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Eugene,OR

It is the first of March and I just got back my soil test results. My K levels are crazy high and I am wondering what can be done at this time of the year to bring them down? I've heard that planing alfalfa and mowing (and removing) the growth will take K out of one's soil. Is it too late to do this for this year? Or, is there a better way?

3/3/2008 2:22:05 PM

Paradise Mountain, New York

Russ, you can do a web search to see how much potassium is removed by alfalfa. usually it removes 40-50 lbs per acre. But you would need to grow it this year and harvest the alfalfa hay off at each cutting and throw it away. About the only thing you could do to plant pumpkins in the area this year is, to bring in top soil and cover the whole patch. My levels were high last year. So this past fall I covered my whole patch. Twenty yards of top soil and three ten wheeler of sandy soil.

3/3/2008 3:44:17 PM

perhaps raise other levels to get the balance back,,,don't go too wild, big fruit will suck it down fastttttt

3/3/2008 5:43:10 PM

Kevinstinindians@yahoo.com

What level is you K at?

3/3/2008 6:21:00 PM

Garden State Pumpkins

I was always told to water everything as much as you can with gypsum on it to leach everything off..gonna raise the calcium up but That much K...I don't know...Wait for one of the big guys to let ya know.

3/3/2008 8:23:18 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

How many pounds per acre (or ppm)?

3/3/2008 11:47:40 PM

Paradise Mountain, New York

Tremor, Is there a level that is super high were growers should really watch out for? I know CEC and soil type as to clay vs sandy soil makes a difference as to available potassium for the plant.

3/4/2008 1:20:43 AM

Eugene,OR

My K is 1419 PPM.

3/4/2008 10:10:23 AM

Eugene,OR

I have very heavy clay soil, with about 10" of ammendemdnts (mainly organic compost (without manure)) on top of it.

3/4/2008 10:12:44 AM

fall 2006 i had 2115 ppm k
fall 2007 test 223 ppm k

3/4/2008 10:19:39 AM

Kevinstinindians@yahoo.com

What is your Ca and Mg at? What are your base saturation %'s at? What is your CEC?

Post the full results of your soil test, that would help a great deal.

3/4/2008 11:49:30 AM

Eugene,OR

Organic Matter 10.4, Phosporus-Weak Bray 301, Phosporus-Strong Bray 302, K-1419 (12.5% Base Saturation), Mg-542 (15.6% Base Saturation), Ca-4122 (71% Base Saturation), Na-57, pH-6.9, CEC 29.0, S-999, Zn-21.6, Mn-90, Fe-52, Cu-5.0, B 2.3, Soluble Salts-2.1.

3/4/2008 11:56:59 AM

Eugene,OR

Don, what did you do to get your K to fall 90%?

3/4/2008 11:57:38 AM

southwest MO

K is pretty mobile in the soil. Stop the high K imputs and grow some monster pumpkins on there and I think you will be fine.

3/4/2008 12:44:32 PM

Sheridan . NY

russ --read the pdf on the symbex- you will also see that its turning out humic acid - and that was what everybody was add in 2007 --the feed sked has been doing it all a long + a lot-!! more of other things--im sure your on track with what we talked about--and the others are also above posts ---email or call if ya need to --craig

3/4/2008 1:35:34 PM

Danville, CA (petman2@yahoo.com)

I think Don used a 1,662 pound pumpkin to remove it.

3/4/2008 6:49:45 PM

South Bloomfield, Ohio

A 1662 pound slounger will do it every time. They key is what did Don do to his soil to get that monster to suck all that K up?

3/4/2008 9:06:31 PM

Eugene,OR

What I'm hearing is that my high K level is not a problem. Is this correct???? All I have to do is grow a slounger and it will use it all up.

3/4/2008 9:18:08 PM

South Bloomfield, Ohio

Vineman,

Follow your soil test amendment recommendations to balance things out. I believe an addition of humic acid will free that K up and will make it available to your slounger. Perhaps Don will chime in here again.

3/4/2008 10:12:15 PM

Kevinstinindians@yahoo.com

No, your K level shouldn't be a problem. Your base saturations look good. N and K are the nutrients absorbed in the greatest quantities by the plant, this is normal.

3/4/2008 10:50:15 PM

Picton,ON (j.vincent@xplornet.ca)

I wouldn't worry about the high K level. It will come down over time
....or.....

You could try planting Bananas!! They use up about as muck K as anything

3/7/2008 1:40:12 PM