What is the level of humus, organic matter, in your soil?
What is your soils pH?
What is the level of Phosphorus?
What is the level of Potash?
What is the level of Calcium?
What is the level of Magnesium?

Hello and thank you kimmsr. I have rad many of your comments and i expected such a precise response.

My soil is sandy, but i cleared the woods and burned the trees in a pile where my garden is now. The soil is now 6.5-6.8 and in my asparagus bed is 7.5.

I have enriched the garden for the past 2 years with about 900 pounds (200 square feet double dug raised beds of composted cow manure/with hardwood fines, 100-150 pounds of REALLY old leaf mold that was barely acid. A couple of big bales of peat moss the first year. 50 pounds of rabbit manure 40+pounds of vermicompost. Untold sheets of newspaper.
The site was pretty barren and I had a rich o horizon of about 3-4 inches, but barren and sandy beneath that. I enrich it with all I've got, but the sand leaches rather quickly

The only NPK tests that i have used read only: high, medium, low, very low.
Nitrogen is Medium, phosphorus is medium, potassium is medium/low. I have no calcium or magnesium tests, but i need to do that soon any recommendations on a better testing method?

Thanks for the input!

Contact your state universities USDA Cooperative Extension Office in your county and inquire about having a good, reliable soil test done and dig in with these simple soil tests,

1. Structure. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. A good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top.

2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up.

3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart.

4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer you soil will smell.

5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy.
to learn more about your soil and what it needs. Simply throwing a lot of "stuff" at your soil may not do what you think needs to be done and may be more a waste of your time, energy, and money then the soil test would be.

I would recommend a lab soil test and take it from there. What you are putting together is pretty precise and involved which is fine if that is your nature, but I will liken what you are doing to a guy who goes out and spends thousands of dollars on a high end match grade rifle, but has no target to aim it at ;)

You need to know what your soil is lacking before you can provide it. The home tests that read low/OK,high are pretty much useless. Get a real test done (check with your county extension service) and that will give you an accurate picture of what is and isn't in the soil.

To give you an example, my own soil has adequate to high levels of everything. It's pH is 6.8. Knowing this the only thing I do for ground grown plants is add organic matter every now and then and provide soybean meal for extra N for some plants such as veggies. Nothing else is needed.

Thanks guys...
I am going to the extension office asap. I should use this resource more anyway. The jar test is underway, we shall see... tilth seems good (to me) and reacts as you describe it. I can tell you that i have done a similar pit test and my soil DOES drain too fast, but i have added much organic material since i have done that, so i will do it again this evening. My beds are set up in such a way, that channels water between the rows, which are 18 inches high, and puddles around the base to collect water. It taks 2.3 hours for it to drain after a HARD rain.

Actually after I thought about it, i am actually closer to 1400 pounds of compost counting some bagged humus/manure that i forgot about. I am really doing all i can do on the adding of organics. This will just take time i suppose. I am actively trying to make 3 more pallet compost bins and dig another worm bed, and it should be a month or so before that gets done. I am also a beginner at making compost teas. My soil smells great! still too sandy though. I have maybe 3 worms in a shovelful, but some things that i have read say that sandy soil, while needed for worms digestion, will harm them in large amounts. any thoughts on that?

I knew that i would get called out for having so many ingredients on my fertilizer. Keep in mind i am a biologist and i like to play with stuff! I am that guy who would love to graft a pineapple onto a crabapple rootstock if God would let me. :) I was just trying to come up with something balanced to supplement the organic material and give me micronutrients that i don't even know if i am lacking in without an accurate test...

I guess i owe it to my garden to get it the test it deserves... Your "no target" analogy is spot on, and i will get this done immediately.

Thanks for actually reading my long post and setting me on a better path.
Shawn

Canyon: I think your recipe is GREAT!! Can I buy some?

I'm not sure you need the lime to counteract the acidity of the cottonseed meal. If you use this fertilizer and have acidity problems, then try the lime.

I have just taken my soil samples and have them ready to ship to Auburn university. Hooray! Turnover time is 1 to 3 weeks...doh! Hopefully it will come sooner than later.
The mason jar test is finished.
My estimate is 60% sand 20% silt 15% clay 3-5% organic
Pretty sandy... I live on the edge of lookout mountain which is made of sandstone. The way the rock ledge has formed creates a pocket where a lot of organic material
collects. If it wasnt for that, I would be gardening on a beach.
RDAK:
Sorry, I don't sell anything at the moment but i just found a product that has similar ingredients. Since I am new and i still don't know the "etiquitte" on the website and i would like to know the particular rules before i comment on the name.
Long story short... they are organic fertilizer spikes about 1x6 long that have 4-4-4 npk+ macros and humic acid fulvic acid and mycrorrhizae. I havent tried them either so I can't comment on the quality. They sound quite neat though, but i am a nerd.
DCHALL:

My soil is young and sandy and it leaches quickly. I have always had to add alkalines to my soil so far. I actually add even more lime to my soil to get it where it is now. 2 of the beds were built where a woodpile was burned, and the soil was still too acid. Blueberries thrive here,. The approximate acidity of the native soil is 4.5-5.5!! I have to work at it...

Thanks for the interest and comments. More later.

One of the many things I have learned about the Lake Michigan beach sand I have is that tilling material into the soil evidently stimulates the bacteria so much they digest that material very quickly leaving little residual organic matter which is the humus you want left in the soil each year.
What I have been doing since I learned that is simply plunking compost and other forms of organic matter on the soil and let those soil bacteria till it in for me, and they humus levels in my soil have increased and have maintained the optimal levels since then.

I didn't realize that tilling soil caused that much increased bacteria stimulation. Once i get my soil healthy, I shouldnt have to till at all...Maybe on new plots, but i could easily (well, more easily than my last garden) shovel/broadfork new beds in this sandy soil. I have been tempted to trade the tiller for a broadfork anyways.
Thanks

Crayoncrawler, I find your post interesting. I am trying to come up with an organic recipe for my vegetable garden. I have clay soil with coffee grounds compost added. A soil test showed a pH of 6.1, phosphorus and potash levels are adequate.nitrogen levels are deficient. the extension office recommended adding nitrogen in the form of urea or ammonium nitrate. I am looking for an organic alternative. commercial organic mixed fertilizers that i looked at seem to have a lot of poultry manure.So if i can get some poultry manure from a farm, will it help my garden? I appreciate any suggestions.my plants are not growing vigorously. Paul

What is the source of the acidity? The pH of vinegar is 3.0. Does the soil fizz when you put lime on it?

* Posted by kimmsr 4a/5b-MI (My Page) on
Wed, May 13, 09 at 11:51

Contact your state universities USDA Cooperative Extension Office in your county and inquire about having a good, reliable soil test done and dig in with these simple soil tests,
1) Structure. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. A good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top.

WHY GOD WHY?

How many times do I have to say, that is NOT structure. AAAAAAAAARRRRRGhHHHHHHhhhhhhhhHhHhh!

I used to obsess with mineral content of soil, ph etc..Then I read Steve Soloman's book, online with his recipe. He calls it COF (complete organic fertilizer). He basically adds from a quarter to half inch of compost every year and uses this fertilizer mix..My soil is acid and sandy and this is working well..

Here is a link that might be useful: COF steve soloman

piedmontnc, the soil scientist, a guy with a pHD in soil science, that I got that simple soil test from many years ago, and several since then that have looked at that have found the term "structure" perfectly acceptable, as used here. Please do not have any more psychological breakdowns over that.

I am back! I have my second soil test back and my soil has improved tremendously. I have mountains of compost to thank for this.I realize that i went a little crazy with the ingredient list for that recipe, but i was in my experimentation phases.
Swanz:
The Soloman recipe seems sound & much simpler and cheaper as well. I am gonna use it this year and see what my soil tests look like next year, then adjust.
DCHALL:
The acidity was just in the sandstone, and the little "Home Depot" vial tests were just very innacurate. My PH was actually closer to 6 but now it is adjusted to 6.6-6.7.
I am still deficient in P-K but i have been making up for that with compost tea foliar sprays and drenches plus greensand and rock phosphate.
PVEL: Chicken manure will give you what you are looking for, but do not use fresh...only well composted manure. Also, any seed meals (alfalfa, cottonseed) are relatively cheap at feed stores, and thats what i am going with. You also may want to add some lime too.
And Kissmr:
You are a great help and the last soil comment made me laugh

...by the way my garden was Incrdible last year. I am on my way to doubling my raised beds to about 3000 square feet this year. Thanks to all of those who helped me out. I REALLY appreciate it.