LEGACY ANALYTICAL · HCT, LLC · FOUNDED 2014
Your soil test may tell you what you have. Not what your plants can drink.
Conventional tests use lab water, a 1:1 ratio, and a 12–24 hour soak. Legacy Analytical uses your actual irrigation water, a 4:1 ratio, and a 72-hour soak — producing data accurate enough to write a prescription from.
CERTIFIED · OMRI LISTED · NOP COMPLIANT · NSF-60 · CDFA | ARIZONA BILTMORE · SALT RIVER FIELDS · CAMELBACK RANCH · SAN DIEGO CC · ASU · 150+ MORE | WE TEST. WE DON’T GUESS.
WHY CONVENTIONAL TESTING FALLS SHORT
Standard tests weren’t built to reflect your field.
Lab reports use deionized water, a 1:1 ratio, and a 12–24 hour soak. The result is data that’s technically accurate under lab conditions — but those aren’t the conditions your soil sees when your irrigation runs. Fertility programs built on this data systematically miss the interactions that drive black layer, cementation, infiltration failure, and chronic deficiency.
WHAT STANDARD TESTS DON’T CAPTURE
TOTAL BACTERIA LOAD
And the sulfate, iron, and manganese feeding it.
SOLUBLE SODIUM %
The primary sodium toxicity indicator for plants.
FREE LIME
The driver of bicarbonate cementation in the soil.
TOTAL SOIL COMPOSITION
Accumulated reserves that lock nutrients and block pore space.
CONVENTIONAL VS. LEGACY METHOD
CONVENTIONAL TEST
Extraction water — Lab / deionized water
Water : soil ratio — 1:1
Soak time — 12–24 hours
Bacteria (Bac T) — Not included
SSP / free lime — Not reported
Total soil reserves — Not included
Output — Data table
LEGACY METHOD
Extraction water — Your site irrigation water
Water : soil ratio — 4:1 — field-representative
Soak time — 72 hours — full reaction
Bacteria (Bac T) — Total count + food sources
SSP / free lime — Computed and reported
Total soil reserves — Full acid digestion
Output — Prescription ledger
WHAT MAKES LEGACY DIFFERENT
Three method changes that fundamentally alter what the data shows.
DIFFERENCE 01
Your water, not lab water
Soil nutrition tests are run with your actual irrigation water — the only way to simulate what nutrients are mobilized when your system runs. Lab water removes the chemistry that defines your specific situation.
DIFFERENCE 02
4:1 ratio and 72-hour soak
The Legacy Method uses a 4:1 water-to-soil ratio and a full 72-hour soak. Cementation, confining layers, and locked nutrients require extended contact time and realistic dilution to reveal themselves. A 12-hour soak misses them.
DIFFERENCE 03
Bacteria, toxins and total reserves
Bac T analysis measures total bacteria plus the food sources driving black layer and drainage failure. Total Soil Digestion measures the full mineral, metal, and toxin load a remediation program must work against.
“These USGA sand-based greens look as good as new after 14 years in the Phoenix, Arizona environment using local canal water.” — Legacy Testing Client
THE THREE ANALYSES
Water. Available nutrition. Soil reserves.
Each tier answers a distinct diagnostic question. Combined, they give you everything needed to write a site-specific prescription.
ONE — IWS
Irrigation Water & Bacteria
Is your water helping or harming?
Full water chemistry panel — sodium toxicity percentage, free lime, bicarbonate, macro- and micronutrients — plus total bacteria count and the sulfate, iron, and manganese feeding black layer and biofilm.
TWO — ASN
Available Soil Nutrition
What can your plants actually drink?
Soil extraction using your site water at 4:1 for 72 hours. Shows what nutrition is available in the root zone under your actual irrigation chemistry — the data that drives an accurate fertility prescription.
THREE — TSC
Total Soil Composition
What has accumulated — and what does it cost?
Full acid digestion of total soil reserves. Quantifies accumulated minerals, metals, and toxins that degrade pore space, infiltration rate, and root function. Required for any remediation prescription.
TEST RECOMMENDER
Describe your problem. We’ll recommend the right tests.
Tap the symptoms you are seeing or describe the issue in your own words. We’ll match you to the tests most likely to identify what’s driving it — and explain what you’ll learn from each one.
WHAT ARE YOU SEEING?
Describe the issue or tap a symptom.
Not sure where to start? Irrigation Water Analysis + Bac T + Available Soil Nutrition is the minimum viable panel for most sites.
RECOMMENDED TESTS
RECOMMENDED TESTS
Start with a symptom
Tap a symptom or describe what you are seeing. The recommender will list the Legacy tests most likely to identify what’s driving it, with what each one tells you.
BUYING GUIDE — MATCH YOUR SCENARIO TO THE RIGHT ORDER
STARTING FRESH / FIRST EVALUATION
I want a baseline on my water and soil.
RECOMMENDED ORDER
IWS + Bac T + ASN
Minimum viable dataset for a WaterSOLV™ prescription. Add Interpretations & Recommendations for a complete first-order package.
ACTIVE WATERSOLV™ PROGRAM
I’m already on program and need to retest.
RECOMMENDED ORDER
Match your original panel — minimum IWS + ASN
Each retest produces a direct before/after comparison against your baseline — the clearest measure of program performance.
CHRONIC SOIL PROBLEMS
I have black layer, standing water, compaction, or infiltration failure.
RECOMMENDED ORDER
IWS + Bac T + ASN + Total Soil Digestion
Total Soil Digestion reveals the bulk density, pore space loss, and reserve toxicity driving these conditions. Without it, remediation is incomplete.
WATER ONLY
I only need water testing right now.
RECOMMENDED ORDER
IWS only · or IWS + Bac T
Water-only limits prescription accuracy. Where budget requires staging, start here and add soil analysis on the next cycle.
When in doubt, add Interpretations & Recommendations — it turns raw data into an actionable prescription.
HOW IT WORKS
Order to completed ledger — four steps.
STEP 1
Place your order at hctllc.com/analytical
Select your tests, add Interpretations & Recommendations if desired, and check out. HCT sends sampling instructions within 1–2 business days.
STEP 2
Collect and submit samples
Follow the included instructions for water, bacteria, and soil core collection. Ship to the certified lab indicated on your order. Typical lab turnaround: 5–10 business days.
STEP 3
HCT processes your data
Lab results are entered into the Legacy Analytical Ledger — HCT’s proprietary calculation tool. Your site water, acreage, water volume, and sample depth are factored in. Annual load, SSP, and treatment demand are all calculated. If retesting, results are compared to your prior baseline.
STEP 4
Receive your completed ledger
You receive the Legacy Analytical Data Ledger with every parameter categorized by severity. If Interpretations & Recommendations were ordered, it includes written findings, WaterSOLV product recommendations, ppm dosages, cost per acre, and a remediation timeline.
FAQ
Common questions.
QUESTION
How is Legacy Analytical different from a standard soil test?
Standard tests use lab-grade deionized water, a 1:1 ratio, and a 12–24 hour soak. The Legacy Method uses your actual irrigation water, a 4:1 ratio, and a 72-hour soak — simulating what actually happens in your soil when you irrigate. The difference in results is frequently significant enough to change a fertility recommendation entirely.
QUESTION
Do I need all four tests, or can I start with fewer?
The minimum meaningful order is IWS + ASN — water chemistry and available soil nutrition. Adding Bac T adds the biological picture; adding Total Soil Digestion adds the reserves and accumulation layer. Most professionals find the full suite pays for itself in corrected prescriptions, but water + available soil is a solid starting point.
QUESTION
What does the Bac T test actually measure?
Total bacteria (CFU/mL) plus the food sources fueling the two most damaging types: sulfate-reducing bacteria (black layer, H₂S gas) and iron-reducing bacteria (biofilm, drainage failure). Count alone doesn’t tell you what’s feeding the bacteria or what damage it’s capable of — the Bac T analysis gives you both.
QUESTION
How long does the full process take?
Sampling instructions arrive within 1–2 business days of your order. Lab turnaround is typically 5–10 business days after sample receipt. Total time from order to completed ledger is generally 2–3 weeks.
QUESTION
What’s included in Interpretations & Recommendations?
HCT’s written prescription based on your results — primary culprits identified (bicarbonate, sodium toxicity, chloride, bacteria, confining layers), specific WaterSOLV product recommendations, ppm and gallon dosages, cost per acre, and a soil remediation timeline. For first-time users, it’s the difference between having data and knowing what to do with it.
QUESTION
I’m on WaterSOLV™ already. Why retest?
Water chemistry shifts seasonally, bacterial populations change, and as soils improve the dosage demand changes too. Retesting generates a direct before/after comparison against your original baseline — the clearest measure of program performance — and keeps your prescription calibrated to current conditions.
START WITH THE RIGHT DATA
You can’t fix what you can’t see.
Legacy Analytical gives you a clear, complete picture of your water, soil biology, and available nutrition — built on methods designed to reflect actual field conditions. Order today. HCT handles the rest.
HCT, LLC · Legacy Analytical · Scottsdale, Arizona