It sounds like you have add sufficient OM to your garden. Just because a little OM is good doesn`t mean that a lot is better. I would concern myself with adding nutrients to the plants that need it and not try to cover the whole garden. I say that without having seen the garden.

Nitrogen is pretty transient in the soil, so soil tests that show it nearly always show that it is deficient.

If I remember correctly, composted cow manurer is about 1% N, so 100 lbs per 1000 sq ft would be about right (that works out to 100 lbs for a 10 ft by 10 ft garden). Its N is slow release, so you could probably add even more than that if you wanted.

A soil test for Nitrogen availability can show a deficiency for a number of reasons, soil temperature, activity of the Soil food Web (or lack of activity), moisture levels, all reasons why there may be an indication of a deficiency. Depending on when you killed off the grass any soil bacteria could be still digesting that grass and that means they have available Nitrogen tied up, temporarily, to do that.
I have seen those inexpensive garden center soil test kits give such widely varying results, from the same soil samples, that they are not very reliable.

Thanks for the help,

That kind of leaves be in a bit of a quandary though. I'm not just using the soil test, I am also judging by the performance of the plants in the soil. I feel that substantiates somewhat what the test shows. Is there any real harm in trying some organic nitrogen to see if the plant performance improves?

Hi futfurd

Where are you getting the composted manure from and how well is it composted? I am under the impression that if it, (the manure) is well composted, it shouldn't hurt the plants. UCG's might be an option as well. I'm with you on this one, adding some nitrogen seems to be worth a try. The materials you listed in your first post seem to be rather higher in carbons. I'd say go for it.

The link below is a picture of a wheat field that had yard waste applied. The darker green area had a nice mixture of grass and leaves. The lighter area was just leaves.

Lloyd

disclaimer: I am not a gardener.

Here is a link that might be useful: N deficiency in wheat

Cow manure can be high in salts, so the recommendation I have seen is not to add too much at a time - seems like for gardens it was 1" per season. The salt from manure can stunt/burn sensitive crops, esp. if your soil is naturally high in salt to begin with.

Here's the link:
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/mg/files/gardennotes/243-Compost.html

Can you get used coffee grinds to sprinkle around as well? There's no salt and they do give a N boost. You can sprinkle them in year round - even toss them out on the snow now to melt in (or is your garden coated in ice this morning?).

Cheers,
Michelle

Good point about the salt Michelle, I didn't think of that. :-(

nice link too.

Lloyd

I learned it the hard way - I applied 4" of aged manure to a new bed and then wondered why it took the plants a few years to really look good. Ooops. I still apply manure (cow, goat, or horse) in the established beds, but not quite so much of it. :-)

Also the salt in manure might not make as much of a difference in areas with high rainfall and less clay type soil. I dunno.

Cheers,
Michelle

"Also the salt in manure might not make as much of a difference in areas with high rainfall and less clay type soil. I dunno."

That's correct. Salt is a much bigger problem in areas of low rainfall. I thought about the salt when I first started to reply, but forgot to mention it when I replied. One of the things I was going to ask about was the rainfall in futford's area of Kansas. I think there are some parts where salinity wouldn't be as much of a problem, but I think western Kansas is fairly arid.

It is very dry here. I don't know exact rainfall numbers but I am 3 miles from the Oklahoma panhandle, and less than 50 from the Texas panhandle. I don't have a source of coffee grounds or I would try that. I would be using bagged composted manure bought at wal-mart or a garden center. I also have a Mantis compost twin tumbler full off bunny litter. But the weather has halted such endeavors for now(not much ice, but cold rain at this point). Would blood meal or alfalfa pellets give me the nitrogen without the salts?

bunny litter in your compost tumbler? Why don't you try loading that fabulous stuff right into your garden. From my own personal and family experience, nothing beats rabbit poop in a garden....

I am scared of the effect the urine (salt), and un-composted cedar chips might have on the garden. So I thought the safer route would be to compost the whole mess first.

How about trying some fertilizer? Blood meal is a fertilizer high in nitrogen.

Deanna

"I am scared of the effect the urine (salt), and un-composted cedar chips might have on the garden. So I thought the safer route would be to compost the whole mess first."

Composting won't reduce the salt.

The uncomposted cedar chips won't be a problem unless they're under the soil.

Blood meal is a source of high nitrogen (high enough that it will burn). Check the label on the alfalfa pellets. Some of them have salt added since salt is essential for livestock.

Thanks BP. I thought I'd read that salt was less of a problem where it rains alot, but can't remember where I saw it.

OP, I do remember recently posting a link that said the salt content in composted manure is higher than in non-composted manure - so it can concentrate the salt rather than reduce it. Rabbit litter would be good to go straight out to the garden.

I don't know how established your garden is, but my experience is that most plants take at least a year to establish in my climate (some take 2-3). Maybe if your garden is new-ish, it just needs a bit of time to really take off.

Cheers,
Michelle

Fut furd you may only have about 12 inches of rain a year. That won't leach a lot of salts. I would keep adding organic matter. The second year will complement the first.

I do would exactly what made the only plant in garden grow well, add some blood meal or alfalfa meal. If your soil is really that deficient, I wouldn't worry about burning. Especially because you have so much organic matter already in the soil, burning shouldn't be a problem. You could also try mulching with grass clippings. Let you grass grow high in the spring then cut with a non-mulching blade. Rake it up and throw on your garden bed.

If you really want to know whats going on with your soil, get a soil test from your extension office. Most don't test for nitrogen, but you can pay a little extra for them to do this.

M

Many plants you buy have been in the pots well past the optimum dates. They may also have been fertilized while in the pots, and the tops may have outgrown the roots. Generally speaking, healthy established plants in the ground have a root size comparable to the size of the plant you see above ground. Newly planted, your plants may have tops bigger than their "bottoms" (roots), and what you are seeing as lackluster growth is really the plants getting themselves established underground.

I read where plants can grow roots OR grow aboveground in size OR produce flowers/fruits, but they can't do it all at the same time. That's why you are often advised to pinch off all the buds and flowers (or tiny new fruits) when you plant them, to let the plant establish a good root system. THEN the plant can turn toward growing or flowering.

Maybe patience is all you need. Let them get their feet under them, then they can run!

Sue

thanks everyone for the advice. I will probably give it another year before trying anything to drastic. Maybe just a little something to give everyone a good start

Since by far the vast majority of the bagged manure sold comes from feed lot operations, CAFO's, that feed immense quantities of antibiotics to the cattle on those feed lots the cance of getting manure that is less than active, as it once was, today is very good. If you have not yet contacted the people at your local office of the Kansas State University USDA Cooperative Extension Service about having a good reliable soil test done, do so and then 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 get an idea about what is going on with your soil.