Soil records

Soil samples, spot by spot

Trees n Bees keeps soil test results for small growers. Give each sample spot a label, record where it was taken, and add the lab or home kit results when they come back. Tests of the same spot line up year on year, beside what was added in between and the national soil map's estimate for that spot.

Soil page showing three years of tests at one sample site, North of Middle Paddock, with pH, organic carbon, phosphorus, potassium and CEC rising after lime, and the national soil map estimate beside each value — One sample site over three years, with the soil map estimate for the spot beside each value.

Sample anywhere on the property

A soil sample can come from an orchard, a single tree, a block, a garden bed, a paddock you've drawn on the map, or anywhere else on the property. Tag it to that place if you like, or leave it as just somewhere on the property.

Give the spot a label you'll recognise, like "North of Middle Paddock".
Set where it was taken: stand at the spot and tap "I'm standing here", or tap it on the map.
Start typing a label you've used before and its spot and tag fill in, so next year's sample is taken in the same place.

Results when they come back

Save the sample the day you dig it and add the results when the lab report arrives. Enter what the report gives, from pH, EC and organic carbon to nutrients, exchangeable cations and trace elements, in the units Australian labs usually use. Keep a photo or PDF of the report with the test, or a home kit reading if that's what you used.

Compared year on year

Tests of the same spot sit side by side, newest first, with ▲ and ▼ showing what rose or fell since the last one.
The lime, gypsum, compost or fertiliser recorded in between is shown with each test, so a change has a likely reason.
Every test on the property is on one Soil page, and the orchard, block, tree or bed it belongs to shows it too.

The soil map estimate, downloaded for you

For each sample spot, Trees n Bees downloads the national soil map's estimate of pH, organic carbon, CEC, texture and soil depth, and shows it beside your own results. It is a starting point to compare with, not a soil test: the map works in squares about 90 m across. Australia only for now, from the Soil and Landscape Grid of Australia (CSIRO and TERN).

On the map

Sample spots show as pins on the property map with their labels, one per sample site. Turn them on or off under Layers, and tap one to see its latest test.

Who it suits

Growers who test their soil every year or two and want to see whether the lime is working, home orchardists checking a new planting site, and anyone who has a folder of lab reports and can't remember which paddock each one was from.

Getting started

Open Soil and tap "+ Soil test".
Label the spot, tag it to a place if you like, and set where it was taken.
Save it when you sample, and enter the results when they come back.
Next time, use the same label and the tests line up.

Property map over satellite imagery with paddocks, two orchards, a dam and a garden bed, and brown pins at the soil sample spots labelled North of Middle Paddock, Creek Flat and Peach rows — Sample spots as pins on the property map, with their labels.

Questions? See common questions, or the home page for everything Trees n Bees does.