Our goal with the Helping You Have Healthy Turf newsletter has always been two-fold.  The first goal is to be informative and educational for our customers.  The second goal, of course, is to try to encourage the reader to use Turf Diagnostics & Design for their soil testing. 

 This issue concerns how to properly package and send samples in to the lab for the various testing procedures we perform. We feel this is useful information for our customers.  However, it is also a little more self-serving than most of our newsletters.   We often receive samples that  are inadequate in one form or another.  Bad samples are the biggest problem that we encounter in our lab, and it also causes problems for our customers.  Please allow us to be somewhat self indulgent, as we hope the information in this newsletter will be  a benefit to our lab and to you our customer.

 The most common problems encountered are improper packaging and incorrect sample volume.  Improperly packaged samples can lead to containers opening during shipment, cross-contamination of samples or total loss of sample content. 

  Picture is of open sample bags that arrived at the lab.  Bags contained wet soil
 that washed off the labels and made the samples unidentifiable and unusable

 We recommend the following procedure for shipment of samples to the lab:

1)       Place sample in a zipper lock type of bag. 

2)       Close the bag and label with a permanent marker.

3)       Place bag inside of another bag.  Then close the outer bag.

4)       Repeat this process for all samples that are to be submitted.

5)       Place samples in a box for shipment.  Place packing materials (e.g. bubble wrap) around the sample bags.

6)       Include a sample submittal form inside the box.  Submittal forms are available on our web site www.turfdiag.com or we can fax them to you.

7)       Close and tape the box, then ship to the lab via courier.  UPS and FedEx deliver to our lab in the afternoon.  If morning delivery is needed please use DHL.

How much sample is needed depends upon the testing that is to be performed. 

1)       For most of our testing procedures the proper amount of sample to supply is one gallon.  This amount will be sufficient for sands that are to be tested for rootzones, topdress, or bunkers. 

2)       A half gallon sample is sufficient for nutrient evaluations, drainage gravels, or organic and inorganic amendments. 

3)       Base stone/top stone testing for artificial turf requires two gallons of sample. 

4)       LA Abrasion and sulfate soundness testing for gravels requires three gallons. 

If you are in doubt as to the proper sample amount, a one gallon sample is usually a good fall back amount.  Otherwise you can call us, and we’ll be happy to give you some advice. 

 Turf Diagnostics and Design Moves to Linwood Kansas

After 13 years in the same location in Olathe Kansas, we have moved to a new state of the art laboratory facility in nearby
Linwood, KS.  Our new location gives us the space and facilities to provide our customers with unmatched testing capabilities and superior customer service.

Give us a call the next time you are in the Kansas City area.  We’ll be happy to give you a tour of our lab and show you some Midwestern hospitality.   

Please make note of our new address and phone numbers.  The new address is where all samples should be sent for testing.  It is also the location of our accounting and business offices. 

Turf Diagnostics & Design

613 E. 1^st Street

Linwood, KS  66052

Phone: 913-723-3700

Here are typical turnaround times for some of the tests performed at Turf Diagnostics & Design.

Particle Size – 2 to 3 working days

QC Particle Size – 1 working day

Infiltration Rate – 1 to 3 working days

QC Infiltration Rate – 1 working day

Gravel Distribution – 1 to 2 working days

QC Gravel Distribution – Same day as recd.

Organic Matter – 1 to 2 working days

QC Organic Matter – Same day as recd.

Full USGA Physical Evaluation – 2 to 4 working days

Water Release Characterization – 1 week

Bunker Evaluation – 2 to 4 working days

Organic Amendment Evaluation – 2 to 3 working days

Send mail to turfdiag@turfdiag.com with questions or comments about this web site.
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