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Growing a beautiful, productive, low-maintenance garden starts with creating and continually nourishing healthy, biologically active soil. How do you know if your soil is full of the beneficial microorganisms that turn organic matter into plant food, fend off disease organisms and much more?

For organic gardeners, the Solvita Soil Life Test Kit is an easy, do-it-yourself answer. Developed by soil scientist Will Brinton, Ph.D. and his staff at Woods End Research Laboratory in Mt. Vernon, Maine, the Solvita kit uses a special gel that changes color when exposed to varying amounts of carbon dioxide. Fertile soil breathes just as we do, as the multitude of mostly invisible organisms take in oxygen and give off carbon dioxide. You simply place a specified amount of soil into the plastic jar included in the kit, stick a gel-coated paddle into the soil, and screw on the lid. After 24 hours, you compare the color of the gel patch to a color chart, and the color indicates if your soil fertility is low, medium or high. If fertility is low, then the kit's instructions explain what steps to take.

You can also test your compost the same way (in just 4 hours), and learn when your compost is mature and ready to use. Each Garden Care Kit includes enough materials for three soil tests and three compost tests. You can order it from Woods End Research Lab, P.O. Box 297, Mt. Vernon, Maine 04352; 800-451-0337; www.solvita.com.

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