Soils & Climate

The Master Gardener Volunteers are on winter break until March 3rd. CCE Albany County staff will be answering the hotline and responding to emails during this time. Please leave a detailed message with your gardening questions and include pictures if it would be helpful. We will try to respond to you within a few days. Thank you for your patience. 518-765-3514 | albanymg@cornell.edu

Healthy Soils

What is Soil?

Soil, essential to life, brings together the geology, hydrology, biology and atmosphere of our planet. Our environment, clean fresh water, the plants and the animals around us, most of our infrastructure and our very existence is dependent on healthy soils. It will serve us well to understand how and why soils do what they do. Cornell Cooperative Extension is your resource for soil information, research and educational opportunities.

The Big Three: Soil is a dynamic and complex environment, but if you know the texture, soil organic matter and the pH you are well positioned to manage your soil.

• Texture: the fine particles (<2mm) that are the active matrix of our soils. For a quick and fun method to determine soil texture view our hand texturing video.
• Soil Organic matter : the soil fraction that comes from the breakdown of living materials and feeds our soils
• pH: the primary driver for nutrient availability

If you want to learn more about the Big Three or other soil information here are some great resources:

• Soil Science Society of America :Learn about soil science, and how people use and interact with soils.
• Cornell’s Introduction to Soil Science Course : a complete semester on YouTube without the tests!
• Living Soil the Film: An introduction to why soil health matters.
• Agronomy Fact Sheets : A list of downloadable CCE soil related bulletins.

Why Test Soil?

A healthy soil supports all life on this planet. Whether your goal is plant productivity, contaminant management, a healthy environment or all of the above, soil testing can provide information to help. Some important considerations:

• Keep your questions, goals, and budget in mind.
• Talk with your local Extension educator!
• It’s best to have more than one soil sample. Soil properties can be very different across a site, or even in a small area.
• Composite (or combined) samples are often a useful way to sample a larger area.
• Soil testing FAQs from Healthy Soils, Healthy Communities provide more information.

A soil test can tell you what nutrients are in your soil, the state of its health or even if you have contaminants harmful to humans, plants or the environment. Together with healthy gardening practices, testing can lead to better management as well as safe and productive soils.

Soils can also contain lead or other chemicals that can be harmful to people or plants. Together with healthy gardening practices , testing for contaminants like heavy metals can help you determine the best layout and management plan for your garden.

How to Test Soil: Soil Nutrient Testing Videos

Step-by-step description of how to take a sample

Soil Health Testing:

The Cornell Soil Health Laboratory provides a comprehensive assessment of soil health (CASH) as a method to assess the capacity of your soil to sustain productivity and environmental quality as well as promote plant, animal and human health. Visit the lab for complete information and assistance .

Soil Testing Resources

Soils can be analyzed to help you better manage your soils. Test for a variety of concerns including nutrients, soil health or even contaminants such as lead. University and NYS certified commercial labs provide soil testing, while Extension resources can help you understand test results:

Work with your local CCE Office for basic Soil pH and Texture analysis.

Nutrient Analysis:
Email: albanymg@cornell.edu
Call: 518-765-3514 Visit: 24 Martin Road., Voorheesville, NY 12186
9:00 am - 3:00 pm | Monday - Friday

More Advanced Testing:

Complete Soil Health Analysis: Cornell Soil Health Laboratory

For Soil Contaminants:
Cornell Nutrient Analysis Laboratory (CNAL)

To Find Other Certified Soil Labs:
NY State Environmental Laboratory Approval Program

Soil Contaminant Testing:

If you’ve tested your soil for lead or other metals (see tests above), comparing results to both soil background concentrations and health-based guidance values can help keep your family and plants healthy.

Key resources:

Garden Guidance from Cornell Garden Based Learning

Understanding Test Results from Healthy Soils, Healthy Communities

FAQs from Healthy Soils, Healthy Communities

Talk with your local Extension Associate or visit: Healthy Soils Healthy Communities or CNAL for more information.

Healthy Soils, Healthy Communities Project

The Healthy Soils, Healthy Communities project is a research and education partnership with New York's urban gardeners and others interested in healthy gardening. We help people address concerns about lead and other contaminants in gardens, farms, and other community spaces in order to enjoy the many benefits of gardening and growing healthy food.

Healthy gardening practices can help keep lead and other contaminants away from people and crops, and improve your soil. To grow healthy food:

Please visit the Healthy Soils, Healthy Communities website for more information about sources of contaminants in soil, soil testing and understanding results, healthy gardening practices, and other resources.

Be cautious about planting directly in the ground! If soil testing is not available, use raised beds or containers with clean soil and compost.

Keep soil dust away from people and plants! Cover bare soil in your garden, pathways, etc. with mulch or other materials. Wash hands well after gardening and be careful to keep soil from gloves, shoes, and tools outside.

Wash your vegetables thoroughly to remove soil particles!

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Climate

Find freeze/frost information for each state from NOAA's National Climactic Data Center.

Growing Degree Days (GDD) are a measure of heat accumulation used by horticulturalists to predict the date that a flower will bloom or a crop reach maturity. Statistics for the Northeast are provided on this Cornell Atmospheric Sciences & Turf Team website.

The Cornell Garden Based Learning website includes a section on Weather & Climate that includes information on Growing Degree Days, US plant hardiness zones, average frost dates, and microclimates.

Last updated November 18, 2024