It takes time, months, for lime, rock phosphat, etc. to react in soils and produce the results you want. Change in soils will not occure using those materials in a few weeks. Animal manures can cause more immediate change because the nutrietns are more soluble. The length of time it takes for change in soils to occur is why those soil amendments should be added in the fall, several months before the growing season and not a few weeks before.

Well, I wasn't planning on planting here this year (except maybe potatoes and oats if I could raise the pH just a little), I just got the beds built. But figured I'd test again to see how the amendments worked, was pleasantly surprised that the pelleted lime seemed to work quickly.

So can I do anything with these beds this year? I did start way too many tomatoes, and have about 7 lbs of seed potatoes I bought weeks ago still sprouting eyes in the garage

I would add lime & rock dust as well as manure to get the change you want. If you are worried about the over all change or your potatoes do poorly, then test in the Spring to see what you should do next.

The only thing wrong with the pH of the second bed is that you aren't used to it. There are a few things that prefer a lower pH for specific reasons. I do almost think potatoes are one of them because a pH over 7 promotes scab.(disclaimer - I've never (intentionally) grown potatoes) The tomatoes should do fine there, though.

Thanks - I was shooting for 5.5 for potatoes, I have 2 beds at 5.0 right now (one with a little higher NPK if the potatoes need it (see question 1). But I guess potatoes will do OK at 5.0.

And I just think I overshot the lime on the other bed (bed 3), I'm used to mid-low 6's, but I guess tomatoes will do OK in 7.2, or maybe I'll just put eggplant, okra, etc. there - stuff I've never grown b4 but I do have okra seed (DH is from TX and loves pickled okra) and got 6 eggplant in a swap for some of my hot peppers today.

I do have a 4th bed that's at 6.8 and what I think is reasonable NPK (though they called for 20 lbs of 10-10-10 b/c N was "only" Medium High), I can put tomatoes in there though I do have so many tomatoes and peppers that I could easily fill both beds (as long as DH will put up fence or make cages for all those tomatoes!).

While most all plants prefer growing in soils withj a soil pH of 6.2 to 6.8 where most all soil nutrients are most readly available, a soil pH of 7.2 is not that far from ideal and you could grow most of the common vegetables there with few problems providing soil nutrients were in balance. The other bed may be okay for potatoes, or you could grow a cover crop there.

Thanks - hope the nightshades will do well there since I have so many. Any idea how the ammonium and P got so high in that bed with just wood shavings and coffee chaff, lime and ash? I still have a lot of chaff left, don't want to use it if it's going to bring something too high but thought I could dig in a thin layer (hydrophobic) as side dressing for a little bit of N throughout the season. The roaster is waiting on the results of my experiments so he knows what to tell people who might be interested - he had 1 farmer take some for henhouse and never came back for more (since chicken manure is high in N itself I wonder if her henhouse spontaneously combusted LOL).

I did find the chaff to be a good compost activator when I mixed it with my dry leaves, but since it tends to clump and repel water when thick and wet, and blow away when dry, it doesn't seem a good mulch choice - UCG are easier to handle though you can't put them on too thickly either.

My pH is 7.5 and the nightshades do fine there. For potatoes, we dust them in sulfur before planting to help with scab. Also, I have read that potatoes that did not get enough water (problem for my climate, maybe not yours) can get scab so make sure they are well watered. Some day I hope to be proactive enough to look for scab resistant varieties but until that day comes, I will just keep dusting them with sulfur and watering.