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Norton, MA

I talked to a few people about my soil test and this is what I got.

pH is 6.5: I want it at 7.2
Nitrogen is at 10 ppm: I want it at 250 ppm
OM is at 6%: I want it at 15%
Phosphorus is at 9 ppm: I want it at 120 ppm
Potassium is at 151 ppm: I want it at 300 ppm
Calcium is at 1217 ppm: I want it at 3,000 ppm
Magnesium is at 159 ppm: I want it at 320 ppm

Everything else looks OK. Question #1: What products should I use to correct these numbers?
Question #2: What amounts of those products should I apply to a 1200 sq. ft. patch?
Question #3: When should I expect to see results from these additions?

Thanks, and remember I don't have much time left to do add things. Alex.

4/10/2004 10:48:22 AM

Puyallup, WA

Alex....there is no way this side of heaven that you are going to acheive those numbers in 30 days when your plants ought to be in the ground.
For example, I have added tons and tons of manure over three years and my organic matter has only risen 3%!! It takes months for lime to change the pH of your soil. BTW,
a pH of 6.5 ain't too bad....that will not be your limiting factor.

4/10/2004 6:17:05 PM

San Diego

your ph of 6.5 is great, I wouldn't worry about it. You can raise it by adding limestone powder, which will also add more calcium to your soil, but it takes 4 to 6 months for the ph to fully adjust. How much? depends on your soil type (clay, sand, etc). You should have instructions on anything you buy. You can add gypsom to your soil for added calcium too, 10 lbs per 100 sq foot is good, some put up to 20 lbs per 100 sq foot. As for organic matter, well, only way to get it up is to add more organic matter:) Takes time to raise it up over many years. As for your N-P-K, the fast approach is to put some chemical fert in your soil. The organic approach would be to use a variety of organic ammendments which I'm not an expert on. Just a general load of well aged manure would raise up your levels too. Jim

4/10/2004 6:25:34 PM

Cornwall UK.(50N 5W)300ft.

Alex,
You have a soil that has not been messed about with one approach would be to add 34 lbs of Bonemeal(3.5 N,7.5 P)
to balance what you already have there and then to use a foliar feed programme to keep the levels higher throughout the season.

4/11/2004 3:30:15 AM

Norton, MA

Thanks guys, any other options? Alex.

4/11/2004 8:47:35 AM

Caceres, mid west of Spain

I don't believe your soil exchange capacity would support your wished levels. If you could rise the levels so much (ten times) you would increase a lot salinity and probably destroy all the soil life.
The most important thing is balance, and I think your soil is balanced, so add a normal fertilizer in usual dosis and a lot of aged manure and go ahead. During growing help with foliars as kelp, good wedding and plant and water management and you will get something really big.

4/11/2004 9:23:25 AM

Key West, FL

Why would you want such high nitrogen levels?

4/12/2004 2:33:47 PM

Norton, MA

I want to get my plants done growing quick so I can set a fruit by July 1 and concentrate all the energy on that. Alex.

4/12/2004 6:19:18 PM

Hilpoltstein, Bavaria, Germany

be aware that high Nitrogen levels will produce briddle vines that tend to snap off easily...

4/12/2004 6:33:30 PM