Help with soil analysis results?!?!
dregae (IN, zone 6b)
8 years ago
I'm hoping someone here can help me with my soil analysis results. After several years of watching my roses not thrive I finally got a soil analysis done, but i'll be honest I don't know what to do with my results. I could figure out what the elements tested were, but what do I do now?!?
I would appreciate any help and advice!!!
Grace e
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zack_lau z6 CT ARS Consulting Rosarian
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Help me with my soil analysis please
Comments (14)Sure, you could say it looks pretty good. the major and macro nutrients look like they're in good supply. They aren't high enough to cause any real problems at the moment, but no reason to add more of what you don't need. The test didn't check for micronutrients so..(shrug). But the compost should provide some micros. You're pH looks good so the micros that you do have should be pretty available. Boron and salinity weren't checked so......(shrug again). According to the estimated cation saturation data, sodium is a non-issue in regards to its effect on soil structure and drainage. (Since K, Ca and Mg make up 100% of the exchangeable cations, your ESP is 0. That's good). I think if you mix in some green waste compost and add some nitrogen at or right before the time of planting, things should work out pretty well....See MoreSoil analysis results and tomatoes
Comments (20)Djole, if you have not seen these simple soil tests before they may be of some use to you in working on getting that soil into a good, healthy condition. Just another tool you might want to use. 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 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....See MoreSoil Analysis Help
Comments (3)Billy, Your question and wording leave me a little unclear of what you want to know and the replys seem to reflect that uncertainty. If you are questioning the expenditure for fertilizer for a 700 sq. ft garden it just doesn't seem logical. More likely you are questioning how to obtain a fertilizer blend to adapt to the recommendation. To that end you need to be more specific in your test results but, in reality, you only need to be in the ballpark with the application. Keep in mind that your Nitrogen recommendation is almost always based on crop needs rather than test results; Phosphorus recommendation is usually expressed as P2O5(phosphate) as you indicated but Potassium recommendation is almost always expressed as K2O rather than just K and that distinction can affect what you apply. What you likely should be shopping for is a 3:1.5:4 ratio blend. In real life if you can find a 10:5:10 or even a 10:10:10 fertilizer and apply at the rate recommended for N you will be in the ballpark....See MoreSoil Test Analysis Help
Comments (22)Let's take a moment to talk about fertilizer. To a plant, nitrogen is a molecule with a small charge. It often exists attached to something else, such as oxygen (nitrate, NO3). That charge, and the strength of that charge, is what is important. A weak charge is easily broken, a strong charge is not. Phosphorous exists in the soil in multiple forms. Some of these forms have strong charges that render the molecules insoluble. Other minerals also exist in multiple forms, Fe, Mn, Mg, Cu among them. Funny that I either have to list the entire periodic table or clearly state a disclaimer that such a list is not complete. Go back to your soil test. See where there are two types of phosphorous? One of these types is easily soluble, one of these is currently not. However, over time, the less soluble form breaks down and becomes more soluble. CEC is a measure of how many of these charges a given sample of soil is capable of holding. Clay soil and organic matter have a higher CEC. Think of some of the richest, most productive farmland around. Are you thinking of beach sand? Or some kind of clay? Nitrogen has a weak charge. It easily forms bonds with other elements and compounds...for the purpose of this discussion, water vapor would be another compound. Hence, the transitory nature of nitrogen. Phosphorous and potassium, and several of the primary micronutrients, form stronger bonds, less easily broken. As such, they exist in different forms at any given time, and often you need less of these to maintain a certain level of production. Soil is not a solid mass. It's a colossal jumble of particles of various sizes, air spaces, water, living things, and decaying organic matter. more air, less water. more water, less air. in any given sample of soil actual soil particles, be it sand, silt, or clay, is going to comprise only about half of the sample. The important thing in managing soil? It's not to manage the soil, it's managing the air space (pore space) that exists between the soil particles. Too much air, and the soil dries out, and anything trying to live in it dries out. Too much water, everything drowns. All of life happens in the pore space. All the chemical interactions, all the water a plant absorbs through it's roots, these all happen in the pore space. Everything we're talking about exists in and happens in the pore space. Which gets us back to what exactly do you put on? So your soil test is a snapshot in time. At the time your soil test was taken, according to recommendations from the lab, you needed 140 lb of nitrogen per acre. Do the math, if you apply a fertilizer with 10% nitrogen, you are looking at 140 lb. If you find a fertilizer with an analysis of 10-3-4, and apply 150 pounds, you will have applied 150 lb N, 4.5 lb P, and 6 lb K. Again, this was a snapshot in time. When the lawn is growing more vigorously, it needs more (cool weather, spring and fall). Going into summer, the lawn wants to go dormant in the heat and doesn't need as much. Again, don't think you need to supply an entire year's worth of fertilizer at one application. I've seen some pretty intense calculations as to volume of grass clippings equaling nitrogen potential. But all of these are dependent on specific soil types...in sand, with a much larger pore space, organic matter intermingles at a larger size. As you get into clay soils, it has to break down into much smaller pieces to work it's way into the soil profile (here's where aerating helps you). Generally, I start by treating a part of the yard at a certain rate and waiting. If the result is what is desired, treat the rest. Or adjust and treat another small part. Don't worry...as soon as you think you have this figured out, something will change. Through this all, the other things you do are perhaps more important that what you are using for fertilizer, most of which have been touched on. Here's where I touch nerves...I don't go to the church of the believer. I don't believe in synthetics, but I use them. Why? They work. I don't believe in organics, but I use products and techniques that come straight out the organic handbook. Why? They work. There's a balance...if people will let you find it, but we seem to be losing that ability....See Moredregae (IN, zone 6b)
8 years agodregae (IN, zone 6b)
8 years agozack_lau z6 CT ARS Consulting Rosarian
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoUser
8 years agoI googled soil p1 and clicked on the 2nd (agrienergy) and saved the pdf file. The first page has a report identical to yours (not the numbers) and an explanation of each item. Very interesting.
mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
8 years agodregae (IN, zone 6b)
8 years agozack_lau z6 CT ARS Consulting Rosarian
8 years agomichaelg
8 years agodregae (IN, zone 6b)
8 years agozack_lau z6 CT ARS Consulting Rosarian
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agomad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
8 years agodregae (IN, zone 6b)
8 years ago
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