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Thornhill, Ontario, Canada

Here they are. This is the first soil test I've ever had done. So, I went for the works. Although I don't have any experience with this stuff, it looks like some of the numbers are way out of whack. I've included the labs recommendations. But, I'd appreciate any advice from those in the know about this stuff. Please help!

(I hope that the tabs in this text hold or this will look pretty misaligned)

Organic Matter            5.6
Phosphorus - P ppm
    - Bicarb        26 H
    - Bray-P1        39 H
Potassium - K ppm        140 M
Magnesium - Mg ppm        140 VL
Calcium - Ca ppm        4980 VH
Sodium - Na ppm            22 L
pH                8.0
CEC - meq/100g            26.5
Percent Base Saturations
    % K            1.4
    % Mg            4.4
    % Ca            93.9
    % Na            0.4
Sulfur - S ppm            18 VH
Zinc - Zn ppm            5.3 H
Manganese - Mn ppm        43 H
Iron - Fe ppm            65 VH
Copper - Cu ppm            2.5 H
Boron - B ppm            1.2 M
Saturation - P %        15 VH
Aluminum - Al ppm        346
K/Mg Ratio            0.32
ENR                69

VL = VERYLOW
L = LOW
M = MEDIUM
H = HIGH
VH = VERY HIGH

--------------------

Recommendations
N        5
P2O5        3
K2O        5
Mg        2

Fertilizer and/or lime recommendations are given as pounds per 1,000 square feet.

4/27/2005 10:51:48 PM

Hermitage, Pa

Ph of 8.0 get some peat moss tilled in fast. Not sure if sulfer can be added this late but you might try a few pounds of that to lower the PH some. Also, being that PH is high you might want to add some iron during plant growth.

4/28/2005 6:57:39 AM

Thornhill, Ontario, Canada

I do have a big bale of peat moss and I can buy more for reasonably cheap. So, I can use that. But, would compost also do the trick? The stuff that I have is very nice and black. I don't think that it contains peat. I got it free from the town. It's made up of yard waste like leaves and grass clippings.

4/28/2005 7:53:52 AM

Montoursville, PA

There is a confusing (to me) set, of facts shown, in the report. The sulfur is already very high. The OM is better than average garden soil. The PH is 8.0.

The volume of peat or compost, to adjust PH, a full point down would be a lot.

We do not know the PH, of the municiple compost...or anything else about it.

I think if I were looking at this report I would assume a margin, of error, will exist, in any test, from any source. Accept the fact that tests are only a guideline.

Do weeds grow easily, in this patch?........If they do I would plant the pumpkin and grow with what is showing.

I do not feel at this hour anything can be done that would affect this seasons grow very much.

Retest in early to mid-September and base adjustments, on that test, in relation, to the existing test results.

4/28/2005 10:36:17 AM

Thornhill, Ontario, Canada

When you say the peat/compost to adjust the pH would be a lot, what do you consider a lot? I have at least a yard of compost (for which we can probably guess a pH based on the likely contents, couldn't we?) and a 3.8cubic foot bale of peat.

Only one third of the garden has been used to grow anything in the past. The rest, as of November, has always been sod. The lawn has been treated for weeds for a number of years. So, it hasn't had any. And, the original garden area has had weeds in it. But, the primary culprit is long grass.

Surely there is something that can be done. Maybe there is nothing I can do to have an immediate effect. But, what can I do to ammend my soil slowly so that my pumpkin can have some benefit from it over the season? Is there a slow-release fertilizer that I can add now, or an action plan for liquid applications that I can make regularly during the season?

I realize that the results can only be a guideline. But, I don't have enough experience to understand where it's guiding me. So, I need some extra help. Thanks.

4/28/2005 4:50:24 PM

Saegertown Pa.

Ad five Lb of sulfur for every 1000 sq. feet this will help bring the ph down. I have added it one week befor planting and had no proublems. My sulfer in the past was three to five times yours and I still grew some big pumpkins.

4/28/2005 5:06:10 PM

Cameron,ontario Team Lunatic

Marc, with the size of your garden add about 1.5 - 2 lbs of sulfur. This should help, but it won't happen right away. Hopefully by the time the plant gets really going, it will have lowered it a bit. Add some peat as well. You can always use the organic matter. Listen to Quinn, he knows what he's talking about.

Phil

4/28/2005 7:05:58 PM

Thornhill, Ontario, Canada

OK, that takes care of pH. But, what about the other stuff? Any ideas on what kind of other ferts I can use?

And, will the extra sulfur, given that my levels are already pretty high, do any damage? Or, is extra sulfur not a problem?

4/28/2005 7:31:59 PM

Ontario, Canada.

Crammed, I look at the magnesium as low too. in fact the ratio of Ca to Mg is very high. At 21 to 1 the cations holding mg a far and few between. 7 to 1 is what most growers are shooting for. Yellow grained leaves may be in your future unless a timely application of Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom Salts) is applied. Call the Co-op nearest you to find were it available. The Barrie Co-op has it usually in stock at $24 cdn a bag. I believe an application of least 10 pounds per 1000 sq.ft. is needed rather soon.

4/28/2005 11:50:25 PM

Thornhill, Ontario, Canada

And, would the "sulfate" in the magnesium sulfate also bring down my pH? That would be a bounus as I wouldn't have to add a separate ammendment for pH.

But, I'm still concerned about what I should be adding throughout the season to actually feed the plant. I'll be getting some Neptune's Harvest through GVGO connections. But, that's not enough is it? Should I be using anything stronger?

4/29/2005 1:48:51 AM

Ontario, Canada.

Sulfate,yes would normally have an acidifing effect however I believe when combined with the magnesium it may have very little overall lowering ability.

I would not use anthing but the Magnesium sulfate for now but instead retest ASAP. Make sure you have a broad based sample to rule errors as Doc describes. Check out the
Agri-Food labs site for sampling techniques.

The Importance of Proper Soil Sampling Procedures

By Dale Cowan at the site listed below.

http://www.agtest.com/

4/30/2005 12:35:53 AM

Thornhill, Ontario, Canada

It's entirely possible that my testing procedure was flawed. Although, I thought that I took a wide variety of samples.

A soil probe sure would have made things easier. Anybody ever made one? I suppose it could be done with some rigid PVC.

Although, recommendations from the lab seem to make some sense. I've noticed that many of the fertilizers with a similar NPK composition as their recommendations are marketted as "for evergreens". There are a couple of large evergreen trees near my patch. So, maybe they have sucked up a good deal of the nutrients that now need to be replaced to balance things out. Of course, I don't think that explains any of the other anomolies.

4/30/2005 12:58:53 AM