A $20 UMass Amherst soil test gives gardeners custom advice to improve soil, save money and help plants grow better.

Man cupping soil in hands while squatting in garden - Drazen Zigic/Getty Images Soil testing could not be more important preceding tasks like establishing a new garden, diagnosing plant problems, ...

Save money and time. A soil test tells you what you need instead of using unnecessary fertilizers. Significant amounts of ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Soil type affects how it retains water and nutrients.Photograph: iStock/Getty Images (Photograph: iStock/Getty Images) I often ...

Now that we have experienced the first frost of the season, and the growing season for most garden and home landscape plants has come to an end, we as gardeners tend to start thinking about things we ...

Ready to plant? Don't forget to test your soil pH. Before planting your garden don't forget to test your soil pH level to learn how acidic or basic it is. This could be a deciding factor in whether ...

Amanda Blum is a freelancer who writes about smart home technology, gardening, and food preservation. Previously, Amanda has worked as a technology strategist specializing in problem solving and ...