Garden Soil Test Question.

[scesnick]

Wifey has a 30x40 garden. It has produced O.K. for the past few years but nothing spectacular. about 3 yrs ago i found a guy that ran a horse farm that had a huge amount of composted horse manure. This stuff was composted to the point of it just being pure very dark dirt. I put about 8 ton on the garden the past few years but none this year.

We did a soil test a few days ago after I ran the tiller through it and the test showed that the Ph was right on but it was "Depleted" of Nitrogen, Potasium (potash) and phosphrous.

We are total novices when it comes to fertilizer. So, we went to Lowe's and asked the "Experts". It was pretty much the blind leading the blind. Well, we ended up with a 50lb. bag of 10-10-10. will this recharge my garden to the levels it needs to be?

 

[MMagis]

How much fertilizer did the soil test tell you that you needed? 50 lbs of 10-10-10 is only 5 lbs of each component, so that probably isn’t going to replace all that is needed, but it’ll sure help. What sort of test did you have done? It seems very unlikely for your soil to actually be “depleted” of everything. I’m just curious how accurate it was.

 

[scesnick]

we did the test with a home test kit. this one to be exact.

http://www.lusterleaf.com/SoilTestKits/pages/1601.html

 

[MMagis]

Interesting. Honestly, I think I would have a true test done and compare the results. Maybe it's accurate, but it just seems unlikely give all of the manure you've added. Possible, but unlikely. Your local Soil and Water Coservation Dept should be able to help. Tests are typically under $20 and also tell you how much of everything you need. If everything was actually depleted, almost nothing would grow.

 

[scesnick]

If everything was actually depleted, almost nothing would grow.

I was also thinking the same thing. I am skeptical of this test but wifey isn't so much.

 

[randy41]

you should get it tested through the extension agent. here the agent gives you a box to put the dirt in and mail it off to the lab, which is VA Tech here. farmers get this done for free, gardeners pay a nominal amount.

 

[smstonypoint]

you should get it tested through the extension agent. here the agent gives you a box to put the dirt in and mail it off to the lab, which is VA Tech here. farmers get this done for free, gardeners pay a nominal amount.

Apparently Maryland's Cooperative Extension no longer offers soil testing services. Here's a listing of soil-testing labs from the University of Maryland.
http://annearundel.umd.edu/files/2010_Soil_Lab_Comp.pdf

You could also consider going through VA Tech, they provide testing services for out-of-state residents. http://www.soiltest.vt.edu/soiltest.html

Regardless of which lab you use, make sure that they provide recommendations regarding liming and fertilization for the vegetables, etc. that you plan to grow.

Steve

 

[SandburRanch]

Wifey has a 30x40 garden. It has produced O.K. for the past few years but nothing spectacular. about 3 yrs ago i found a guy that ran a horse farm that had a huge amount of composted horse manure. This stuff was composted to the point of it just being pure very dark dirt. I put about 8 ton on the garden the past few years but none this year.

We did a soil test a few days ago after I ran the tiller through it and the test showed that the Ph was right on but it was "Depleted" of Nitrogen, Potasium (potash) and phosphrous.

We are total novices when it comes to fertilizer. So, we went to Lowe's and asked the "Experts". It was pretty much the blind leading the blind. Well, we ended up with a 50lb. bag of 10-10-10. will this recharge my garden to the levels it needs to be?

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According to a reliable source, biochemistry major with a MS, the home test kits are perfectly fine for home soil test use. If you are precipitating a protein then probably not.

Since it's relative simple to do a soil structure test you may as well give that a shot too and all that's needed is a pint pickle jar and water. And I'd bet your extension service would read that test for you at no charge and possibly the chemical test since the tax payers pay their wages. They may even recommend the amounts of fertilizer elements your soil needs.

I believe I have the soil structure levels labeled correctly but feel free to correct me if you find information otherwise.

 

[charlz]

If the manure was composted down that much... it is compost not manure. Not much N, P or K in compost it is usually on the order of 1-1-1 depending on what was composted, how and for how long. What it does have is lots and lots of organic material which is great to build your soil.

10-10-10 should work for most things that are not heavy feeders (corn is a heavy feeder). I don't really care that my garden soil in general is depleted... that is just feed for the weeds. I put the fertilizer right around the plants so they get the most benefit without helping out the weeds.

 

[Pilot]

50 lbs of 10-10-10 spread over a 30 X 40 garden won't do anything--it's only 4 thousandths of a pound per square foot and much less than that for rooting area.

Once you have good soil test results, don't go to Lowes or Home Depot--go to a feed store. They will know more about what they are talking about and prices per pound will be lower.

 

[LRTX1]

50 lbs of 10-10-10 spread over a 30 X 40 garden won't do anything--it's only 4 thousandths of a pound per square foot and much less than that for rooting area.

Once you have good soil test results, don't go to Lowes or Home Depot--go to a feed store. They will know more about what they are talking about and prices per pound will be lower.

Really? 30x40 is less than .03 acres. How many lbs of fertilizer do you think is adequate per acre? 1800lbs?

 

[Pilot]

Yeah, I typed before thinking, 50, maybe 100 lbs for a 1,200 sq. ft. garden should be enough.

 

[jdonovan]

Also keep in mind that you really can't fix a completely depleteted soil in a single growing season. You will need to put some down before the planting season, retest in the fall after harvest, again in the spring. It may be 2-3 seasons before you have the garden nutrients back to where they need to be.

One of the other advantages of a commercial soil test, is they can test for micro-nutrients that are hard/impossible for the home tester to do. These while not as important as the big 3 micro-nutrients do play a role.

Also test soil pH. Some nutrients become more, or less available as pH changes, so that needs to be checked too.

 

[powergod1]

lot of good to know info. we are starting down the same road

 

[LRTX1]

50lbs of trip-10 should be more than adequate. Like I said earlier thats at a rate of 1800lbs +/- an acre. Getting it spread evenly would be important. Ph is also importartant, but you said you were ok there. Without the proper Ph the soil may not get all of the benifits of the n-p-k.

Over the past few years I have added Bone and Blood meal twice a year. For your size garden 10-20lbs of each per application. I have noticed a huge improvement in soil quality.

I set up a rather inexpensive fertigation system to run a water soluble fertilzer thru my Drip Tape irrigation. I am very pleased with those results.

Good luck gardening.

 

[RobertN]

Take your test results to your local Ag extension office, or look up your local Master Gardeners. They can help interpret the test results, and send you towards the best places to get soil supplements(usually not the big box store).

Your local Master Gardeners will likely teach classes on the subject too; the chapter my wife belongs too has classes all the time. They did soils a month ago.

http://mastergardener.umd.edu/

 

[scesnick]

Thanks for all the info.