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Can you Check Whether my Garden Has Been Sprayed With a Specific Substance?

Soil AnalysisWe get many enquiries asking for help identifying whether a garden has been sprayed with specific pesticide or herbicide (whether by a neighbour, commercial vehicle or by a previous owner). Unfortunately, our soil testing cannot confirm the exact chemical composition of what has been sprayed – there are simply too many varieties of common weedkiller, and they may have been mixed. If you would like to test for pesticides or herbicides, we can offer the below solutions:

Testing for groups of pesticides or herbicides

While individual pesticides cannot be identified, we are able to test for groups of pesticides or herbicides. Specifically, we can test for the presence of organochlorine pesticides, organophosphate pesticides, organonitrogen pesticides and acid herbicides. These tests can be completed individually or grouped together, as per your requirements.

Completing a soil health test

Soil TestingIf your plants are failing to thrive, and you believe this could be due to pesticides or herbicides used previously, there are a variety of tests on offer which you may wish to consider. These tests will check the soil health generally and allow you to understand which nutrients or chemicals may be causing damage to your plants. The options include:

– Broad Spectrum Soil Health
– Animal Health Soil Test (for soil where grazing animals are present)
– Heavy Metal Contamination for Vegetable Production (testing for minerals that can cause specific issues when growing vegetables)
– Broad Spectrum Leaf (where the leaf of a plant is tested rather than the soil)

We also offer tests to certify that your topsoil meets the requirements of British Standard 3882 (2015) and that your subsoil meets the requirements of British Standard 8601 (2013).

All these options will help you better understand your soil and the damage that pesticides and herbicides may have caused to your growth potential.  If you feel you may need one of these tests please do contact us today!