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Soil Test Results & nutrient deficiency

I am hoping someone can help me to make sure I am understanding my soil test results from NC state university. My raised garden beds are all filled with topsoil and compost mix from a local garden center. I believe the compost was primarily manure from either horses or cows. The garden is growing fairly well except I am seeing some yellowing and veining on my tomatoes, peppers, and sunflowers. One bed received a batch of worm manure this spring and the sunflowers in that bed appear significantly more healthy than the rest. I can see that my P and K values are very high so I have only fertilized with blood meal. My understanding is that I should not use any more composted manures for several years until these values are normal. But is it ok to continue to add compost from vegetable matter? I would like to continue to build the organic matter in my soil as my native soil is very sandy. My first instinct was that these plants may need more nitrogen but the lettuce in the bed with the tomatoes appears to be thriving so now I am leaning more toward a magnesium deficiency?

Also my test results appear that my zinc levels are pretty high? But the test does not have a recommended range for micronutrients. At what level would this be unsafe? Do you have any suggestions for improving my soil? Thank you!







They also gave me a spreadsheet that says CA 63 MG 17 and NA .3


Comments (4)

  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    First thing to keep in mind is that compost is largely not a fertilizer. Of course, one can use enormous amounts of it, so what little fertilization it does can add up. But even then, it is a SLOW fertilizer. If anything, manure is going to contribute nitrogen, but that's not what you're looking at, and that nitrogen will leach pretty readily. Lots of nitrogen can burn (especially from manure that's not completely composted). Compost is mainly to improve soil structure.

    Not sure what those Ca. Mg, and Na numbers are. They don't sound like ppm. Might be % of CEC or meq/100cm3. You should ask the folks who did the test. Numbers without units are meaningless. Chlorosis is indeed a symptom of Mg deficiency.

    Your P, K are fine, and I'd work on your soil structure.

  • 6 years ago

    Thanks for the suggestions. The flyer they included does state that the Mg and CA are % of CEC. Would you interpret that to mean that I need to add magnesium? I don’t see anywhere that states what percentage would be low.


  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    I think the optimum ranges for %CEC are Ca: 60-80, Mg: 10-20, and Na should be tiny. So you're good to go. Compost, compost, compost.

    ncveggiegardener zone 8a thanked daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa)
  • 6 years ago

    " But is it ok to continue to add compost from vegetable matter? "


    Yes, as DanintheDirt said, compost is not fertilizer - it is primarily soil conditioner.


    The Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) is the ability of the soil to hold nutrients. Soils with low CEC (sandy soils) leach nutrients quickly into the water table. Plants have to grab the nutrients before they are gone. High CEC soils (with more clay) can hold on to the nutrients longer. However with more capacity, they may have a lower % of that capacity filled. They can take higher doses of fertilizer less frequently, while the low CEC soils need more diluted fertilizer more frequently.


    Adding compost increases the CEC of the soil without adding much in the way of actual nutrients. Which when you test will show that you have more capacity than you have nutrients. Which is why over the course of a year you need both - compost + organic NPK supplements. (Assuming you are growing organically - you could also use synthetic fertilizers with your compost.)


    I can also give you some alternative fertilizers to Blood Meal for supplying Nitrogen.


    Other animal fertilzers are:

    • Fish Meal
    • Feather Meal
    • Bat or Seabird Guano
    • Worm Castings (very weak Nitrogen source, but it does have some)


    Animal fertilizers have the advantage of working in any temperature. The disadvantage is that they can attract pets and rats.


    Vegetable fertilizers for Nitrogen are:

    • Alfalfa Meal
    • Soy Meal
    • Cottonseed Meal

    Vegetable fertilizers need warm soil to break down, so they are summer feeding only. They are also much less concentrated than animal nitrogen sources so they need to be applied more often.

    ncveggiegardener zone 8a thanked Richard Brennan