The Soil Test Laboratory at the University of Saskatchewan will provide a soil analysis for the home gardener. Soil samples representing depths greater than 6 inches provide information of particular importance in assessing problems related to salinity and nitrogen deficiency. The Labortory's test will provide you with the following information. Texture is determined by the relative proportion of sand, silt and clay found in a given soil. Fine-textured soils hold nutrients and moisture well, but often have poor drainage and are subject to heaving.
Most prairie soils are neutral to slightly alkaline.
At much higher or lower pH levels, certain nutrients become less available to growing plants, leading to deficiencies. Other nutrients or chemicals in the soil may become so soluble that they can be toxic to plants. Salinity Salinity is determined by the amount of salts in the soil. Salts can be flushed out of the surface layers of soil, but only if water is in plentify supply and subsurface drainage is unimpeded. No chemical treatments are alone effective in reducing salinity.