For our area, I wouldn't say that. Maybe manganese. Definitely iron, and maybe phosphorus.

What is a good (organic) source of manganese? I can believe that. Through several of my hair analysis (and my family too), we were all deficient in manganese (and selenium).

I thought we tended to have too much phosphorus from all the farming.

Magnesium, iron, zinc, manganese, copper, all can be tied up in alkaline soils. The problem has more to do with the plant being able to uptake the nutrients. You can cause as much problems by blindly applying something if you don't know if it is lacking and create a toxicity. Soil and leaf samples are need to correctly identify nutrient needs. That being said Texas Greensand and seaweed are two materials I often use and are both consider organic. They both have all of these in them and in most cases will be hard to create toxicities with them unless you get very carried away with there use. The greensand is applied to the soil and the seaweed is best used as a foliar spray but can also be applied to the soil. Also compost will buffer and help to balance out the alkalinity making more nutrients available for plant uptake through the root system.
Hope this starts you in the right direction and Happy Growing David

Yep I just add compost. I add it when planting and I mulch with it. And I add Texas Greensand too. I rotate fertilizers....alfalfa, seaweed, fish emulsion, manure, and seedmeals. I feel the soil microbes like variation too but never go hog wild adding stuff. Our soil has really good stuff in it but the pH locks it up a bit and since our water is higher pH, you have to keep working at it. It does respond though. Won't grow acid lovers without heavy care but most stuff will be happy and the natives go wild.

Phosphorous is locked up by the pH. It's in the soil but until you drop the pH a bit, it shows as lacking. That's why they fertilize with it....so the plant will find it readily available. If you set up an environment that the soil microbes can really get going in, then the phosphorous will be unlocked. If I add anything when I plant a potted item, it's some Rocket Fuel by Gardenville. Just a teaspoon so the plant has some help until the soil relationships are set up. Too much and it could actually slow down the microbes. Organic matter is the big key to our soils. We have so little of it that it sticks together. Every time you have plant debris leave you area, you've lost the nutrients that the plant used in those leaves and branches. If you don't put that back (and a little more for next years growth), you deplete the soil. But fertilizer alone won't fix the problem. You have to return the organic matter of the leaves and branches too.......hence compost should be added.

Working the land properly is much more difficult than plowing, fertilizing and spraying pests. It requires close monitoring of the soil and rotating animals and plants around to keep everything at it's peak. Even weeds have their place in this dance as do insects. Chemicals won't fix the problem completely but sweat and smarts will.

Well said shebear!!!!

It's always about soil food web. Have to improve soil biology to help unlock nutrients in the soil.

http://soils.usda.gov/sqi/concepts/soil_biology/soil_food_web.html

A few weeks before this thread started I used magnesium in the form Epson Salts to see if it would darken up the foliage of the Chinese fringe flower shrub. I had applied iron, nitrogen fertilizer and compost in the middle of last year with no noticeable results. Either they finally kicked on or the Epson Salts did the trick, because the leaves are very noticeably darker red now.

this is a geeky cool thread - love it!
~ freshair

shebear-

Unless you have a lot of room to have enough compost to apply the whole area, it's too expensive and not practical for most people. Growing up, my parents has good sized lot for Houston where there's a lot of trees and we'd rake all the leaves into huge pile of leaves and I remember that I wonder how such huge pile of leaves would become such small pile of compost.

My point is that there is far easier and cheaper solution to it like applying molasses and cheap generic feed grain (soybean meal is my personal favorite).

My lot is such tiny and no large mature trees to provide sufficient compost at the present.

Roselee- Try biozome and see if you see anything made difference. I need to sneak over to neighbor's lawn and pour a solution of biozome, molasses, seaweed, etc in one spot and see if anything happens.

It is not unusual to have a magnesium problem in alkaline soils! I just didn't want the OP to think it should be a blanket assumption. There are multiple ways to approach nutrient problems. The least consistent is guessing at a problem. Generally speaking I agree with aspects from Shebear, Lou and Roselee. Each of these folks show aspects of a personalized approach to their own problems and that is how we all learn from each other in a forum situation. The challenge as I see it is not taking it a step further sometimes and making sure the OP understands the question asked has no single answer that will be completely and utterly valid for their situation. I have over the years found this to be a constant struggle in teaching aspects of horticulture. People want to often have someone else tell them what will fix a problem and not want to understand why there is a problem to start with. I feel that Jesus offered the best answer to these kinds of learning needs (Give a fish to a person feeds them for a day. Teach them to fish and they never will be hungry.) I thank all of you on this forum for offering to teach as this is where we can all be better growers of plants and we truly help each other to understand more than the simple yes do this or no do that answer.
Happy Growing David

First let me state that I'm in a hurry to get outside and garden before it gets too hot. So I haven't read all of the above answers, so if I repeat, I apologize.

One really good thing about taking Master Gardening is that one class taught is about "soil". It is suggested that you do a soil analysis before amending your soil. So many people often add so many chemicals that are not needed, and as a result really mess up their yards and what they are trying to accomplish. So before adding anything, I suggest that you get a soil analysis. Just call your Extension Office for a testing kit. Here is a list of the Texas County Extension Offices.

The soil testing kit includes the soil test form and a bag to put your soil test in. You don't have to go to your county extension office to get this, but can print off the form from the TAMU Aggie Horticulture website and submit your sample with the form in a bag of your own - ziploc type, then put into an envelope with the form and mailed. Just trying to save some gas. See the link below for links to the necessary forms.

Here is a link that might be useful: TAMU Soil Testing

All good responses and suggestions from everyone. Any others?