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| Does a soil report which was done with the idea it was for pasture grazing/forage transfer over for vegetable gardening or do I toss it and get one made specifically for the garden?
Last year I built my new house in a pasture--a pasture that I have a current soil test on. (Current being within 3 years-as is recommend by local AgExt.) Now I want to put a smallish vegtable garden in what used to be that pasture. Without digging though my files for the test it reported that for grazing/forage the soil was good on everything (excellent on P) little low on N and recommend ammending with only a little N. Which is what we've done twice in the last 3 years. I have theoretically, an unlimited supply of aged composted horse manure--actually it's a nice combination of horse manure, wood shavings and hay. I used this last year in my kitchen garden with excellent results. My second question is how useful would it be to have the compost pile soil tested? At the end of the day the compost is free and has proven results so I can't decide if getting a soil test would just be an endevor to placate my nerdy self. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| The soil test that you have is a base from which decisions should be made. The recommendations that you received and followed were presumably based on the intention of using the ground for pasture. Vegetable production generally requires higher counts for NPK than pasture use, and trace minerals may be more critical, and pH is likely the area you need to focus on first. If you are a true nerd than a subsequent test for vegetable production is a no-brainer, but so is the addition of well-aged compost. To me the middle ground would be to incorporate a generous amount of compost into the area you plan to garden, provided the other parameters are reasonable, and then do a second test in late October to determine how best to deal with the subsequent season. pH determines the availability of many nutrients to the plants, if that is way out of whack, it won't make much difference what your NPK readings are, but good compost should help to regulate that as well. |
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| Soil test labs ask about planned use of the soil so they can better tailor the recommendations they present. The test results tell you about your soil at one time and are a tool to help you get that soil into balance. Nitrogen availability is dependant on soil temperature and soil temperature determines how active your Soil Food Web is which supply plants growing in that soil with the nutrients they need. Soil pH is important because most all plant nutrients are most readily available when soil pH is in the 6.2 to 6.8 range and the Ca and Mg ratio is important because plants cannot utilize one or the other if they are out of balance. Knowing that your soils P and K are in balance, not necesasrily how much, is important because if one ot the other is out plants cannot properly use many other nutrients. Balance is what you want to look for. |
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| So my soil test for pasture has the NPK, the pH, the Ca/Mg and I think moisture content. So I have the info I just need to ignore the recommendation and figure out what the same results mean for a different usage? |
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| Basically, yes. N is variable, but in garden soils it is best replenished, pasture soils are often planted to a mix that includes legumes, which do that for you. Moisture content is also variable, but a good percentage of organic matter will help to regulate that at optimal levels. Ca and Mg relate to the availability of other nutrients, and need to be in proper proportion. P and K are macronutrients, but easily adjusted. A good test will give percentages for trace nutrients, which are important for all crops but essential for certain ones. If you are disinclined to re-test this year, observe how your crops do, and they will give some indication if you have any issues with micronutrients or soil minerals. Don't ignore the recommendation, because it should tell you what amendments they suggest to reach a particular parameter. You may be able to extrapolate from there what to do for vegetable crops. |
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- Posted by toxcrusadr (My Page) on Tue, Feb 14, 12 at 11:33
| You may be able to contact the lab and ask them to pull up your test data and run a new set of recommendations based on a different usage. It probably involves a few clicks of the mouse. There's good advice above and I've never put too much stock in these recommendations (mine always seem to recommend more of things the soil is already med. to high in), but the lab might do this if you ask them. |
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