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Alberta, Canada

I'm actually a second year grower, but in our first year, we didnt do any research, so hoping to have great improvements this year. I realize I'm late with the soil test, and didnt do any amending in the fall, but would love to hear what any of you recommend I do with the following sample results:
NO3-N - 57lbs/acre
P - 378lbs/acre
K - 1874lbs/acre
S04-S - 69lbs/acre
Ca - 3483ppm
Mg - 540ppm
Zn - 8.9ppm
B - 4.8ppm
Cu - 0.8ppm
Fe - 74.2ppm
Mn - 5.3ppm
Na - 718ppm
OM - 5.5%
Estimated N Release - 65lbs/acre
pH - 7.7
Sol Salts - 0.8dS/m
K/Mg Ratio - 0.36

As far as nutrients are concerned, and based on the recommended levels the lab provided, it look like N is quite low, and Cu is slightly low, but all others are optimal, or excessive. pH will need to be lowered too. The soil is very clay based.
Any recommendations you could provide me would be great. Thanks in advance, Aaron

4/17/2015 12:27:42 PM

Eastern Pennsylvania

If most people are like me they're having trouble giving advise because your majors are being reported in pounds per acre and not ppm. You need to lower your pH but I can't interpret your sulfur measurement. I am sure there is a simple conversion if someone would kindly post it.

4/18/2015 6:30:15 PM

East Jordan, MI

divide lbs/acre by 2 to get ppm

4/18/2015 7:31:32 PM

East Jordan, MI

looks like you used a lot of manure
your NA, P and K are pretty high compared to CA and MG and your pH is high.

If it were my patch, I would add at least 150 lbs ov Gypsum per 1000 sq ft to offset the High K and P and tie up the salts and at least 10 lbs of sulfur per 1000 sq ft to lower the pH a little.

then I would foliar feed throughout the year, weekly with a micronutrient mix that has Manganese, zinc, and copper and add a TBLS of Epsom salts to it and grow a monster.

Good Luck

4/18/2015 7:45:21 PM

Going Green

Most pellitized gypsum has sulfur as an ingredient. The gypsum I buy says a 40 pound bag covers 5000 square feet. It is best to not over apply. If a little is good a lot is not better. The goal is to balance your garden.

4/18/2015 10:45:43 PM

Alberta, Canada

Thank you so much for your help on this. I will repost my results with PPM instead of lb/acre, using the divide by 2 conversion.
NO3-N - 28.5ppm
P - 189ppm
K - 937ppm
S04-S - 34.5ppm
Ca - 3483ppm
Mg - 540ppm
Zn - 8.9ppm
B - 4.8ppm
Cu - 0.8ppm
Fe - 74.2ppm
Mn - 5.3ppm
Na - 718ppm
OM - 5.5%
Estimated N Release - 65lbs/acre
pH - 7.7
Sol Salts - 0.8dS/m
K/Mg Ratio - 0.36

4/18/2015 11:06:39 PM

Alberta, Canada

I forgot to note also, we have not added manure to this soil for a couple of years now. The only thing I added last year was some peat moss before planting to lower the pH a bit. Not sure why NPK are high...

4/18/2015 11:09:17 PM

Muddy Waters

Whats the PH of your water you will be using? If your water Ph is low You may be fine.The sulphur takes months to work ,but use it to give you better August & September growth.I just tested my soil and got my results 2 days ago.Im not to worried about the numbers as I will feed them a balanced program.

4/19/2015 7:22:31 AM

Paradise Mountain, New York

Bubba, You stated"Im not to worried about the numbers as I will feed them a balanced program. Would be interesting to hear what your program is.

4/19/2015 7:56:53 AM

East Jordan, MI

@PumpkinFarm -- what's your PB? Mine is 1718.

The amount I recommended will balance his nutrients, AND lower the amount of salts, which he has ALOT of.

Additionally all gypsum has sulfur, it is to keep it pH neutral, therefore it wont lower his High pH, he will need to add more sulfur to get it down.

It takes months (some more than others) for any non water soluble nutrient to be available because it has to go through the mineralization process, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't use it. That is why I suggested using a foliar micronutrient spray, because at the high pH he has the very low amount of micronutrients he has will be unavailable.

Nutrients from manure are available for a minimum of 3 years, depending on how fast the mineralization process occurs, and looking at your test results, you either got a hot spot (bad sample) or you still have a lot of manure in there.

At the end of the day, you asked for advice, I gave you mine, get advise from others too, and make the best decision you can.

4/19/2015 9:02:50 AM

Partlow,Va

PumpkinFarm...Countryboy wouldn't steer you wrong I put down 750lbs gypsum on my 4500 sq ft patch this off-season.

I think the soil looks good except the way high NA and K. I would add 3.5 lbs Mn/1000sqft and stay away from anything with NA and K. Maybe you have used Muriate of Potash before because it is mostly salt and that raised you way up?

4/19/2015 9:41:59 AM

Alberta, Canada

Countryboy...I kind of wondered if I got a bad sample too, but tried my best not to by selecting soil from three different places on the patch. The samples were taken from about 9" down. Knowing that manure releases nutrients for three years, it could be the last addition of manure that is showing. I wasnt involved in the addition of it, so can't even tell for sure how much was added at that time. Thanks again for your help. I will be adding gypsum at the rate you recommended, and plan to add sulfur for pH too, along with some peat moss for the same reason. I will test my water to see what pH it is, as I cant say for sure what it is. Thanks again for the help everyone.

4/19/2015 9:28:07 PM

East Jordan, MI

you should consider retaking the soil test before adding anything using these as a guide.

http://www.servitechlabs.com/tabid/118/default.aspx

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs144p2_051273.pdf

4/20/2015 11:32:25 AM

Taber, Alberta

Where do you get your water from? Is it town water or irrigation water?
I fight with a high ph in my soil. I contacted the local irrigation district a few years back. They test their water regularly and it averages between 8.5 and 9.
Alan

4/24/2015 8:54:51 PM