Soil Screening and testing

Summer Sprout and Land Bank Soil Testing in Cleveland. 

May 5, 2026 Signal Cleveland. How the City of Cleveland plans to revamp its Summer Sprout community garden program "Gardeners vented frustrations at a recent town hall meeting attended by Mayor Justin Bibb, who said he hopes to revitalize the program. Cleveland’s City Hall is seeding plans for a refreshed and expanded Summer Sprout program after years of discontent among urban gardeners. The annual program has a new funding source and more money available. And Mayor Justin Bibb says fixing some longstanding flaws is a step toward achieving one of his second-term priorities: addressing food deserts and fresh food access in the city."

May 12, 2025​. Signal Cleveland. Gardening in Cleveland? Here’s how to test your soil for lead​. ​"It’s planting season for leafy greens and summer veggies in Cleveland.​ But before you get those seeds in the ground, officials say it’s a good practice in post-industrial Cuyahoga County to test your garden soil for lead. Lead exposure can cause a range of health problems, including developmental delays in children.​ Lead primarily poses a hazard when its particles are inhaled or consumed – such as through small amounts of dirt left behind on unwashed hands or produce. Plants themselves don’t absorb large amounts of lead from the surrounding soil except for certain root vegetables, according to the Ohio Department of Health. ​'If there’s any lead in the soil – or high levels – you are exposing yourself to that lead in the soil, you know, just by digging in there,​' said Amy Roskilly, the conservation education and communications manager at the Cuyahoga Soil and Water Conservation District. ​Thanks Celia for pulling together this helpful information.

May 2, 2025 -- From Cleveland Department of Public Health

The Land Bank updated their policies to: less than 200ppm is permissible, between 200ppm-700ppm would need a raised bed, and above 700ppm would not be permitted for urban ag use.

Here are a couple of resources:

• Land Bank Guide for Urban Ag (from 2021) — note: some policies/procedures have changed. Sharing to illustrate soil testing has been required for some time. 

• Land Bank FAQs (current) — See last page regarding urban ag where soil testing is mentioned.

• The Ohio State University Extension's Soil Testing Fact Sheet