This is one of my biggest pet peeves with Mel's system, and where his infomerical-like message gets in the way of good science. Vegetables are one of the voracious feeders, significantly more than most flowers or herbs. With Mel's mix, where do these come from? Well, supposedly the compost. Sure, getting compost from a broad range of sources will bring you close, but the large-scale manufacturing of compost is hardly efficient at producing high quality compost. Further, fertilization by compost is highly reliant on its decomposition. The speed of nitrification depends on how warm the soil gets, and if your region does not get sustained heat throughout the season, then the compost does not release it's nutrients readily. There are indeed regional limitations to compost. Regional soil deficiencies (such as Potassium in my area) will move all the way through the chain of your local composts. The hay grown on Potassium deficient soil will be fed to cattle, whose manure is composted along with Potassium deficient forage. The result? You guessed it, Potassium deficient compost. No matter how hard you try, growing good, nutrient, and strong vegetables in a deficient soil without additional fertilization is impossible. Finally, Mel's mix does not include any mineral soil. There are dozens of significant minerals and nutrients found in soil that simply are not found in, for instance, mushroom compost. How do you know if your Mel's mix is deficient in something? Well, that would be a soil sample...

Two types of injury may occur: ( 1 ) An excess of one element may lead to a deficiency of another which ultimately results in a deranged metabolism, e.g., excess nitrogen or excess phosphorus may result in insufficient potassium and excess potassium may lead to deficiency of magnesium or calcium. This type of injury applies particularly to essential nutrients. ( 2 ) The presence of an element may directly injure the protoplasm and bring about the speedy death of the plant.

<Would this still be better than buying a kit online?> Definitely. The home test kits are essentially worthless and too often lead the gardener down the wrong road because of the false results they give. There have been several discussions here in the past comparing the results from a home test kit vs. the professional test results on the same soil. Not to mention the home test kits cost almost as much as a pro test does. Dave

I'm not certain how accurate this test is (and they vary from extraordinarily accurate to absolutely horrible). Statistically, if it's the average, it's likely to be inaccurate--so a retest through Logan Labs would probably be a good idea if you want an accurate answer. That having been said, I'll read it as if it were accurate. Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC or ME) 6.6: Sandier soil, with some silt in there in all probability. It does drift kind of fast, so testing every other year once it stabilizes is a good idea. pH 6.3: Nominally at the low end of the optimal range, but there are some minor adjustments I'd like to take care of. In a sandy soil, the proper balancing pH varies, but I think you're going to be around 6.6-6.8. Organic Matter (OM) 2.7%: In the Fair range, but I'd prefer to see this Good (4%) to Excellent (6%+) in a soil this sandy. Always mulch mow (or have your service do it). Mow in every fall leaf. Consider organic feeding if your service has it at a reasonable price and it's actually organic rather than "kind of organic." Edit: I skipped Phosphorus! Phosphorus 32: Pretty much normal if they're using the Melich III test. None required or desired by these results, but I'm not sure how much to trust them in this case... Calcium 63%: Optimal is 60-70, but in sandier soils it rides more toward the top of the range. We use fast acting lime, either Encap, Mag-I-Cal, or Pennington Fast Lime, to change this. Recommendations below. Magnesium 22.7%: Very high, which can lead to a tight soil that cracks when dry and is hard to dig. We can't counter this directly, so we increase the calcium to compensate. In the liming, that's why I'm only using fast acting (calcium carbonate) lime without any magnesium in it...we don't dare make this problem worse. Cheap lime will make this problem even worse very quickly. Avoid all magnesium sources, which is pretty easy. Potassium 3.6%: Technically a touch on the low side, but nothing to worry about per this test. Ignore this for this year, but figure you'll need to add some K next year. Minor Elements: Not tested. Recommendations: April 1: Apply 3 pounds per thousand square feet of Encap, Mag-I-Cal, or Pennington Fast Lime. October 1: Apply 3 pounds per thousand square feet of Encap, Mag-I-Cal, or Pennington Fast Lime.