I have a follow up question to my post above. I usually put down the black plastic to control weeds so the 2nd application 3-4 weeks after planting would be difficult to do. Can I do the first application when the garden is tilled? Then for the 2nd recommendation, I'm not sure what side dressed is, use a liquid fertilizer that I can apply while watering? Thanks for any help.

Soil test labs seldom test for Nitrogen because N availability is dependant on soil temperature, the activity of your Soil Food Web. What is missing is organic matter and there is a simple test yuou can do to determine that.
1) Soil test for organic matter. 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. For example, 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 your 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

Side dressing a fertilizer means simpy that you carefully apply a band along side the plants that are growing, being very careful to not get synthetic fertilizers in contact with the plants or their roots. You can spread the first application before tilling and work that in while tilling, if you do that. The second application is applied along side the plants and then worked in usually with a cultivator.

I just did the standard test, I thought the organic one was just if you were going to use only organic fertilizer so I guess that was my mistake.

Thanks for the info, I will do those tests this weekend. I can definitely say that it does not smell bad, don't remember how many worms but I know I picked out some.

It takes a bit more knowledge about soils and how they work to interpret the standard soil test so it is not necessary to specify organic results, unless you want to. I don't and do not pay much attention to the fertilizing recommendations and my soil has improved over the years just with the addition of compost and other organic matter, no rock dusts, no expanded shale, no magic elixars designed to part me from my money, just organic matter.

So a stupid question. What exactly is organic matter? I've used bags of humus before. Is that any good? I don't really have access to manure so need something I can buy by the bag.

Chele, the only stupid question is the one not asked. Organic matter is vegetative waste. Humus is the residual vegetative waste, organic matter, in soil. What is sold in bags as humus is digested vegetative waste, or compost.

Wow, your soil test looks amazing. pH is ideal, and lots of Phosphorus. I'm going to guess that you are in the South of the U.S. A warmer climate rather than a colder climate.

If that's true, you have some other issues to deal with. The organic matter in your soil won't last long. If that were my soil, I'd dry an experiment with hardwood sawdust and wood chips to try to incorporate some long lasting organic material. Or ramial mulch tilled into the very top surface of the soil.

But heavy layers of organic mulch is what you might want.

idaho gardener, nope. :) Absolute opposite. I'm in NH. We have a pretty short planting season, I think. Other than peas, most of my stuff goes out Memorial day weekend and it's done in Sept/Oct.

I'm trying to save money this year so that's why I did the soil test instead of just using bags of garden soil which is expensive and I might not actually need.