No Nitrogen in Soil

15 years ago

I seem to have a problem I can't remedy. I have built some raised garden beds. I went to a landscaping place that sells bulk topsoil, mulch etc. They had bulk potting soil which I got 6 yards of to fill my boxes. I also added a couple of bags of compost to each. When I tested the soil with this Rapitest kit, I got some bad results. The pH read at 7.5 and the Nitrogen test read at None, there was no coloration detectable in the Nitrogen test. Potassium and Phosphorous levels were fine. I re-ran each test three times with different homogenized soil samples and got the same reading each time. I have added a 6-6-6 fertilizer and blood meal to each bed, tilled it and watered it and waited a week. Retested and got the same results. I am going to send a sample off this week to the Florida extension service, but what else can I do to raise my Nitrogen levels and lower my pH.

Thanks for any help

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Comments (9)

amberroses
15 years ago
You can lower Ph with sulfur, but it takes some time. Maybe buy some acidifying fertilizer. It is hard to belive there is no nitrogen in there. It is good you are double checking with the extension office.
rednofl
15 years ago
Get to start say 6 bags of pine bark fines $2-3 at walmart in the purple bags right now will help short term to lower ph. I would say you have a defective nitrogen test kit.
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laura1
15 years ago
ditto....defective test kit
User
15 years ago
No way there was no nitrogen in bulk mix. Nitrogen is in the rain, so it would have to be in something that was sitting outside. The only thing I can think of is that the mix has too much bark in it. The bacteria needed to break down bark are nitrogen hogs, and you have to add extra nitrogen anytime you have non-decomposed wood in your mix.
westhamutd
15 years ago
Since you've already added bloodmeal & assuming your test kit is not defective,you could plant peas in the beds.The bloodmeal will give them the nitrogen boost when they germinate & then they will fix all the nitrogen they need from the air.When they are done producing,cut the plants at ground level & turn them under in the beds.If you use pine straw as a mulch for the peas it will help bring the pH down,as it breaks down(if you can shred the pine straw it will break down faster).This method won't be a quick fix,but it will at least add organic matter to your beds in the process.
WesN
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for all the replies, still waiting on the results from the extension service. Since the beds weren't full though, I have mixed some vermiculite, compost and peat moss(Mel's mix) and put about 4 inches of that on top of beds. Hopefully this will eliminate my caring about the results of the nitrogen test.
Dcole513_yahoo_com
15 years ago
I am having the same problem. I live in Charleston SC. I put nitrogen rich fertilizer in my tester as a control and found that the soil simply falls short of the minimal reading.. tips on how to boost would be helpful. I don't want to take up space planting beans.
zzackey
15 years ago
Dustin. I recommend you get a soil test done at your local ag. center. I used to have a moisture meter that read incorrectly. I paid $19.99 for it.
FLgardenmom
15 years ago
Cheapest way I've found to add nitrogen is alfalfa. I get an 80 lb bag of the sun dried cubes at the feed store. It doesn't have to be composted and can go straight in.