We've Enjoyed a Cultivated History

A white background with a few lines on it

The first soil lab in Texas and one of the oldest Ag labs in the US.

TPS Lab, formerly Texas Plant and Soil Lab, is located in the Upper Rio Grande Valley and was established in 1938 by Dr. George Schulz as Texas Soil Laboratory, Inc.


Originally from Germany, Dr. Schulz emigrated to the US in 1933 through Ellis Island. Jobs were hard to find, then, even for a man with a Ph.D. in Chemistry. He found a job in Wisconsin testing milk and later went to Florida to work with citrus. He was eventually enticed to start a commercial soil testing lab in McAllen, Texas, to serve the citrus growers in the area. 

A black and white photo of the texas cell laboratory.
Texas Soil Laboratory, Inc. then became Texas Plant and Soil Lab, Inc when Esper K. Chandler (d. Nov. 2008), a Certified Professional Agronomist and Soil Scientist, acquired the lab in 1981 together with his partner, Dr. Albin D. Lengyel (d. Mar. 1993) of Phoenix, Arizona. 

Esper K. Chandler had worked with the lab in the mid-1950s. By 1964 he had begun research to correlate soil nutrient levels to actual plant uptake. Mr. Chandler's research led to further refining of the CO2 Extraction Method (Plant Natural®) for Soil Testing. This method duplicates the way plant roots take up nutrients and is therefore accurate for ALL soil types and chemistries
Read More

Our Crop Specialists

A man in a blue shirt is smiling for the camera.

Noel Garcia, CCA

COO / Senior Consultant

Noel Garcia is head Crop Production Consultant and Chief Operations Officer for TPS Lab. He was trained and mentored by Esper K. (Kay) Chandler, the Certified Agronomist and Soil Scientist who spear-headed and co-founded the Ask the Plant® program with his business partner Dr. Albin D. Lengyel, a pioneer in the practical application of plant analysis, particularly petiole (leaf stem) sap testing.


His experience began in 1991, mastering the skills of laboratory work and field services. After the passing of Esper K. (Kay) Chandler in November 2008, he took over the helm of the Ask the Plant® program. Because of his experience and expertise, he began speaking at workshops for local groups and communities, including workshops for ACRES U.S.A. 

The logo for the american society of agronomy

Dr. Larry Zibilske PhD

Soil Microbiologist

Dr. Larry Zibilske is an invaluable resource to the Ask the Plant® program and Vice President of Research for TPS Lab. Formerly a senior research scientist with the USDA-ARS Kika de la Garza Subtropical Research Center in Weslaco, Texas, Dr. Zibilske's career includes 19 years at the University of Maine as tenured professor. The Ask the Plant® program is very fortunate and pleased to count on him as a Crop Production Consultant.


If you would like to get the great minds of Ask the Plant® focused on increasing and improving your crop production while lowering cost, then contact us online and ask for a Free Estimate on what the Ask the Plant® Crop Production Consultants can do for you. You may also call us direct at 956-383-0739 during week-day business hours CST.

A man in a suit and tie is smiling for the camera

Contact us to get a FREE Estimate and find out what the Ask the Plant® program can do for you.


We save family farms, diseased fields and hailed-out crops.

 No one can match our field performance!



Let us Care for your Crops

Call us at +1 956-383-0739 or contact us for your free quote.
Contact Us
Share by: