Cut a thin, even slice of soil from one side of the hole and put it into a clean bucket. Repeat at every sampling spot in the same area.
Mix, pack and label
Mix all the soil slices from the same area. Remove stones and roots. Take about half a kilo of the mixed soil and put it in a clean bag, not a fertilizer sack. Label it with your name, phone number, field name and date. Follow the lab's instructions if it requests a special container or preparation.
Remember: Keep samples from different fields or different soil areas separate. One mixed sample should represent one uniform area, not your entire farm if the areas are different.
3. Before You Send Your Sample
Use these simple checklists to get more value from your soil test.
Ask the lab before you pay
- Which soil test do I need for my crop?
- How much does it cost, and how do I pay?
- Where do I drop off the sample? Do you collect samples?
- How many days will the results take?
- Will the report recommend fertilizer or lime?
Write this on your form
- The crop you plan to grow.
- The crop grown last season.
- Any fertilizer, manure or lime used before.
- The size of the field.
- Any problems you have noticed, such as poor growth or yellow leaves.
Avoid these mistakes
- Recent fertilizer or lime: Ideally wait about 3 months before sampling, and ask the lab if you applied any recently.
- Waterlogged soil: Wait until the soil is no longer waterlogged.
- Wrong drying method: If drying is required, dry in the shade, not in an oven or direct sun.
- Mixing fields: Keep samples from different fields separate.
- Testing too late: Test 2–3 months before planting, then every 2–3 years or as advised.
