I had my soil tested last year - because I used soil from the local compost facility to get started - it had about 80% composted horse manure mixed in with regular compost as the other 20% (so they told me anyways).

I learned that even though you can buy your own test kits, the one I got wasn't correct at all. The test kit showed a pH of 8 or higher. After the professional soil test, it came back showing 7.2 for the pH.

As for phosphorous and potassium, the company showed that I was well over the requirements. Phosphorous was read at 310 lbs/acre with the soil mixture - and the optimal level is only 50 lbs/acre. Potassium was read at 800 lbs/acre and optimal was 300 lbs/acre.

They didn't test nitrogen because they said it is easily lost with rain so it dramatically changes from one reading to the next.

Here is a link that might be useful: BsnTech Gardening Blog

We have an ag center run by the university of florida that will test the soil for us so we dont have to pay a company for this. They also have master gardener volunteers that are great about answering questions and help. Check for the freebies before paying for it.

Here's one I had done by Penn State a few years ago where I grow AG pumpkins in the yard; they usually make recommendations too. This one shows organic matter % also.

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Hi Folks:
Thanks for posting the additional resources. One thing that I did like about Timberleaf Soil Testing is that they were very specific about what to do about deficiencies. For example, they say add X pounds of sulfur for every 100 square feet of garden etc. The PennState test also seems to do this. Makes it easy to fix your soil issues.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vegetable Garden Soil

Soil test from Univerity of Mass may save you some money.

Here is a link that might be useful: UMASS SOIL TEST

We know that most garden veggies can grow and thrive within a wide range of PH (6 to 7.5, 7 being nutral).
So I am happy with my small $20 electronic PH gadget.

To me more important is other soil analysis, beyond N, P, K.
As you gain experience and knowledge, your vegetables in the garden
act like a mirror, showing the soil conditions. Plus, when you use a lot of organic material, everything fall into place, naturally.
Of course, a professional affordable soil analysis can be a valuable tool. But the analysis is as good as your sampling the soil.

Thanks cyrus. Agree with everything you say. Probably the two most important things I did was to double dig the soil because we have really dense clay in this neck of the woods and also I added compost. We'll see what happens.

One great advantage of a soil test beyond getting a good baseline for what you're actually working with is knowing what you DON'T have to put in your soil.

There's a lot of people working their home gardens who have P/K levels that will cover them for years enabling them to concentrate on lower cost N sources (or higher quality ones) and micro-nutrients.