UNDERSTANDING YOUR SOIL TEST

Saturday, 6 September, 10am to 3pm @ CROP in Raglan.

Limited Spaces.

Investment: $265

Are you tired of getting your soil test back and not understanding it? Feel at a bit of a loss about what to do, even once you DO understand it? Or perhaps you know it’s something you should do but you’re not sure where to begin? This workshop is for you! We’ve teamed up with an expert soil scientist to help you get to the bottom of what your soil test means and what to look out for.  We will also provide a few recommendations based on your specific soil test so you will leave with not only a clearer picture of your soil’s health, but also a mini action plan to help get you back on track.

Our workshop covers:

* Unpacking the value of a soil test – and the NZ landscape on this

* An overview of plant mineral requirements and why we need to care

* How to get an accurate soil test sample - we will take a sample at CROP

* Some other interesting soil gadgets that spice things up

* Reading a soil test  - what does it all mean?

* Some soil test red flags – what should jump out at you

* Organic vs ‘Inorganic’ amendments – we debunk some myths here

* A mini action plan/ initial recommendations based on your individual soil test of your flower farm, vege garden, food forest or home garden.

Note:

Will you know everything there is to know about soil and soil tests in general when you leave? Whilst we would love to say: ‘Hell yeah!’ in response to this, the honest answer is: ‘No’. Soil is an incredibly complex subject, encompassing geology, biology chemistry and ecology with a number of variables that influence its behaviour and function. There is a myriad of opinions and approaches – a little bit like parenting. What we WILL do is help equip you to make more informed decisions and at least send you away with some specific recommendations to kickstart your soil journey and supercharge your growing. Come join us!

About the soil test

Do you have a current soil test?

Bring it along. Any soil test is fine.

You can also just arrive without one and use our soil tests here, including CROP’s 2025 Soil Test from Brookside.

Do you want to organise your own soil test to bring?

If you are doing a Hills Test, we recommend Basic Soil ($74 + GST) + Nitrogen and Sulphur (= $113 + GST) + Mehlich 3 (which tests your Trace elements + $31 + GST) = $144 to get a clear picture. Work with Hills Lab directly to get your samples and your tests. We won’t be consulting on this aspect if you go directly. Simply sort yourself and bring the test along.

Do you want us to sort a soil test for you?

Order a soil test through us and get a discount at $120(RRP: $150). We will let you know how to take an accurate soil sample and let you know where to post it to (in Hamilton). We will sort the soil test for you through Brookside Lab in the US. The US, I hear you say? Yes, we really recommend doing a soil test through Brookside. It's different from Hills as it looks at more regenerative farming practices. It's generally the test you go for if you care about soil structure, microbial activity and long-term fertility, and it is laid out to help you understand soil ratios within the soil a little better.  Being based in the US seems counter-intuitive but it is actually worth the little more time it takes to get the results.

PLEASE NOTE: If you want us to do a soil test for you, we need to receive your soil sample by 1 August 2025 (otherwise, just bring your own soil test or simply learn using our examples, including CROP’s 2025 Brookside soil test)

Please read our Cancellation Policy here

CANCELLATION POLICY:

If you purchase our Soil Workshop or Soil Test, you are agreeing to the following cancellation policy. Please make sure you are comfortable with this policy and agree to its terms before purchase.

A refund will be given if you cancel by 31 July 2025 via email, less $25 administration time/ card fees per product, for either the workshop or the soil test (or both if you bought and would like to cancel both).

Should you cancel after 31 July 2025, we regretfully will not reimburse you for the workshop or soil test, including transfer to another workshop or other products. We are a small business and spaces are limited, plus we are dealing with an independent consultant’s time, buying soil samplers, organising soil tests etc. The fact that a soil test is required means that most people will prefer to book early, hence this strict cancellation policy.

Please note: Unfortunately, under no circumstances will a refund be given after the 31 July 2025. Please do respect this policy and know that we cannot offer exceptions to this.

However, we would welcome you to nominate another person to attend in your place: please inform us via email of this change.

Please note:

(i)       This workshop requires a minimum number of people in order to go ahead. Should we not receive sufficient numbers, we will let you know 7 days before the workshop via email. Any fees will be returned. Should the soil test already be underway, we regretfully will not be able to return the fee for this, but we will of course still get the soil test for you. Please take the above into consideration when booking travel etc.

(ii)     This workshop will go ahead in bad weather unless this is an extreme weather event or CROP determines it would be unsafe or inappropriate to run this event. In this event, please see (i) above.

(iii)  If CROP regretfully cancels this workshop for any other reason, the same conditions apply as point (i) above.