Lifestyle DIY Soil Sample Kit

Product Overview

Soil Health for Your Lifestyle Block

A well-managed lifestyle block has the potential to produce high-quality food, support healthy animals, and provide real enjoyment from working with the land.

As more people move toward producing for themselves, their families, and their communities, understanding how the soil functions becomes an important first step in building a productive and sustainable system.

DIY Soil Testing Kit for Lifestyle Blocks

The DIY Soil Sample Kit provides everything you need to accurately sample your block.

It includes a soil probe, along with clear instructions and protocols to guide you through the sampling process – from collecting the samples through to packaging and sending them back to our office.

Once received, your samples are prepared and sent to Brookside Laboratories, Ohio for testing to Ecofarm’s specifications – the same testing approach used for commercial farms.

Results are typically returned within 14-20 days, depending on shipping time.

It takes about 14-20 days to get the results back (depending on shipping).

Understanding Your Soil Test Results

Once your results are received, they are analysed and used to guide recommendations tailored to your lifestyle block.

Understanding your soil’s starting point allows us to identify:

• The current nutrient status of your soil and pasture
• Any excesses, deficiencies, or imbalances
• The level of biological activity within the soil

This provides a clear foundation for improving soil function and supporting better long-term performance from your block.

What Happens After Your Soil Test

Once your soil results have been analysed, we’ll talk you through what they are showing and what may be influencing how your block is performing.

From there, we’ll outline practical options to support improvement – whether that’s through a customised mineral blend, changes in management, or a staged approach over time.

For lifestyle blocks, this is about working with what you have and making steady, meaningful progress, rather than overcomplicating the system.

Working With Your Soil, Not Against It

Our approach focuses on supporting how the soil functions, not just adding inputs.

By addressing the underlying imbalances and limitations identified in your results, you can begin to:

• Improve how nutrients are cycled and made available
• Support stronger, more consistent plant growth
• Build a more resilient and easier-to-manage system over time

Why Soil Testing Matters for Lifestyle Blocks

Understanding your soil gives you a clear starting point.

From there, every decision becomes more targeted, more efficient, and more aligned with building a productive and sustainable lifestyle block.

Directions for use

Supplied in your Soil Sampling Pack

1. A 150mm soil probe
2. Brookside Laboratories brown paper soil sample bags
3. Rubber band
4. Plastic Bag for completed Brookside submission form
5. The return to Ecofarm Aotearoa office Courier label [supplied]

You will need a clean bucket. Wash with water only.

Keep the original box this all came in – you will need it to return the probe and samples.

Collecting Soil Samples
Collect 2 or 3 x 150mm deep core samples from each paddock, avoiding the areas indicated in the diagram. You will need at least 10 samples over the whole testing area. Place the cores in the bucket as they are collected. Remove any excess vegetation and foreign bodies. Thoroughly mix all cores together and place about 300 grams (¾ full) into the Brookside sample bag. Fold the top over and seal closed, using the rubber band. Fill out the form and place in plastic bag. Seal.

Sending the sample to Ecofarm Aotearoa

1. Reusing the original box, wash the probe and place it in the box with the sealed and labelled Brookside Laboratories bag with your samples in it, the completed Soil Analysis Request Form & the instruction card. Seal the box.
2. Remove the original address label from the outside of the courier box.
3. Place the supplied courier label on the box (for returning to Ecofarm Aotearoa 1 Railway St Paeroa 3600). There must be NO confusion as to where this is being posted to, hence the removal of the original posting label.
4. Post from any post shop.
5. Email the office (office@efa.nz) advising us of the date that you have sent the samples.

Technical Notes

1. If a core of soil gets stuck in the probe use a stick [nothing metal] to poke it out.
2. We measure trace elements in Parts Per Million (PPM), so beware of contamination!
3. Do not collect samples when soil conditions are extremely wet or extremely dry.
4. Avoid urine or manure patches.

Soil test results generally arrive back at the office 14- 20 days after the samples are dispatched from Paeroa to America. Brookside Laboratories are based in New Bremen, Ohio, USA.

We will contact you with the sample results and suggest a way forward so that your land becomes more productive, a home for healthy animals and a source of healthy produce.

Thanks for working with us!
The Team at Ecofarm

Interpreting Results

Understanding Your Soil Test Results

Your soil test results may look different from what you’ve seen before.

They don’t include simple “low, medium, high” graphs or averages – because there is no single “ideal” soil to compare against. Every soil functions differently depending on its structure, mineral balance, and biological activity.

We will talk you through your results so you clearly understand what they are showing, what may be limiting performance, and what opportunities exist within your soil.

What This Means for Your Block

This approach has helped many lifestyle block owners better understand their soil and take practical steps toward improving pasture, plant growth, and overall system performance.

Rather than relying on guesswork, you’re working from a clear understanding of what’s happening in your soil.

Supporting Your System

As you begin improving soil function and biology, some lifestyle block owners choose to support their animals with a broad-spectrum mineral supplement such as Vitus Animal Lick.

As soil and pasture quality improve over time, mineral intake requirements may change as animals adjust to what is available through the system.

Learn More

An Ecofarmer’s Discovery by Ewan Campbell explains the observations and thinking behind the Ecofarm approach, including how soil, minerals, and biology interact within a functioning system.

You may wish to order a copy alongside your Soil Sample Kit to better understand the process.

Get Started

Order your Ecofarm Lifestyle DIY Soil Testing Kit to begin understanding what your soil is doing and how to improve it over time.

Important Notes

• The DIY kit includes one soil test. Additional sample areas can be tested at an additional cost.
• Spare sample bags are included in case additional samples are required or a sample is compromised.
• Please ensure all information returned with your samples is clear and complete.

Herbage Testing (Optional):
Herbage tests can be arranged through your rural supplier (typically via Hills Laboratories). If completing these tests, request analysis for Molybdenum, Cobalt, Selenium, Iodine, and Nickel.

These results can be forwarded to us to further refine your recommendations.

The Science

How the Ecofarm System Works

Improving soil isn’t just about adding nutrients – it’s about supporting how the whole system functions.

At Ecofarm, we look at soil through three connected areas: physical structure, mineral balance, and biological activity. When these are working together, the soil is better able to cycle nutrients, support plant growth, and build long-term resilience.

Physics – Soil Structure and Energy Flow

Probitas soil conditioner is included in Ecofarm blends to support soil structure and the natural energy processes within the soil.

In many soils, past management can reduce the soil’s ability to hold and transfer energy effectively – particularly where silica function has been impacted.

Supporting these physical processes can improve how water, air, and nutrients move through the soil system.

Chemistry – Mineral Balance and Nutrient Availability

Ecofarm blends include key minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, silica, and sulphur, which play important roles in plant growth and photosynthesis.

Trace elements are added where required, based on soil test results.

Rather than focusing only on how much nutrient is present, the emphasis is on balance and availability – ensuring nutrients can be accessed and used by the plant.

Biology – Supporting Living Soil Systems

Our biological inputs may include organisms such as cyanobacteria and vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhiza (VAM), which support nutrient cycling, soil structure, and plant-soil interactions.

These organisms assist with the breakdown of organic material and the movement of minerals to the plant, helping to support a more active and functional soil system.

Customised Soil Blends for Your Block

Your recommendations are based on your soil test results, with a focus on identifying the key limiting factors within your soil.

From this, we outline a tailored approach to address imbalances, excesses, and constraints – supporting how your soil is designed to function.

This is where your management and our analysis come together, working with the biological processes and natural energy systems within your soil.

By improving soil function, you can begin to unlock more of the productive potential already within your block – supporting healthier plant growth, more efficient nutrient cycling, and a more resilient system over time.