The problem

Across the country homeowners do not see the success in their gardens and landscaping they are hoping for because they are not having their soil tested. By not fertilizing at all plants may not receive the nutrients that are needed and by applying unneeded fertilizers they are are contributing to environmental damage from runoff and leaching. While soil tests are often used by farmers, they may be forgotten by your average homeowner. 

To inspire our community to increase their soil testing we set forth a contest. A sunflower growing contest was promoted throughout the county with 31 individuals signing up. This contest offered a class that would provide participants with four varieties of seeds, education about growing sunflowers, and directions to receive free soil testing. The contest was split in youth and adult categories for the tallest sunflower and the sunflower with the largest seed head.

14 youth and 17 adults put their gardens to the test and effectively proved the value of a soil test when the most successful gardeners were those who completed a soil test and followed the recommendations. On average, sunflowers were a third taller than their competitors if a soil test had been completed. As a result of this contest, all participants said they would be more likely to complete soil tests before planning their gardens.