Free Soil Testing And Tours Of The Kettle Pond Native Plant Demonstration Garden

When: 1st and 3rd Thursdays, June through August from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (check our events calendar)
Where: Kettle Pond Visitor Center, Bend Road in Charlestown (map below)

URI Master Gardener volunteers will be at Kettle Pond to conduct free soil pH testing. The test helps determine soil pH levels and predominant soil texture, and provides basic information and recommendations for gradual correction of soil pH and compaction issues. To learn more about where else to get your soil tested or on how to take a soil sample, visit: https://web.uri.edu/mastergardener/soil-testing-service/

While you are dropping off your soil sample, stop by the native plant demonstration garden at Kettle Pond Visitor Center. It’s a University of Rhode Island Master Gardener Site, which is designed for visitors to learn about the importance of native plants, biodiversity, and the role of pollinators in everyday life. It demonstrates some of the essential principals of designing and growing a native species garden such as: related populations, not isolated individual; stress as an asset; cover the ground densely by vertically layering plants; make it attractive and legible; and management not maintenance. Visitors will learn to identify native plants and their benefits and how they may fit in their own landscapes.

Kettle Pond Visitor Center is located on Bend Road, directly off of Rt. 1 in Charlestown