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soil test results

16 years ago

Finally got my soil test results back. Here they are:

pH - 6.8

P lb/A - 3016

Exchangeable Cations (meq/100g)

Acidity - 0.0

K - 0.5

Mg - 3.7

Ca - 12.2

CEC - 16.4

% Saturation of CEC

K - 3.2

Mg - 22.4

Ca - 74.4

The report rated the pH and calcium as optimum. The Phosphate and magnesium as above optimum.

Potash as below optimum.

The only recommendation it made was "apply 1.5 lbs. per 100 square feet of 10-10-10."

Wouldn't 10-10-10 raise my already high phosphate level? Can anyone give me a better interpretation? The soil test took longer than I thought it would to come back (mostly because I requested it be faxed and they mailed it instead), so I have already planted. I could side dress maybe if needed. I am growing a variety of winter squash, tomatoes, bush beans, beats, cucumbers, broccoli, and eggplant. I may add some carrots as well.

Thanks very much!

Comments (4)

  • 16 years ago

    That 1.5 pounds of 10-10-10 is really a very negligable amount and is fairly standard from soil testing labs no matter what the test results show. Your numbers are pretty good although what is missing is the humus level.
    What is the percent of organic matter in your soil?
    How well does your soil drain?
    How well does your soil retain moisture?
    What does that soil smell like?
    What is the life in that soil?

  • 16 years ago

    Well, I built the raised beds last year. I had screened topsoil delivered to fill them. There are 2 5'x10' beds which are a foot deep. I added 2 cubic yards peat moss and a small amount (like two 40 lb bags each) of aged cow manure to the each of the beds. I soon realized that the soil did not have nearly enough organic material in it and it did affect my veggies. While the tomatoes and beats seemed to do well, other crops didn't thrive and others simply failed. Very few of the beans sprouted, even after replanting. I split the squash plants I bought with my sister and parents. Their plants went nuts producing lots of squash, the vines had leaves the size of trash can lids. Mine had leaves the size of dessert plates and produced little to no squash.

    I wanted to try and help/fix the problem this year. I added three 18 gallon rubbermaid bins of aged (from the 3 year old pile) cow manure (it was even full of red wiggler worms) to the beds this year. Since the soil was poor draining last year, I also added 5 small bags of perlite to each bed (this may or may not help, but I figured it couldn't hurt). After I turned all that in, I waited a few weeks and took the soil samples as per the instructions. 6 samples per bed mixed together and dried on paper then sent 1 cup for testing. The soil doesn't have any smell in particular, should it?
    It seems much better than last year, there are a lot of worms in there now, but I am sure it is going to be something I need to improve every year.

    Any other thoughts? Anything I can do to help matters now that I have already planted?

    Thanks again!

  • 16 years ago

    If you mulch your seedlings with shredded tree leaves, the worms will eat the leaves, and contribute worm castings to the soil. Also, a layer of shredded tree leaves will help retain soil moisture near the roots of the vegetable plants. Leaves can be raked into a windrow, and then shredded with a lawnmower. We use leaves from our maple tree. Don't use walnut leaves, they are toxic to other plants.

  • 16 years ago

    Thanks for the advice ericwi, I have lots of leaves as a portion of my property is heavily wooded, no walnut trees though, mostly oak and maple. I will rake them out and run the mower over them. I will have to wait for my seedlings to come up first. :-)