Welcome to Agrichem's Website

Live in Duncan or the Cowichan Valley? - click here

We now service all of the Cowichan Valley: Water Testing in Ladysmith, Chemainus, Crofton, Duncan, Lake Cowichan, Cobble Hill, Shawnigan and all points between!

Selling Preserves at the Market? Water Activity and pH - just $40.00

We are an analytical testing laboratory on Salt Spring Island serving all of British Columbia. With just one phone call, our clients get professional sampling and clear reporting - all within a week. Results are sent by mail, fax, email (pdf) or are available through our online database complete with custom report generation. For clients on Vancouver Island or mainland BC, samples can be couriered to us usually within 24 hours.

Water Testing

Agrichem is Approved by the Provincial Health Officer for the analysis of Total Coliforms and E. coli in drinking water. Click here for more infomation.

There are many areas of British Columbia that have water quality challenges. Here on Salt Spring, naturally occuring arsenic and fluoride show up in some groundwater wells. Also, some areas have porous or fractured rock which can put a well at risk of surface water and septic contamination. Our analytical packages are tuned to the area and include testing for bacteria (Total Coliforms and E.coli), physical parameters (pH, conductivity, hardness etc), nutrients (nitrate, phosphate), minerals and metals including fluoride and arsenic. Our reports are complete with the local and Health Canada Quality Guidelines for each parameter and a closing comment on the sample's potability and failing parameters. Advice on treatment options is free of charge.

Agrichem also offers an irrigation water test package with an interpretation on the quality of the water, whether it could be injurious to crops and the risk of forming precipitates in irrigation lines.

Soil Testing

Soil testing is an important tool for better understanding of crop yield and quality. A soil report can provide valuable information on available soil composition, pH and nutrients. A suitable application program can then be used to meet individual needs, be it organic production or farms in environmentally sensitive areas.

Tissue Testing

Tissue tests let the plants "speak for themselves", providing information on specific deficiencies or toxicities, enabling sensitive corrections to be made through soil amendments or fast-acting foliar sprays.

Additional Resources

Check out our Resources and Links page for current Water Quality guidelines, fact sheets on how to disinfect water and other information.

Please note that we have suspended wine testing for the time being. We hope to continue this service in the future.

Following changes to the BC Drinking Water Protection Regulation we now test for E.coli and do not test for Fecal Coliforms.