There are a number of these simple soil tests that people can use in addition to the nutrient and soil pH tests done by a soil lab and this list is one of them. Rather than using a pH meter that may not give accurate readings and would not tell people why their soil is at the pH is is at, perhaps a demonstration of these would be better adn would get people actually looking at the soil they have, hopffully. 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.

My suspicion is that you, having an "aggressive" garden (your term, not mine) means that you add a 'balanced' fertilizer now and then, to force growth out of those vegetables, or even the lawn. Well, you're doing what everybody has been told. Can't blame you for that. But it's not right. Not anymore. Not for you. You have graduated to the category of 'agricultural producer' rather than 'ignorant homeowner' or 'ignorant gardner'. And 'ignorant' does not mean 'stupid', rather it means 'not yet informed', which does not mean you will never be informed, it just means that you haven't been informed yet. The fertilizer companies design, and blend, and then market their products to homeowners who are basically ignorant of the problems that you are faced with. I can't really fault them for that. Their typical customer (you might make a better list) has: a. neglected their lawn for four years or more, or b. graduated the kids from school, and there's nobody playing soccer out back anymore, or c. bought a new house, in a subdivision that used to be a farmer's field, until the topsoil was scraped off, or d. in the gardening field, started a garden, by rototilling up a patch of ground. They're going to go back to the store, next week, to figure out what they might grow. But at the time of tilling, they hadn't a clue. No offense to those folks. We've all been there. The 'balanced' fertilizer that these folks purchase might be (pretty good chance, really) just exactly what they need, or, more likely, at least calculated to solve most of the problems ("please don't call us on the phone. Please don't.") that these folks are likely to run into. But those 'balanced' products tend to have too much potash, and too much phosphorus. Those particular chemical components of fertilizer don't get used up, the way that Nitrogen does. On a subdivision lot, hey, phosphorus might be needed ("Throw in some phosphorus"). You are not on a subdivision lot. Nor do you need phosphorus. Nor potash. But you've been adding it, faithfully, for years. Lucky you. But it's piling up, isn't it? The link below will illustrate how 'nitrogen only' will use up excess phosphorus by making things grow. Same is true (I presume) of the potash. But you've got to switch to 'nitrogen only' for a couple of seasons, just to get the excess of the other two elements used up. Don't add anything else. Whatever it is, hey, you've got more than you need. I'm going to leave it to you to figure out what's most practical for your situation in the 'nitrogen only' department. It might be urea (my first thought), and it might not. I don't have your problems. I've got a few of my own. And let's get to some good advice for you. I don't see any sense in your purchasing anything labeled 'Scotts', or anything labeled "Miracle Gro". Those things are designed (quite correctly) for my brother. He put some fertilizer down, about five years ago, and he might do it again, this year, if he thinks about it, because the neighbor made some comment (quite restrained, actually) about that lawn. And how we want this neighborhood to look. You know the rest. Don't add anything to your garden. Whatever you need, hey, it's there, isn't it? Perhaps too much. Produce what it is that you're going to produce. After you produce it, do another soil test. Add what you need, and don't add what you don't need. And let us know how it turns out.

If your garden had been limed 20 years ago it is very likely that is the reason your pH is sill up where it is. In a natural system rain water is slightly acidic and will very gradually lower pH over time. Water moving through the soil leaches bases out of the system as well. The decay of organic materials is also an acidifying process. If these natural process provide more acids than there are bases in the weathering soil minerals the soil will naturally have a low pH. Alternatively in arid low rainfall areas and in limestone areas the soils will naturally have higher pHÂs. In a less than natural system sulfur in the air forms acid rain and will lower pH faster. Adding synthetic fertilizers will drastically and rapidly lower the soil pH. The reason you see farmers adding lime every 3 years is because they are adding a lot of fertilizer every year. Note that not all synthetic fertilizers are acidifying, but the ones that are not tend to be a lot more expensive. Having a lot of calcium in the soil is not a problem except that it means you are short on another base, in your case potassium. If your soil was high in calcium, magnesium, and potassium your pH would be higher. pH is a measure of the total bassicity/acidity of your soil. The Âpercent base saturation is a breakdown of how the bases (calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium) are distributed. Ideally calcium takes up 65-75%, magnesium 10-15%, and potassium 2-5%. Sodium is not necessary and is toxic at relatively low levels. Exactly how much that is in lbs per acre or parts per million depends on how much your soil can hold which is represented by the cation exchange capacity (CEC). More clay, and more active (sticky) clay means more holding power and a higher CEC. That is why it takes more lime (base) to raise the pH of a heavy soil than a low CEC sandy soil. Simple eh?

I have hardly seen a soil test that did not recommend nitrogen, which kinda makes you wonder if it's really needed. How do your plants grow? If they seem to lack nitrogen, by all means add it, but your soil is so healthy with high organic matter and nutrients that it may not need nitrogen. As for how to calculate it, if you want 1.2 lb/100 s.f., here's how to convert. X is the sq ft of your garden space. Let's say you have fertilizer that is 12-0-0 so 12% nitrogen. X sq ft in your garden x 1.2 lb n/sq ft x 100 lb fertilizer/12 lb N = (X x 1.2 x 100)/12 There are online calculators too. Your pH is not too high but doesn't need to go higher so if you've been adding any lime, you can quit that. 8% OM is right in the good range, and since your P and K are quite healthy I would cut back on the annual compost additions so they don't get excessive. Once you get good soil OM levels you can go into maintenance mode, 1-2" per year. Or mulch with wood chips or leaves which have lower P and K levels and will feed the soil with OM to replace what decays away without adding much other nutrients.