I just got my soil tests back and am trying to understand what to do with it. 4 areas I am concerned about.
1. Ph is 7
2. Phosphorus is high at 229 lb/acre
3. Calcium is 2211 lb/acre
4. SOme stuff I don't follow at all
I requested an organic matter test as well
Any help? thanks Tate
Post all the results and we can give you a better idea of what's going on and what needs fixing.
As far as the PH goes, that's about perfect for most plants. Neutral PH is abotu 7.5, so a 7 is very slightly acidic. Just keep yourself informed about what you plant, as there are plants theat want alkaline soil.
As far as the PH goes, that's about perfect for most plants. Neutral PH is abotu 7.5, so a 7 is very slightly acidic. Just keep yourself informed about what you plant, as there are plants theat want alkaline soil.
- rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
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- Location: TN/GA 7b
pH 7 is exactly neutral. The scale goes from 1 to 14. Nutrients are most available between about 6.2-6.8. Your soil is just right in regards to pH but I would definitely avoid adding any lime, dolomite, or wood ashes to your soil because they add calcium and tend to raise pH.
Your high calcium levels are the reason for the relatively high pH of your soil. Carbonic acid [CO2] in rain water tends to leach calcium out of the soil, which is why soils that are not over limestone bedrock tend to be acidic. Organic matter [OM or POM/DOM: P= Particulate, D = Dissolved] in the soil help to buffer pH, and if you do have high organic matter in the soil it could be the reason your soil pH isn't even higher.
Nitrogen values are tricky. The tests look for specific ions (nitrate, nitrite, ammonium --each requires a different test), but nitrogen is also found bound to organic matter/humus and as part of microbial cells--amino acids etc. In soil with high organic content much of the nitrogen is held in organic form and recycled/released to plants at different times and rates depending on microbial activity, so even though the soil could have plenty of nitrogen for plants, depending on when you took your soil sample you could have very low values (nitrogen held in living microbes) and think you need to add nitrogen. In soil with low organic matter most of the nitrogen will be in ionic form and the tests will give a more accurate estimate of what is available for the plants.
You should also have values for potasium [K] , magnesium [Mg] and maybe other things.
I Googled "soil test results" and found several web pages explaining what is tested and what it means. you might have to go through a couple until you find one that uses the same units as your report (lbs per acre vs parts per million.
If you live in the southwest, you might have salt concerns, and this New Mexico site could help explain things, as it is a bit more detailed than some of the other sites.
https://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_a/a-122.html
Your high calcium levels are the reason for the relatively high pH of your soil. Carbonic acid [CO2] in rain water tends to leach calcium out of the soil, which is why soils that are not over limestone bedrock tend to be acidic. Organic matter [OM or POM/DOM: P= Particulate, D = Dissolved] in the soil help to buffer pH, and if you do have high organic matter in the soil it could be the reason your soil pH isn't even higher.
Nitrogen values are tricky. The tests look for specific ions (nitrate, nitrite, ammonium --each requires a different test), but nitrogen is also found bound to organic matter/humus and as part of microbial cells--amino acids etc. In soil with high organic content much of the nitrogen is held in organic form and recycled/released to plants at different times and rates depending on microbial activity, so even though the soil could have plenty of nitrogen for plants, depending on when you took your soil sample you could have very low values (nitrogen held in living microbes) and think you need to add nitrogen. In soil with low organic matter most of the nitrogen will be in ionic form and the tests will give a more accurate estimate of what is available for the plants.
You should also have values for potasium [K] , magnesium [Mg] and maybe other things.
I Googled "soil test results" and found several web pages explaining what is tested and what it means. you might have to go through a couple until you find one that uses the same units as your report (lbs per acre vs parts per million.
If you live in the southwest, you might have salt concerns, and this New Mexico site could help explain things, as it is a bit more detailed than some of the other sites.
https://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_a/a-122.html
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- Senior Member
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- Location: Lexington KY
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- Senior Member
- Posts: 143
- Joined: Fri Dec 18, 2009 10:31 am
- Location: Lexington KY
-
- Senior Member
- Posts: 143
- Joined: Fri Dec 18, 2009 10:31 am
- Location: Lexington KY
Thanks so much! I talked with a guy at Longwood Plantation (large organic composter) He was particularly pleased with the Organic matter content of 2.67. Stated that for Ga anythiing over 1.75 is good.
Leading to my next question-Do I mix in my 80 tons of 9 month old horse manure? I have regularly flipped and windrowed if and the temps have gotten pretty in the core. I don't plan on planting large scale for two months. (if I need to post this in the other section let me know) Will this manure jack up my levels negatively? Tater
Leading to my next question-Do I mix in my 80 tons of 9 month old horse manure? I have regularly flipped and windrowed if and the temps have gotten pretty in the core. I don't plan on planting large scale for two months. (if I need to post this in the other section let me know) Will this manure jack up my levels negatively? Tater
I don't know exactly how much the manure will jack up the phosphorus and potassium, but some organic farmers are finding that after 20 years of manure application their soil P and K levels are too high. I doubt that adding manure one more year will be harmful to the plants, but you might want to look into alternative methods such as ramial chipped wood technology (aka ramial wood chips) and nitrogen fixing cover crops to add orgainc matter and nitrogen to the soil.
https://www.nofany.org/offandf/02articles/increasefertility.pdf
https://www.snakeroot.net/farm/InPraiseOfChips.shtml
https://www.rebelfarmer.org/2/post/2009/04/wood-to-the-soil-a-unique-method-of-soil-carbon-sequestration-that-both-mitigates-climate-change-and-prepares-for-it-seems-to-be-blocked.html
https://www.uvm.edu/vtvegandberry/Pubs/Wood%20Chips%20in%20Vegetable%20Production.pdf
https://www.sbf.ulaval.ca/brf/the_hidden.html
https://www.sbf.ulaval.ca/brf/regenerating_soils_98.html
If you are in Georgia, how deep is the garden soil before you hit clay? The clay subsoil may be acidic and low in nutrients, which might not be a bad thing if the top soil is nutrient loaded.
https://www.nofany.org/offandf/02articles/increasefertility.pdf
https://www.snakeroot.net/farm/InPraiseOfChips.shtml
https://www.rebelfarmer.org/2/post/2009/04/wood-to-the-soil-a-unique-method-of-soil-carbon-sequestration-that-both-mitigates-climate-change-and-prepares-for-it-seems-to-be-blocked.html
https://www.uvm.edu/vtvegandberry/Pubs/Wood%20Chips%20in%20Vegetable%20Production.pdf
https://www.sbf.ulaval.ca/brf/the_hidden.html
https://www.sbf.ulaval.ca/brf/regenerating_soils_98.html
If you are in Georgia, how deep is the garden soil before you hit clay? The clay subsoil may be acidic and low in nutrients, which might not be a bad thing if the top soil is nutrient loaded.