To convert major and macro nutrients roughly into parts per million (ppm), divide by two.
P (phosphorus) = 47
K (Potassium) = 170.5
Ca (Calcium) = 1516.5
Mg (Magnesium) = 122

Micronutrients are already in ppm.

The reaction of the soil is only slightly alkaline at a pH of 7.3. This is suitable for most plants and pH adjustment is probably not something to worry about. The base saturation percentage indicates that the pH is strongly buffered against downward adjustment. If you do want to adjust the pH downward towards the acidic range, it would be slow, expensive and temporary. It would be better to avoid plants that are particularly sensitive to alkaline soil conditions.

The calcium to magnesium ratio is good. The potassium to magnesium ratio is pretty close to the maximum of 1.5 to 1. If you add potassium, also add magnesium. Manganese is high and can compete with magnesium for uptake (though not as strongly as potassium) you shouldn't and manganese products for....well, forever. That is another good reason to add some magnesium.

The CEC suggest fairly good nutrient holding capacity and (Just as a guestimate) your soils is probably somewhere in the sandy loam category.

Zinc and copper are at good levels. Iron is not dangerously high but higher than full sufficiency and should not be added for at least a year.

I would say based on the CEC and the P and K values that you're probably in the low-optimum range on those. However, if you want to boost fertility and build in some reserve potential for those nutrients you could put in the 10-10-10. I would say that 2 lbs. per 100 is a but much. I would go with 1 lb. per 100 and throw in about 0.5 lbs. magnesium sulfate to offset the potential supression of magnesium uptake due to the potassium level.

Thank you!

squonnk;
What are the unit of the 2 that converts lb/A to ppm? I think I understand but can you explain yourself.

macheske;
Thanks for posting the soil test.

Squonnk,
Will the Magnesium Sulfate lower the pH somewhat as well? I'm not too worried about the pH, just wondering...

Think I'll go with 48 lbs of 10-10-10 (1.5 lb/100 sq ft) and 16 lbs of epsom salts.

cowgirl2
Sure, the pounds per acre is not an actual measurement but an estimate based on the general assumption that 1 acre furrow slice of soil (one acre 6 inches deep) weighs about 2,000,000 pounds. They actually find the levels in parts per million. For example, if you measured 100 parts per million of potassium in the sample, that would mean you have 100 lbs. of potassium for every 1 million pounds of soil. But one million pounds of soil is only half of an acre furrow slice so they multiple that parts per million by 2 to get a rough lbs. per acre. (So to convert back you just divide by 2).
macheske
No, you won't get a significant pH adjustment out of the magnesium sulfate.
For your rates, how big is the area your working with?

"The base saturation percentage indicates that the pH is strongly buffered against downward adjustment."

squonnk,
That isn't quite right. 100% base saturation indictes that 100% of the exchange sites are filled with bases (as opposed to hydrogen). Any time a soil has a pH above 7 (as in this case) the percent base saturation will always be 100. It says nothing about buffering capacity.

squonnk;
Yes, that's what I assumed you did. Mathematically it is:

2,000,000 lb/A = 2 ppm

94 lb/A of P = 2 ppm
x lb/A of P = 1 ppm
cross multiplication gives 47 lb/A

This restates what you said but I like formulae better than a lot of words.

The acre furrow slice is often incorrectly given as 6" since when the concept of an acre furrow slice was first utilized it was actually based on an average moldboard plough depth of 6-2/3". This provides the 2,000,000 lb/acre value using a more realistic soil bulk density of around 1.3 g/cm3. A 6" furrow slice requires a bulk density of 1.47 g/cm3 which does not correspond to the average soil bulk density.

This is a fine point since we are not using moldboard ploughs any longer but I like accuracy. An other often mis-used term is hardpan. Hardpan is the compacted soil layer just below the reach of the moldboard plough that resulted from years of ploughing.

Here is a link that might be useful: Conversions and Volumes

"For your rates, how big is the area your working with?"

It's just my veggie garden... 40 x 80

Looking at your numbers, I'd just apply chopped leaves or superPhosphate and then add either compost and/or lots of coffee grounds in the spring. Organic material will help mobilize all the trace minerals. Coffee grounds will act like a slow release nitrogen source. Looks like you don't need the potassium.

I'm not a flaming organic gardener, but the organic methods seem to work best.

Hmmm....wish I could get enough coffee grounds. How many pounds would I need to get? I did add 2.5" of composted horse manure after I took the test sample. I'll probably add the 10-10-10 and epsom salts next spring and another 2.5" of manure next fall. Hopefully I won't need to add anything but organic material after that.

You've got a good program figured out. I suggested the leaves because they'll add the Phosphorus (and Potassium) along with organic material.

The manure will be great as a Nitrogen source, and as a source of organic materials. The 10-10-10 will get you going in the short term, ensure you get good plants, and your organic manures will carry you from there.

If you have a Starbucks nearby (or on the way to or from somewhere) you can get coffee grounds for free from them. They have a program called "Grounds for your garden" and will give grounds to anybody who wants them (corporate policy). You don't have to buy anything if you don't want to.

I see noting about humus levels, amount of organic matter, and as a gardener that is somthing important for me to know. I would not add any kind of synthethic fertilizer, that would simply be a waste of your money since none of it would be used and would simnply flow out of your soil and pollute the groundwater.
What is the humus level of your soil?
How well does your soil drain?
What does your soil smell like?
How does your soil feel?
What is the life in your soil like?

Kimmsr,
The organic matter % was around 12% before I added 2.5" of composted horse manure. It's obviously higher now. This is the second year for the garden so the soil is still in the building process. The soil drains but not extremely well. I don't know how to answer the smell question. It smells like earth. The texture is very light to about 12" deep after I've tilled it a couple times. I sink in a good 6" by walking on it. When I started the garden I didn't find one worm during the first tilling. Now I see a few but not nearly what I'd like. My guess is that I'll have many in a couple years. How can you say that none of a synthetic fertilizer would be used? It's not as good as an organic supply like I'm trying to build, but it should help me get through the soil building process. My compost pile is about 12' x 12' x 8 feet right now and hopefully will be incorporated next fall. It's made mostly of horse manure, wood chips, leaves, and some kitchen scraps.

macheske
Those rates look fine.

fertilizer salesman
Yep, you're right. My bad.

"I would not add any kind of synthethic fertilizer, that would simply be a waste of your money since none of it would be used and would simnply flow out of your soil and pollute the groundwater."

kimmsr,
That is quite a statement. macheske being in zone 7 could conceivably lose most if not all soluble nitrogen if it were added now (depending on the rainfall of the area this winter). And some boron and sulfur. Possibly even a little potassium. But all in all I think you need to re-fold that blanket and put it back in the closet.

All synthetic fertilizers are very water soluble and what is not taken up by, and used by, plants is quickly washed out of the soil. Adding 2 pounds of some synthetic fertilizer per 100 square feet is such a negligable amount that it is unnecessary, and most synthetic fertilizers have reactions that earthworms do not like which causes them to move to better environments. I seldom see indications of an active Soil Food Web in soils where synthetic fertilizers are used.

Kimmsr,

You are misinformed. Yes; most, but not all, synthetic fertilizers readily go into solution. That does not mean they stay in solution. The added elements react with other soil elements forming less soluble compounds as well as attaching to exchange sites on clays and humus. The exact same processes occur to nutrients that are released into solution from decomposing organic matter. The nitrate form of nitrogen (regardless of itÂs origin) does not readily react and being negatively charged (an anion as opposed to a positively charged cation) does not readily attach to clays and humus which primarily carry a negative charge. This is why there is such concern about nitrogen as a water pollutant and why nitrogen is typically the limiting nutrient in natural systems. It is also why nitrogen is commonly applied several times during the season rather than all at once. However, nitrate nitrogen is more the exception than the rule. Most nutrients pretty well stay put.

2 lbs per 100 square feet of 10-10-10 (87 lbs of N, P, and K per acre) is by no mean insignificant. This about what many crops would use in a growing season.

There are several reason why synthetic fertilizers adversely affect soil organisms the most significant of which is that some nitrogen fertilizers are highly toxic and fairly effectively sterilize the soil surface for a couple of weeks. If you are trying to grow soil organism, incorporating organic material is certainly the ticket, but 2lbs of 10-10-10 isnÂt going to hurt anything.

So the nitrates and phosphorus found in such large quantities in our lakes and streams do not come from synthetic fertilizers, are not there because people are applying too much to their lawns? Or are they all coming from the CAFO's, the factory farms?

kimmsr,

They come from all of the above. Nitrate as I said readily leaches. Phosphorus does not; it rapidly reacts and forms fairly insoluble compounds in the soil. To get phosphorus into surface waters soil has to get into surface waters. So soil erosion is the main path for phosphorus. Unless of course you are out fertilizing your lawn and spread it all over the sidewalk, then it will go strait down the storm sewer to the creek. But in most areas agriculture is the largest source of N and P pollution. Not necessarily from soluble fertilizers, in many areas (such as where I live in the Chesapeake Bay watershed) animal agriculture is a big contributor. In some areas nutrients in the manure exceed the nutrient requirements of all the crops grown.

Your assertion that soluble fertilizers contribute more to pollution is probably true only because so much more synthetic fertilizer is used. However, the same principles apply to organic systems, if you load up your soil with compost or manure, you are absolutely going to lose nitrate to leaching and phosphorus when the soil erodes. On an area basis, I would guess that organic home gardeners (myself included) probably have much higher loses than the average chemical farmer. The reason being that the farmers are using just enough fertilizer exactly when they need it, and organic gardeners really sock it to it with compost etc. I mean, to get to 6%-8% organic matter literally hundreds of tons of per acre of organic material had to be added to the soil and every time it is warm wet and aerated lots nutrients are being mineralized whether there is a plant there to use them or not.