Preston — Amos Lake Association is hosting a free soil-testing day Saturday for Preston residents at the town transfer station or at Flemings Feed & Hardware, 353 Route 165.

Residents can have their lawn and garden soil tested for their benefit and for that of the Amos Lake Watershed. Residents can pick up soil-testing kits from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at either the transfer station or Flemings and return soil samples within that time frame to either of the two locations. Results will be mailed to participants within two to three weeks.

Instructions for soil testing also are posted on the town's website, www.preston-ct.org, under the community news section.

The soil-testing service is intended to raise awareness of the importance of testing soil before applying fertilizer to ensure applications are necessary and appropriate to conditions with the correct nutrient mix, Amos Lake President Pat Monahan said.

“The net result will be healthier lawns and gardens and a healthier lake and watershed environment not subject to unnecessary or over-application of fertilizer,” Monahan said in a news release announcing the program.