| Were your flowers and vegetables as lush and healthy as you'd hoped this year? If not, consider testing your soil for its nutrient content and pH (whether it's alkaline or acidic) to determine if it needs amending. Some experts recommend checking soil every three to five years, since rainfall and plants deplete it. Fall is the best time to test soil; it's after the growing season, but before the ground freezes. Contact a local soil-testing laboratory for more information about what it tests for (some include soil type, such as clay, muck, sand or the ideal, loam), what the analysis costs, if it includes recommendations in view of the results as well as what you want to grow, and how to take a soil sample. Here's a list of provincial and private laboratories found across Canada: |
| Alberta |
| Norwest Labs 7217 Roper Road, Edmonton, Alberta T6B 3J4; (780) 438-5522; Toll Free in Western Canada: (800) 661-7645 ; www.norwestlabs.com |
| British Columbia |
| Griffin Labs Corp. 1875 Spall Rd., Kelowna, BC V1Y 4R2 (250) 765-3399; www.grifflabs.com M&B Research & Development |
| Manitoba |
| Norwest Labs 1357 Dugald Road, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2J 0H3; (204) 982-8630; toll Free in Western Canada: (800) 483-3448 ; www.norwestlabs.com |
| New Brunswick |
| NB Agricultural Lab |
| Newfoundland and Labrador |
| Soil Plant and Feed Laboratory Department of Forest Resources and Agrifoods, Provincial Agriculture Building, Box 8700, Brookfield Road, St. John's, NF, A1B 4J6; 709-729-6638; www.gov.nf.ca/agric |
| Nova Scotia |
| Laboratory Services Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Quality Evaluation Division, Laboratory Services 176 College Road (Harlow Institute), Truro, Nova Scotia B2N 2P3; www.gov.ns.ca/nsaf |
| Ontario |
| A & L Canada Laboratories East, Inc. Accutest Laboratories Agri-Food Laboratories Soil and Nutrient Laboratory Stratford Agri Analysis Inc. |
| Prince Edward Island |
| P.E.I. Soil and Feed Testing Lab |
| Quebec |
| Les Laboratoires A&L du Canada |
| Saskatchewan |
| Saskatchewan Soil Testing Lab |
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