Do I need more organic matter? (Soil test results)
TNflowerlover Zone 7a
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
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TNflowerlover Zone 7a
6 years agokimmq
6 years agoRelated Discussions
New soil + New compost + Soil test = mixed results
Comments (9)I'm a doofus. I missed the fact that the analysis was conducted on your 2/3 soil to 1/3 mushroom compost blend. Anyway, my comment about 0.0 ppm available nitrogen stands. I think it's a lab error. My comments about salinity also stand because we don't know the starting salinity of the compost or the soil. That being said, the final blend is 23% O.M. by dry weight, which is super high. If the mushroom compost was 1/3 of the final blend by volume, that would put you in the 7 to 8% organic range by dry weight if mixed with a mineral soil. And that's if the compost itself were high in organic material. (The analyses I looked at for the compost ranged from about 30 to 60% O.M. by dry weight). So, it would be a safe bet that your 4-way soil is probably around 15% O.M. by dry weight or a little higher. That means that it was probably about 50% to 60% organic material by volume and who the heck knows what that O.M. was. If it was raw wood chips, you would still have some available nitrogen in the analysis, but potentially not enough to balance carbon and it's feasible that you do indeed have a nitrogen draw issue. Or, if it has a heavy manure component, that could contribute to salts. (even a high quality greenwaste compost will often have a salinity level of 5 to 7 dS/m). Also consider that such a high amount of organic matter has the potential to hold too much water, especially if drainage isn't all that great at the bottom of the planters....See MoreSoil Test Results from NGO Organic Farm in Northern Thailand
Comments (2)Thanks Patsy. We have free range ducks. It is interesting how big the eggs get the day after they eat fish--Ducks patrol the paddy and lay eggs in the duckhouse. We need to be self sufficient in food production. I have learned to love eating the snails, simmered in rosa, garlic, chiles, and coconut milk-- they are Aunt Bea good. It turns out that ducks make lousy mothers--won't sit on the eggs. We collected 10 eggs from the duckhouse and put them with 3 chicken eggs under the hen--she hatched them but is looking for the rooster to give him a whuppin' for making such ugly chicks with big noses and funny looking feet! In a rice paddy there is a flow through of water from uphill to downhill. It may look flat, but gravity moves the water. There is adequate access to water during dry season. Interestingly enough, there is very little soy grown in these parts. The vegetables of choice locally are yard long bean, Lao orange eggplant, yellow eggplant, chiles, small onions, chinese cabbage,okra, and rosa (a green that tastes lemony). It is a little hot for spinach here. I got an interesting suggestion from another respondent--get some busted up pieces of concrete from a construction job and place them at the headwater of the irrigation to the paddy. Will leach out limestone for free. Anyway--thanks for your kind words and helpful link....See Moresoil test results...what to do...what to do...
Comments (21)Hmmmm...horse manure is horse manure :-) Even when properly composted itself, it is not exactly a balanced product but can be used as an ingredient in a composting operation that includes other ingredients. And it is not a good idea to use the uncomposted manure of virtually any ruminant on a garden that will be used to grow edible crops. Horses have rather incomplete digestive systems. They are essentially a feeding tube and what goes in comes out relatively undisturbed :-) Weed or grain seeds pass through undigested. They also do not metabolize all the nutrients well and repeated use of even composted horse manures can result in a build up of certain minerals (magnesium is the biggie) to toxic concentrations over time. They are often treated with dewormers and these too get passed through without full digestion. And since worms are good for the garden, adding worm killers in any form is a bit counterproductive. If you use horse manure, or any other ruminant manure for that matter, make sure it is hot composted before use (or at the very least, very well aged) to eliminate any pathogens and to reduce the likelihood of weeds being generated. And if given the choice, opt for cow manure first -- their more efficient digestive system will result in a better composting product....See MoreSoil test results - A man needing a plan
Comments (9)I'll let you research our opinion of core aeration. Hint: I'm not a fan. And skip the compost, it's expensive, difficult to apply, a lousy feeding, and unnecessary to add bacteria, which float around on the wind for free. You can technically apply pre-emergent at any point as weeds will sprout continuously on well-irrigated lawns. However, it's best to get the shield up early to catch that first huge flush of spring-sprouting weeds. Overall, quality of even this well-cared-for lawn is fair at best. Fortunately, the soil test tells us exactly why this is and how to fix it, so let's explore further... EC 4.1: A very sandy soil. Your soil's going to shift quickly due to the low carrying capacity for resources, so plan on testing it yearly. OM 3.7%: Actually, this is well into the Fair range, but I'd like to get this up a lot higher due to your low EC as organic matter raises EC. Organic feedings, mulch mowing, mowing in all fall leaves, and so on will help here. It's not an emergency, just something to work on. Sulfur 77: Rather high, with little margin to play with. Fortunately, I don't need to do much playing and your sulfur levels are certainly not a problem. Phosphorus 9: So low it practically doesn't exist in your soil, which is seriously killing your lawn quality (and explains your neighbors' problems quite nicely). I've made recommendations below, but we're not going to finish this year. Target will be 200. Purchase the cheapest starter fertilizer as they'll all target about 1 pound per thousand square feet of phosphorus. Nitrogen levels are high enough to maintain your lawn beautifully. Calcium 46.0%: Very low, and a serious limiter of your lawn quality (again, this explains the neighbors'). Recommendations below. Purchase Encap or Mag-I-Cal lime as other limes aren't as strong, won't work as fast, and contain other elements that I don't want to be adding to your soil. Magnesium 9.1%: A little low, but nothing severe. Buy a nice large bag of Epsom salt at your local drugstore, in the bath or first aid section. Recommendations below. Potassium 6.5%: Exactly where it should be by the numbers, the percentage is a little over-inflated due to the lack of sufficient calcium in your soil. This will settle down after the calcium application. Minor Elements: Although I'd like to shift boron, copper, and zinc, there's so much going on this year that I'm going to skip it as I risk not having it stick very well. I mentioned iron below. Iron 49: Not deficient in the slightest, but not high enough to produce great color on the lawn. Any time you like, you can apply Milorganite to raise your iron levels (slowly) and add a little organic material to the soil. Recommendations: June 1: Feed at bag rate with starter fertilizer. June 15: Apply 4 pounds per thousand square feet Encap or Mag-I-Cal calcitic lime. July 1: Feed at bag rate with starter fertilizer. July 15: Apply 1 pound per thousand square feet Epsom salt. August 1: Feed at bag rate with starter fertilizer. September 1: Feed at bag rate with starter fertilizer. September 15: Apply 3 pounds per thousand square feet Encap or Mag-I-Cal calcitic lime. October 1: Feed at bag rate with starter fertilizer. October 15: Apply 1 pound per thousand square feet Epsom salt....See Moretoxcrusadr
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