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jillrabbit

soil test report ?

18 years ago

I have about 4 acres of old farm ground, that was seeded in grass 4 years ago. What should be done to improve my soil? Here are my test results Organic matter 2%, Phosphorus 20 ppm, Potassium 67 ppm Low, Magnesium 80 ppm Low, Calcium 950 Med, Sodium 13 very low, Cation Exchange 6.8, ph 6.6, soluable salt .1, Sulfur 10, Zinc 3.1, Iron 30 High, Manganese 63 Very high, Copper .9 Medium, Boron .4 Thank you for your input.

Comments (3)

  • 18 years ago

    Livestock method:
    Find a cow that is not receiving regular deworming medicines. Fence your four acres into four 1-acre pastures. Allow the cow to graze for two weeks at a time and then move her to the next pasture. Rotate her every two weeks for a year. Oh and don't use any herbicide or insecticide during that time.

    Organic fertilizer method:
    Visit your local feed store and find out which ground grain is the least expensive. It is going to be either ORDINARY corn meal or alfalfa pellets. A 50-pound bag will cost about $10 or less. Apply at a rate of 10 pounds per 1,000 square feet. You'll need 10 bags per acre. You might be able to get a deal buying by the pallet.

    Synthetic fertilizer method:
    This won't improve your soil at all, but it will change the chemistry so that the soil test improves. Apply any chemical fertilizer at the recommended rate. All it has is N, P, and K so none of the other tested chemicals will be affected.

    Leave it alone method:
    If you have had grass growing there for several years, the soil is fine.

    What do you want to do with the area?

  • 18 years ago

    At 2 percent your level of organic matter is really low, it should be in the 6 to 8 percent range so adding lots more organic matter should be all that is needed. However, rather than attempting to amend all of that 4 acres at once (a daunting task for anyone) concentrate on much smaller areas. if you are in southern Indiana where trees are much more scarce than further north you may need to look harder for leaves to use, but if they are available they are not only the best source of OM but also the least expensive.

  • 18 years ago

    I love soil test reports, here is my once over opinion:

    Assuming you are still planning to grow grass you need about 100-120lbs of phosphorus and 100lbs of potassium. You would also want around 50lbs of nitrogen that was not tested for. You could bump your magnesium up by using Sul-Po-Mag as your potassium source (also get some sulfur which you need). Your pH is already right where you want it, so if you want to add calcium use gypsum (not lime) which will also add needed sulfur. Low sodium is good. It is very unlikely that your grass will respond to copper, zinc, or boron, but they are low and adding 2 pounds per acre each would get them pretty close to where they should be. I wouldnÂt worry too much about the 2% organic matter, your soil looks pretty course and will not sustain high levels of OM for very long.