Welcome to part 2 of understanding your soil analysis, How to act on your test
results. Part one gave us terms and definitions on the report and you should
make sure and tune in to that one before watching this video. Your soil analysis
comes with a book, "Understanding Your Soil Test Results."
Get out your chart, get out your booklet and let's follow along. The first part of
the results you'll look at is the organic matter percent. Organic matter
usually comes from decomposing plant matter and helps with soil drainage and
holding capacity, aeration, feeding the soil food web and more. Organic matter
and other nutrients are affected by the cation (Cat-ion) exchange capacity or CEC. If your
organic matter is in the very high range and your CEC analysis is over 20 you
should not add anything but wait for the soil food web to break down the organic
matter already there. If your organic matter is high and your CEC is less than
20, you need to help the organic matter break itself down into nutrients by
adding either arctic humus or a mycorrhizae. Next to and related to organic
matter is nitrogen. This is important for plant growth but too much can also be
harmful. If you have high organic matter, your soil will get some nitrogen from
that as it breaks down. Good sources of nitrogen include blood meal, fish meal,
and cottonseed meal or planting a cover crop will fix nitrogen. See our video on
how to plant a cover crop. If you have too much nitrogen, plant corn or other
heavy feeding crops such as roses, lettuce, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers and
cabbage to help use it up. Whether you need to add nitrogen will depend both on
what the analysis is and what you are growing. For vegetables you should add
nitrogen if it's less than 40. Use the chart in your booklet to determine the
rate. Orchards, vineyards and lawns require less nitrogen and don't need any
added unless the analysis is less than 25. But before applying the fertilizer
you'll also want to look at your levels of
organic matter. If your levels are very high, some of your nitrogen is tied up
there. You may want to consider adding a slower release nitrogen like feather
meal instead of the fish meal. This will give your plants a slower feeding of
nitrogen. Also keep in mind that most organic fertilizers contain other
nutrients. For example in this bio fish it's 7 percent nitrogen 7 percent
phosphorus and 2 percent potassium. You may want to review your entire soil
analysis report before choosing which nitrogen fertilizer to use. The next
nutrient on the chart is phosphorus. Phosphorus is important for flowering,
fruiting and rooting. Good sources for phosphorus are bone meal and rock
phosphate. Phosphorus is usually slow release so be sure and add it in advance
of when your plants will need it. There are two readings for phosphorus on your
soil analysis report. Refer to the phosphorus Weak Bray reading, to
determine your level on the chart in the soil analysis booklet. The other
phosphorus reading represents your long-term phosphorus reserves and should
be monitored over time as you follow up with subsequent tests. If your phosphorus
levels on your analysis are low medium or high, add phosphorus according to this
chart. For very high readings do not add any (phosphorus). Potassium is the next nutrient on
the chart. Potassium is a nutrient that helps support overall plant vigor and
supports metabolism. A reading of below 150 is too low you can add potassium by
adding sulfate of potash according to the chart. It is possible to have too
much potassium in the soil. If your potassium is high and your CEC level is
under 20 you will need to add gypsum at 5 pounds per 100 square feet to help
remove the excess from the soil. For the macronutrients and the trace elements
refer to the easy to comprehend book. If we can help answer any further questions
about your soil analysis please contact our gardening consultants and grow organic
for life!