Maybe, maybe not. Who did that soil test? Was it done by a good reliable source or a "home soil test kit" that is not too reliable. Is the level of organic matter in the soil adequate, about 6 to 8 percent? How low is the level of P? How much P needs to be added to the soil?

When adding things such as Greensand. Rock Phosphate. Bone Meal, and other similar sources of P keep in mind that it can take several months for those nutrients to become available, as the Soil Food Web slowly converts those into something plants can use. That is one of the reasons that soil testing and amending should be done in the fall, several months before the garden is planted, and not in the spring just weeks before.

Since I learned about organic growing, back in the 1960's, I have not found it necessary to use commercially available fertilizers and instead have relied on the compost that I make to make the soil I grow in into a good healthy soil.

kimmq is kimmsr

Do you wish to garden completely 'organic'? Or do you consider using synthetic fertilizers? If you wish to fertilize, that is up to you, and as kimmq asked... it's best to use a good reliable soil test as a bench mark for any additions.

That said: At this time, I use both compost and a little synthetic fertilizer (very, very little.) The fertilizer was given to me, and I'll use it until it's gone. I don't like to monetarily support the synthetic fertilizer industry, but I also have no desire to see this stuff misused, or thrown in a dump where it can contaminate ground water. I grow vegetables in a very dense, intensive fashion. By using it sparingly, I make sure it's used correctly, and doesn't negatively affect the environment. When it's gone, I won't buy more. By that time, my clay soil should be in much better shape from all the additions of organic matter.

Do you have problems with low blooming or production? P may not be as bad as you think.

What's the organic matter content? If you're adding compost regularly it's probably fine. Higher OM levels will mitigate 'low' levels of nutrients as well as pH outside the ideal range.

What is your pH and is the soil in your area naturally alkaline anyway?

Soil test done by A & L Great Lakes Laboratories, Inc. The results were:

Organic Matter, % 7.4
Phosphorus, ppm P 9
Potassium, ppm K 168
Magnesium, ppm Mg 805
Calcium, ppm Ca 3150
Cation Exchange Capacity, meq/1 OOg 22.9
pH 7.5

Basically all of it looks pretty good except for Phosphorus, which is apparently low. It is normal for the soil in my area to be alkaline.

Back when I live out east, the soil was more of a brownish color. The soil in IL appears to be quite black.

Paul

You have very good organic matter and cation exchange capacity so it's helping with the low P. But that is pretty low. It would not hurt to add some P. I'm not sure how high your K is relatively speaking, but if it's not too high then a balanced fert (10-10-10 etc.) or something with higher P would be good (5-10-5). Or bone meal which is slower acting.

I have seen soils in Illinois that range from the light tan of the Lake Michigan shoreline at Chicago to a deep dark brown prairie soil around Springfield, soils with adequate amounts of organic matter (yours) will look quite dark in color. Keep in mind that the soil tests measure readily available nutrients, those that are readily soluble and the labs often will guess at total nutrients based on experience. The range usually used for whether nutrients may be too little or too much is Phosphorus between 25 and 85 parts per million, Potash between 200 and 400 parts per million, Calcium between 1500 and 4000 ppm, and Magnesium between 300 and 800 ppm. These can be converted to pounds per acre by multiplying by 2.

Since P and K are both a bit lower than optimal you might want to consider a source of them that is more readily available than Greensand.

kimmq is kimmsr

You should go with a soluble as you'll want to apply an available source at this point in the season (as Kimmq said).. Or start brewing some compost teas and apply every few days if you go with a dry product like greensand.. Here are a few solubles that may be of assistance to you.. Soluble K - P & K

Here are a few tips in lowering PH

I'd not be too concerned about the soil pH a this time since 7.5 is not all that far away from the optimal soil pH of 6.0 to 7.0. Anything you do now to change the soils pH will not have much affect for some months, anyway.

kimmq is kimmsr

While soil in IL vary quite a lot, the soil is probably the blackest I have seen. The lab report recommended starter fertilizer to correct the issue. The earth juice sounds like a decent idea. I have thought of using some greens sand, but it's expensive. I thought of bone meal, too, but is it safe to add bone meal?

Paul

"... is it safe to add bone meal?"

Is there a reason you think it might be unsafe? There are reports of 'Mad Cow' disease spread through bone meal that was fed to livestock, and untreated bone meal has the potential (however small) of transmitting salmonella, but I've never heard of cases where any disease was brought into a home garden through the use of agricultural grade bone meal.

All the agricultural bone meal I've seen has been steam treated, and should be safe to use on vegetables. If you do have a concern, spread it in the Autumn and let it sit through the winter soil with a non-edible cover crop, or in an empty (winter-fallow), mulched bed. Time and the elements should destroy any concerns about safety. Besides, most bone meal, even the finely-ground versions, require time to decompose and become available to plants.

I have read that prions can survive heat treatments, cooking for example do not eliminate prions. After a bit of googling, it appears that the industry have made precaution to avoid this and also heavy metal contaimaination. Any idea how much to add per square foot?

Paul, I hope someone can be precise for you, but when adding fertilizers I garden like I cook... free hand. I just sprinkle it on until it looks right.

I suggest though, that in your case - because you are correcting a deficiency - you do your best to get a good application rate. It's a bit more important to do it right the first time. After you get your soil balanced, then you can add things here and there a little at a time.

This year I did both, mostly because I got bit by the composted manure containing persistent pesticides a couple of years ago. Now mostly leaf rakings and kitchen scraps so adding some store bought fertilizer to the soil. We'll see what happens this year. So far plants are progressing well.

Once the soil is in balance there should be no need to add a little of this or that, except more organic matter, since a little too much of one nutrient can create numerous problems that are difficult to diagnose. The gardeners aim should be to get the soil in balance, a good healthy soil, so it will grow strong and healthy plants.

kimmq is kimmsr

Lol... then, on the next thread, we'll be reading about having too much organic matter. Sorry, I hope you don't mind if I, for one, ignore your recommendations and continue to add a 'little of this, and a little of that.'

Rgreen48,

I don't think kimmq meant to be insulting, but was just pointing out the importance of nutrient balance. Experienced gardeners like you and I could get away with a little of this and little of that occasionally, but it's always best for newer gardeners to stick with balanced fertilizers. New gardeners tend to "love" their plants to death, and are commonly heavy handed with fertilizer, water or both..They could very easily create nutrient lockouts, ph issues, salt issues and all sorts of headaches by over doing it with an individual nutrient application; while an over-done balanced application of fertilizer will be much more forgiving..

Yes Mike, ty. I guess it's just like I said above at the start of this particular exchange...

"Paul, I hope someone can be precise for
you, but when adding fertilizers I garden like I cook... free hand. I
just sprinkle it on until it looks right.

I suggest though, that in your case - because you are correcting a
deficiency - you do your best to get a good application rate. It's a bit
more important to do it right the first time. After you get your soil
balanced, then you can add things here and there a little at a time."

So, unless I am misunderstanding my own words, I've already suggested to Paul not to use the 'little of this' technique at this time, but rather, to get as precise an application rate as possible. So, kimmq was speaking to my comment. And while he/she may not have meant to be insulting, they certainly are favoring contradiction. If, on the one hand a soil can benefit from lots of organic matter and you add it, and on the other hand a soil can have too much organic matter, and you can't add it, where does fertilization come in?

Just because a soil has a lot of organic matter, it may, at the same time, require fertilizer. The 2 are not mutually exclusive.

What I think this comes down to is the old debate over fertilizer and compost. Some people say compost and organic matter are fertilizers. Others say that compost and organic matter are soil conditioners and have little value as fertilizers. Still others are 'middle of the road'.

The way I see it... of course compost and organic matter have nutrition, but primarily, they are soil conditioners. Even when soils are 'in balance', soil health can benefit from additions of fertilizer. But, too much of anything can throw off the balance... thus, a little of this, and a little of that - including organic matter.

My dear wife is an experienced gardener and is STILL heavy handed with fertilizers. I think because we use so much compost she just has not gotten the idea drilled into her head that you have to sprinkle and not dump handfuls on each plant.

BTW, and this is not meant as an argument against 'compost is not fertilizer', but it does have fertilizer value, and if you add a lot of it for enough years, you can actually get very high nutrient values in your soil. Not so much N, but P and K.

I like the advice of using a liquid fertilizer for short-term fertility. I suggest bone meal and mulching with shredded leaves. Don't try to till the shredded leaves into the soil, just let them be a mulch.

Good luck!

Paul