Message Board - BigPumpkins.com

Cincinnati, Oh

I'm new at soil test results and what to do so I'm asking for some help. these are my results

ph 6.8
ph CaCl 6.2
soluble salts. .32
lime 0.0
%om 8.4
nitrate 20ppm
ammonium 7ppm
phosphorus 75ppm
potassium 547
sulfur 18
calcium 3545
magnesium 352
sodium 105
zinc 7.0
copper 1.2
manganese 12
iron 56
boron 0.9

Ca:Mg 10:1
Ca:K pH<7 6:1
Ca:P pH<7 47:1
P:Zn 11:1
P:Mn 6.3:1
P:Cu 63:1
Zn:Cu 5.8:1
Mn:Zn 2:1
Mn:Cu 10:1
K:B 608:1
Mg:k 0.6:1

test was performed at western laboratories

thank in advance for any advise

3/31/2014 5:20:52 PM

Colorado

Your boron is low ideal would be 3.5 ppm. You could use some nitrogen.Your magnesium is low relative to calcium. Your sulfur is too low.Id add mag sulfate. Add boron carefully cause too much is worse than too little.Need some form of nitrogen for early cool conditions. Go easy on that,small addition is the best way. or organic(blood meal)

3/31/2014 5:41:09 PM

Pumpkin Hare

Lewisburg, Pennsylvania

I would call Western Labs and ask to speak with John Taberna, their soil scientist. He was very helpful going over my soil sample, and made recommendations on what needs to be added. This is my second year growing, and first year that I got a soil sample, so I was able to learn a lot.

4/1/2014 7:42:11 AM

Cincinnati, Oh

what's the best way to add boron.

4/2/2014 10:01:34 PM

Colorado

20 mule team borax sold in the detergent section of stores. Its 9% boron.the formula to figure out how much to add is: 1ppm boron=20grams borax per 1000square feet divided by % boron.20 grams divided by .09 = 222grams of borax to raise boron level 1ppm for 1000 square feet.

4/3/2014 12:53:29 AM

Cincinnati, Oh

thanks.....for the mag sulfate I'm guessing epsom salt is best to use

4/3/2014 8:43:34 AM

Colorado

yes, epsom salts is mag sulfate. Its 32% mg by weight

4/3/2014 8:46:09 AM

Cincinnati, Oh

thanks much....I'm new to this soil test stuff so all the help is greatly appreciated

4/3/2014 9:04:34 AM

N.c.

I think epsom salt is actually closer to 10% Mg by weight.

4/3/2014 5:20:34 PM

Colorado

I'm quoting "soil minerals" book.

4/3/2014 6:15:22 PM

Colorado

Youre correct-it is 10% mg-what a memory I dont have

4/3/2014 8:02:40 PM

N.c.

Well for the record, going to the periodic table and looking up magnesium sulphate heptahydrate (even if you subtract the water I get only 20% Mg) you find:
Mg 24.3
S 32
O 16
H 1
So that is MgSO4 and 7H2O
Or 246.3 total weight.....24.3 divided by 246.3 = about 10%

For such a bad memory you still grow a big pumpkin. I am counting on my CLONARADO to pull me through this year!

4/3/2014 9:19:13 PM

Colorado

I just put mg sulfate out last tuesday. I'm 200% short of my intended target. I still think matt should have named his greenhouse pumpkin clonetticut.

4/4/2014 12:41:17 AM

N.c.

I don't know Cojoe. I found these two equations on the Internet (not in a paper) so who knows if they are right but they are for determining the correct amount of C and Mg in your soil and how much to add.

For C:
CEC X 68% X 400 - existing amount of C in your soil

For Mg:
CEC X (12%-20% depending on your soil type, more sandy more Mg) X 240 - existing amount of Mg in your soil

Now considering the Mg equation, plugging in different values between 12% and 20% for your soil type makes little difference. However changing the value of the CEC between 12 and 20 makes a lot of difference in how much Mg you add. If you already have way more calcium in your soil than this formula indicates you need, should you be adding Mg at the old 7-1 ratio? I do not have my test results back yet but after 'improving' my soil last fall with epsom salt I find water does not seem nearly as inclined to pass through as it did last year.
If I get a big pumpkin this year I going to call him Lucky.

4/4/2014 7:27:35 AM

Cincinnati, Oh

ok guys you got my head spinning now....my boron level was 0.9....my patch is about 500 sq ft.....to bring it up to the 3.5 you recommend then how much borax do I need to add

4/5/2014 6:42:54 PM

Webster, NY

To my understanding, borax is sodium tetraborate decahydrate. That's Na2B4O7 . 10 H2O. The molecular weight is 381.4. The molecular weight of Boron is 10.8. 4 Boron's would be 43.2. 43.2 / 381.4 = 11.3%. That is 11.3 grams in 100 grams of Na2B4O7. That would be 113000 ppm in 100 grams. 20 grams of that would be 22600 ppm (113000 / 5). Divide that by 1000 sq ft would give 22.6 ppm per sq ft. So if you wanted to raise the ppm by 2.3 ppm per sq ft, you add 2 grams or .07 ounces?

Am I right on this or is my thinking off?

4/5/2014 7:57:06 PM

Colorado

288 grams of borax

4/5/2014 11:44:58 PM

Colorado

Thats to raise boron a additional 2.6 ppm in the top 6 inches of your soil.

4/5/2014 11:49:38 PM

Webster, NY

Thanks, I didn't know how deep we had to go.

4/6/2014 6:28:07 AM

Webster, NY

So, for a patch, do we calculate for L X W X depth and calculate for cubic feet?

4/6/2014 6:29:29 AM

N.c.

Well Steelydave I get a weight of 371.23 for borax or 11.6% boron not 381.4 at 11.3% boron. So if I wanted to raise my ppm of boron by 2.3 ppm I would say well that is 4.6 pounds per acre because at about standard plow depth of 6-8 inches there are 2 million pounds of soil being worked and the conversion factor is two. I think about pounds per acre being bigger than parts per million so to go from pounds per acre to parts per million I divide pounds per acre by 2 to find parts per million. Likewise I think of parts per million as smaller than pounds per acre so to go from parts per million to pounds per acre I multiply by 2.
So 2.3 ppm = 4.6 pounds per acre divided by 43,560 square feet in an acre is equal to 0.0001069 pounds per square foot or Times 16 oz./pound 0.0017 ounces per square foot of boron or 0.0017 divided by 0.116 equals 0.015 ounces of borax per square foot.
So if you wanted to raise your boron 2.6 ppm on 500 square feet it would be:
2.6X2/43560/0.116X16X500=8.22 ounces of borax or x 28= 230grams of borax or I may have had one to many barley pops!

4/6/2014 11:29:47 AM

Colorado

The formula I have (also) assumes the top 6 inches of soil in a acre weighs 2,000,000 pounds.

4/6/2014 2:22:21 PM

Webster, NY

Thanks guys, just trying to understand it.
I still think the MW is 381. Check it here...

http://www.webqc.org/mmcalc.php

Thanks again
Dave

4/6/2014 2:38:00 PM

Rick A

Glendora,N.J.

Ok Guys would you help me now because i'm confuse. I have a 400 sq. ft.patch and i need to raise it 1.2 ppm how many ounces would that be.

Thanks
Rick

4/6/2014 8:33:29 PM