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Oakland, CA, USA

Howdy all, just got my soil test results and wanted to get the opinions of the group. The analysis section of the results seem to suggest that the Magnesium is rather high, which could be the result of the ancient galvanized sprinkler system that's rotting in the bed I tested (I'm trying to find where the tie-in point is so that I can shut it off and yank it all out, but the guy who set it up must have been on whatever passed for "crack" in those days!!). I think I took a sample from right near where one of the lines crosses, so it might've spiked things.


Thanks for taking the time to help all of us new folks!

Organic matter: 4.8%
P: 33 ppm (weak or P1); 77 ppm (strong or P2)
K: 141 ppm
Mg: 702 ppm
Ca: 2595 ppm
pH: 6.3 (buffer index: 6.7 [what's the buffer index??])
CEC: 21.5
Base Saturation (%):
K: 1.7
Mg: 27.2
Ca: 60.3
H: 10.8

Please let me know if I left out anything relevant. And thanks again.

Erin, Palo Alto, CA.

12/6/2004 8:38:48 PM

Fremont, California

erin where did you get your soil tested?

12/6/2004 11:29:21 PM

Oakland, CA, USA

Dashbarr, Craig Lembke of C & J Products did the testing (he sends it off to a lab, but works on the analysis). I'll be talking with him on the phone tomorrow, just thought I'd see what other folks thought.

12/7/2004 7:54:49 PM

Garden State Pumpkins

stay away from the dolomitic lime!!That's not just pipes doing that unless you scratching em to get soil samples.

12/7/2004 8:25:30 PM

Oakland, CA, USA

Hi Alexsdad, I will definitely stay away from the Dolomitic Lime. Actually, this bed has been uncultivated for a very long time. It's a frontyard bed in a suburban neighborhood, on a rental property (so no one has taken much homeowner's pride in the landscaping). I've been slowly turning it over and laboriously pulling out every piece of bermuda grass (the most evil plant in the Universe). There's no telling how long it's been unused, but it was almost certainly fallow for at least 10 years, with only bermuda "grass", oxalis and other weeds growing on it. I added peat moss and tiny of osmocote when I planted pumpkins and watermelons on part of it this year. Definitely no dolomitic limestone. The only crushed rock product I've used in my yard is Spiral stonemeal (crushed Sierra granite) and I'm pretty sure none of that is in this bed.

12/7/2004 8:58:48 PM

Oakland, CA, USA

Ok, so my chemist neighbor looked up "clay" and we found that magnesium is one of the major constituents of many clay soils. Naturally, my soil is clay.

12/8/2004 1:54:50 PM