Was there some sort of chemical dump on your land? That sounds rather toxic to humans! Since it is so high, I might have it rechecked... really...
I have always thought that Americans are kinda fertilizer happy... over fertilizing all the time... but this sounds too odd.

Yes, it's possible to add too mauch manure, and that includes the bagged stuff.

I contacted a respected pioneer of organic gardening in these parts to get his take on my test results. In his opinion, soil tests from our extension service are (sadly) worthless. He suggested another soil testing lab which I am going to send another sample to for comparison. He wrote a pretty interseting article on phosphates. Here's the link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Article on phosphates

First of all, I want to go on record saying that I don't totally believe nor do I totally trust any "non-organic", conventional soil tests dones by most state or university, county extension agents, etc.

Most conventional soil test and conventional farming methods is to hung up on NPK, pH levels, etc. In order words pure soil chemistry! True sustainable soil building and soil management is a complex function of soil chemistry, biology, and physics.

The best way to deal with all the soil chemistry, biology, and physics, is to feed the soil microherd and the earthworms! You need to use a variety of different uncomposted plant matter mulches all around your plants and soil beds, all year round. Diversity of organic matter will better balance the nutrients levels (chemistry), as well as balance the various soil microbial levels (biology), as well as aerate and loosen up your soil (physics).

Adding more sugary or molasses products in various compost tea soil drench recipes on your soil beds every month or so, will greatly build up soil microbial levels, which will also help better balance soil nutrient levels in the soil.

High phosphorus levels is no real big deal in truly 100% organic soil beds. The soil microbes and earthworms will keep it straight and balanced for you over time, if you keep your soil heavy mulched and rich with mature compost underneath the mulches for extra soil organism food sources.

Keep in mind that most phosphorus in the soil is locked up in insoluble forms anyway. Most is chemically bonded to calcium forms. No real issue in true well managed organic soil beds. The plants get what they need from the soil via soil microbes when they need it.

True homemade mature compost buffers soil pH, buffers soil nutrients levels, and buffers mild "toxins" around growing planbt roots in the soil. This is all done by beneficial soil organisms living in the humates in the mature compost.

Many commercial composts do not have a great variety of beneficial aerobic microbes in it, like homemade mature composts do.

Hope this helps!
Happy Gardening!

Nice hearing from you Cap'n as well as other posters. I got sort of suspicious about my test results when I looked out the window at my garden. These must be some kind of "super plants" to grow so well in that radically unbalanced soil that I have. We'll see what the comparison test says.

What is the humus level in your soil?

Humus was not one of the measured parameters in the test.

Thanks for going to Malcolm before I suggested it. I know the lab you are going to now and I would hope you post the results you get from them.

About 2 years ago Texas A&M admitted that they'd been doing their tests wrong for years. Sadly their correction isn't much better. You can trust the test you're going to get. Those guys are miracle workers. They are responsible for Texas watermelon growers getting two crops a year and for Texas pecan growers getting a full crop every year (instead of every other year). Imagine doubling your production with hardly any input!!!

captaincompostal,

"Adding more sugary or molasses products in various compost tea soil drench recipes on your soil beds every month or so, will greatly build up soil microbial levels, which will also help better balance soil nutrient levels in the soil."

I have a source of beet sugar sludge and thought it would make a great compost tea as mentioned above. Good idea and , if so, how would you go about making the "tea"?

Thanks for your advice.
Suz

The humus level in your soil will help determine hoe available that phosphorus will actually be. The higher, to an extent, the humus level the less concern you need to have about high nutrient levels since the soil bacteria will help straighten that out. Manures do have fairly readily available amounts of phosphorus but unless compost has large amounts of rock phosphate added it will not have more than barely measureable quantities, its there but not easily avaialable and not easily measured by soils tests and that is why compost is not considered a "fertilizer" but manure is. Get your humus (residual organic matter)levels up and those numbers will fall into balance.

What determines whether a product is considered a fertilizer rather than a simple soil amendment is a "guaranteed analysis" of the three primary plant nutrients. If this is not clearly labeled on the bag or provided by a bulk provider then it is not officially considered a fertilizer regardless of the overall nutrient content. These nutrients can vary quite a bit depending on the primary ingredients and how well it has been aged/composted. And many providers of bagged or bulk product do not go through the effort and testing involved in order to be able to provide a uniform and consistant guaranteed analysis - unless you test and can confirm these percentages, both compost and any form of animal manure are amendments rather than fertilizers.

Suz asked about sugar beet sludge and compost tea. While I don't have any suggestions about the best way to use the sludge, you could start your research on compost tea with Dr. Elaine Ingham and the Soil Foodweb people (web site here:www.soilfoodweb.com (link opens new window) The 5th edition of her book on Compost Tea brewing is now out.

Many businesses are now producing commercial compost tea makers-- and expensive and unecessary option for the home gardener, IMO. I found very helpful instructions for a do-it-yourself brewer here: PA Dept of Environmental Protection (opens new window)

Hope this helps.

- Bev

My soil P is over 200, My agent said don't worry about it, plants absorb only what they need (except nitrogen)

A soil P of 50 is to sell you some Microzhoa (sp) fungi

Yes definately- you can have too much from many things & whereas your test came out that high, I'd definately get several tests done- that's just unheralthy at that level. Your goal is organic, not toxic,

Here is a link that might be useful: Northern Gardener

Well, how did the new test turn out?

Lee

Hi snappybob just a thought, look out again and if your plants are so beautiful, why test such good soil, it sounds like it is ok so why try to add something to change it when it is doing a good job now. Just a thought.

What is a soil test? Many people have no real idea but a good soil test is one of the tools a gardener has to use in the building up of a good, healthy soil. A soil test is an indication of what nutrients are readily available to plants and if there is an imbalance that may need correcting. A good, reliable soil test will tell you about your soils pH and can indicate why that soil pH is where its at (nutrient imbalance) and what needs to be done to help that soil pH get where you want it. A soil test, used in conjunction with these simple soils tests can tell you if you are going in the right direction.

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.

Some people say you do not need to do these tests, but since the soil is the organic gardeners most important asset how would you know whether what you are doing is really helping or not without taking a good look at your soil?

Ya, nutrient levels may not be as toxic if the nutrient is less available. This is more of the case with organics. Ironically, this is a problem on occasion when taking some organic vitamin supplements, as unavailable components may be passed without absorption.

Further, manures containing phosphorous can be a problem in some areas, as runoff and leaching pollute groundwater. In fact, even chemical fertilizers are different in different regions because of naturally occuring levels of phosphorous: you don't need as much in the midwest.

Long and short of it- excessive use of manures- composted or not- may lead to water pollution issues. As one component in a compost containing lots of other stuff- no biggie.

Think about this- where does phosphorous in manure come from? It's nutrient that was incorporated into a plant that was eaten by livestock, concentrated, and passed as waste. Now you take that nutrient- that started out in someone else's soil, possibly as a chemical fertilizer, and you bring concentrated nutrient into your yard. If your yard doesn't really need it, which seems the likely case, then why bring it in?

As a lot of folks say here- if you feed the fungi in your soil- they will make the nutrient available to your plant roots. We are fertilizer happy. Organic or not- adding fertilizer makes us feel like we're doing something. I have amybe a dozen bags of UCG's waiting to be spread or used, so maybe I'm as guilty as anyone.

As soon as you have a reasonable cycle going in your yard, you should need very little additional nutrient. Here's what I mean- if you have healthy plant growth, then you can assume that you have healthy levels of the needed nutrients in your yard. If you have a good humus level, then the nutrient will not be so soluble that you lose it in runoff.

The plant uses nutrient and incorporates it into foliage. That foliage is eventually composted or used as mulch. The nutrient gets recycled. Nitrogen may be lost in the process, unless you have legumes etc. that harvest nitrogen right out of the air.

Be vigilant about returning to the soil the nutrient that your plants incorporate into their foliage. The plants harvest N (if you have any legumes) as well as C right out of the air. That carbon ends up as humus in the soil when you mulch or compost falling leaves, trimmings, etc. This may sound like a familiar cycle/scenario: nature does it VERY effectively all around us, without intensive maintenance or addition of unneeded materials.

Other nutrients are recycled, and added in reasonable amounts when you use a little manure, or other stuff if needed. Really, the big reasons to add anything, IMO, is that we try and grow exotic species, we don't often grow legumes that do work for us (I'm getting busy on doing that part for myself), we grow food that we eat and then the nutrients are lost into sewer systems (I don't do humanure, so I'm guilty here as well), we procure foods off of that land and need to deal with waste (composting scraps- the opposite of growing your own food), we aren't fanatic about returning nutrient (burn brush or firewood?) or don't do it quickly and therefore have to supplement short-term (brush piles, throw out diseased plants rather that composting).

All that said- I'm a big fan of free coffeee grounds and OPL. I heat my house with wood off my property, so composting these ingredients is like harvesting what my woodstove spews into the air. Striving for carbon-neutrality :) I also have poor soil from the previous owner and from what I've had delivered. I am looking forward to having that "cycle" that I talked about- reasonable or not.