One Last Point on Soil Testing

...especially for the urban gardener. These are pics of my garden in 2009. It was the third year for gardening in this spot, but not until this year--spring of 2011--did I have the soil tested. Somehow, I always thought the soil test was more to check for depleted soil, for amendment recommendations.

But, the following link leads to an article from my city's leading newspaper about the need to test your soil before you break ground even that first time, and more for the sake of soil safety than anything else. Unless you're planning to work from raised beds, you might want to have your soil checked for lead tainting and other toxins that could be an issue, particularly if you live in an older neighborhood.
http://www.indystar.com/article/201103230748/NEWS04/103230374

While my garden soil was fine as far as toxins go, the soil at the outreach center where I'll be starting a garden might not be. It is an older house in an older neighborhood. A soil test there might certainly be advised. Tomorrow I'll get back on that topic of early spring garden calendar recommendations, but this first one gets a post all its own!