feeding high potassium soil

11 years ago

Hello All,

I did a soil test yesterday and ended up with PH of 7.0
nitrogen very low
phosphorous very low
potassium very high

Ive have a few fertilizers that are high in nitrogen but none that are say 10-10-0. most have at least 10% potassium. Is that a problem having so much potassium? Thoughts suggestions?

thanks,

Jeremiah

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

digdirt2
11 years ago
First I'd recommend contacting your local county extension office for a $10-12 professional soil test. The home do-it-yourself kits are notorious for inaccuracy and should not be used for purpose of "fixing" soil.

Second, it is quite rare to find soil that is either low in phosphorous or high in potassium. It can exist but is rare so that is another reason for questioning the results of your tester kit. The pH is another - what the kit actually tests is your water and they almost always give a reading of 7+.

IF it turns out that your soil is truly high in potassium then nitrogen is all you need to focus on and there are many fertilizers available that are N only.

Plus there are numerous organic supplements that are simple N - alfalfa meal, cottonseed meal, blood meal, etc. There are also supplements that are straight phos - bone meal is the most common.

Hope this helps.

Dave
glib
11 years ago
In the unlikely chance that you tested your soil right, chicken manure is perfect for contributing N and P while contributing less K, compared to other manures. Anything that has to do with grains, such as cornmeal, will do the same.
Related Discussions
High Potassium Fertilizer?
Q
Comments (3)
yes to what Byron says, if the plants are blooming and setting fruit reasonably, you don't need to "force feed", especially that often - many of the foods we eat are good sources of P and K, so food waste compost provides everything any growing veggie needs - greensand is also high K - if you've limed recently, the calcium may be preventing K uptake, but if not, there isn't usually a problem in a decent garden soil w/ lack of K Bill
...See More
Too much potassium in maritime NW soils?
Q
Comments (15)
Comments appreciated. I know of no place other than Garden Web where a discussion like this can occur. Here are some of Solomon's comments, which prompted this posting (I'm quoting him not because I know enough to agree or disagree, but so that the information is available for discussion): First, he generalizes that the Maritime Northwest has a fairly uniform geologic history, and that the soils throughout this region are generally similar in mineral content. So he doesn't encourage testing. Then, on page 27: "the essence of our region's soil imbalance hinges on an overly high level of an otherwise useful mineral, potassium. Our soils usually have lot of potassium - maybe too much. I've studied the results of hundreds of soil tests performed by OSU and I have never seen a test showing a marked potassium deficiency - lots of other deficiencies, yes, but not of K" Also on page 27: "the nutrients that provoke plants to become highly nutritious - calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus - are the ones most readily lost. I view this as a widespread regional mineral imbalance." He goes on to say that because plants concentrate the potassium in the fiber and woody parts, and those are the main parts that are used in a lot of animal feeds (and therefore enter into manures) and composting, while other minerals are leached out in rain or removed in farm products, that we are artificially increasing the potassium in our soil while other components decline. So, he offers that the more compost we add to our gardens, the more we bulid up potassium relative to other elements. The Clemson link above was really intereesting. In a way, it could be taken to support a contention that using a lot of plant stems in compost would increase the soil level of potassium where that compost is used. "Luxury consumption and leaching loss make it undesirable to try to build the potassium level above medium." It does state that potassium will leach into the clay layer - although, my soil is all basically clay layer... now amended with lots of compost. Anyway, I'll keep watching for comments. For now, the fruit peels will still go into the compost.
...See More
Make leaves thicker & stronger with calcium and potassium
Q
Comments (7)
I found a horticultural abstract entitled, "Applications of Potassium silicate decrease black spot infection in rose Fuschia Meidiland". The conclusion: "The results indicate that using potassium silicate in irrigation water may be a useful component of a disease management system." Potassium silicate is a pH up, it makes the soil alkaline and imparts silicon to the leaves. Potassium silicate is sold as "Rhino Skin" for $7 at Planet-Natural .. I wonder how they extract that from Rhino Skin? http://www.planetnatural.com/product/rhino-skin-potassium-silicate/ I googled "Foods highest in silica" and found this info: "one of the best food sources for silica is oats. A breakfast muesli made with raw soaked oats eaten daily supplies lots of silica. (Guess why horses fed with oats are so strong and have such shiny coats?) Without silica there would be no lustre to our hair; we would have brittle nails, rough and itchy skin and no elasticity in our connective tissues." I got 42 oz, or 2 lb. of oats for $2 at the grocery store. I grounded that up in a coffee grinder, and fertilized Bolero, very pleased with the results ... cheaper than Rhino skin! Here is a link that might be useful: Horticultural abstract on potassium silicate This post was edited by Strawberryhill on Sun, Oct 6, 13 at 11:47
...See More
Potassium nitrate vs potassium sulfate
Q
Comments (1)
Hi Madri: Very good question, the below link lists potassium nitrate has 13% nitrogen and 44% potassium, and salt index of 69.5, compare with 42.6 salt-index for potassium sulfate. So it's slightly more salt. Since there are plenty of acidic rain (pH 5.6) in spring time, using potassium sulfate (with 18% to 21% sulfur) would make it too acidic. Using potassium nitrate will be BETTER for spring time, to supply the nitrogen lost by rain reaching out, WITHOUT the acidic sulfur (sulfate). I would NOT use potassium nitrate during hot & dry summer, that's too salty. The reason why I use potassium sulfate (with sulfur) is to LOWER my alkaline tap water so roses can bloom. Most tap water are alkaline. http://www.algreatlakes.com/PDF/factsheets/ALGLFS15_Fertilizer_Salt_Index.PDF Potassium nitrate, 13% N, 44% K20 Salt index of 69.5 I re-post what I wrote to Jess in South Africa regarding her question on Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate): "Hi JESS: Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate, with 10% magnesium, and 13% sulfur, the rest is mineral salt. The problem with Epsom salt is its salt, plus it crystallizes when it's dry, causing soil to be compact. If you have heavy, sticky clay soil, Epsom salt is a NO NO. Clay soil doesn't need magnesium, since there's plenty of magnesium in clay soil. My sticky & heavy clay is tested exceedingly high in magnesium, magnesium is what makes soil sticky, it glues or binds particles together. Epsom salt is useful for sandy soil, with its crystallizing action, it binds the sand particle together, so the soil is less loose and retains minerals & water better. But clay soil tends to be higher in salt, so applying high-salt Epsom salt would make it worse." StrawChicago.
...See More
galasoneth
Original Author
11 years ago
awesome thanks all
barrie2m_(6a, central PA)
11 years ago
The suggestions Dave gave were good and I'd support them except for the last few paragraphs. All of the meals mentioned may contain significant N but they are also sources of many other nutrients; Alfalfa meal might be expected to contain 3.5% N and also 1.8%K, .5% P, etc. The same for bone meal which is high in Calcium as well as Phosphorus.

A soil test will reveal your soil status on other important nutrients, most notably Calcium and Magnesium. I would be more concerned about the ratio of Potassium (K) to Calcium (Ca)+ Magnesium (Mg) than just K alone.

Surprisingly to some, few soil test labs will routinely test for nitrogen(N). They will usually just make a blanket recommendation based on the crop you intend to grow. A test for N midway through the growing season might be of some benefit. But what the Lab. will usually do is a regular pH reading and a buffered pH reading. between the 2 a specialist can better determine if limestone, dolomitic limestone, or some other nutrients might be applied and in what rates. From your test Sulfur (S) would be suggested to lower pH, but as Dave said get a reliable test first.

If you are looking to purchase straight fertilizer ingredients you should look past the box stores to a farm supply store. There you could ask for P sources: Diammonium phosphate (DAP)(16%N, 48%P2O5), Monammonium phosphate(MAP)(12%N, 61%P2O5). For N sources the more common are: Urea (46%N), Ammonium Nitrate (34%N) and Calcium Nitrate (15.5%N, 19% Ca).

feeding high potassium soil

Comments (4)

digdirt2

glib

Related Discussions

galasoneth
Original Author

barrie2m_(6a, central PA)

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

feeding high potassium soil

Comments (4)

digdirt2

glib

Related Discussions

galasonethOriginal Author

barrie2m_(6a, central PA)

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

galasoneth
Original Author