From: bobnospam@gmail.com   
      
   On 7/17/2022 4:53 AM, songbird wrote:   
   > Bob F wrote:   
   > ...   
   >> I got the results of my first soil test last week. It was low on   
   >> Nitrogen, potassium, and sulfur, and at the top of the scale at 15%   
   >> organic matter. They say 5% is as high as you need. I guess I've been   
   >> overdoing the compost. Also very high on phosphate, which may be due to   
   >> the compost too. I also needed lime to raise the ph, which was at 6.1.   
   >   
   >    what is your soil structure like?  sandy?  loam?  clay content?   
   > that should have also been a part of a soil test.   
      
   A foot of soil of beautiful dark soil over many feet of very fine sand.   
   The sample included mixed soil from the 3 beds which total about 1600   
   sq. ft.   
      
   >   
   >    will you be changing your garden beds to reduce the organic   
   > matter level or stop adding compost for a few seasons and then   
   > retest?   
      
   I will just stop applying. I will need to adjust my serious composting   
   habits, maybe. At one point, I was taking the leaves in the compost bins   
   from many neighbors to add to it.   
      
   >   
   >    around here i would be moving garden soil around because i   
   > have so many gardens that can use an organic matter boost and i   
   > have so little of it to spare.  at the end of each garden season   
   > i bury almost all garden debris and that does help but it is   
   > never enough.  i call it low-till gardening because i'm rarely   
   > digging more than 5%-10% of a garden for the entire season.   
   >   
   >   
   >> I am glad I did the test. We get 5 free tests (for life) from the   
   >> conservation district. After that, it is currently $25.   
   >   
   >    that's nice, i've never done anything other than eyeball things   
   > here and i am curious about what the pH is in a few gardens, but i   
   > never get around to testing it because for the most part the   
   > gardens are doing ok with what i'm amending.   
      
   Check with your "county conservation district" if you can and see what   
   they offer. Some places seem to offer free tests as needed, according to   
   other posters here.   
      
   I have a ph tester I picked up at a yard sale that gave similar   
   indications to what the test showed. It has 2 prongs you stick into the   
   soil and just wait a minute or 3.   
      
   >   
   >    our well water does contain some calcium and iron and i've had   
   > to water a lot this year so i know that is going to change the   
   > pH a little, but the rains are slightly acidic so when we get   
   > more rains i hope it balances out.   
   >   
   >    the actual fertilizer amendment i use for spot feeding does   
   > have eggshells in there along with whatever else the food scraps   
   > bring for trace nutrients, i'm not too worried about them.  i   
   > use the results of my heaviest feeding plants (the tomatoes) to   
   > guage how good it is and they are 4ft tall already and have nice   
   > green leaves.   
   >   
   >    time to get back out there and get a few things done before   
   > it gets too hot again.   
   >   
   >   
   >    songbird   
      
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