Help with interpreting soil tests

[Foggy47]

I took some soil samples last week and got these results today. Basically I have two soil samples here which represent about 4 acres of food plots each. Was considering adding more lime.....but wonder how worthwhile it is to do so considering the relatively decent PH levels I have. Strangely my PH levels have always been "decent". 87% Sand here.......ouch. Organic matter remains pretty low.

I do not have any chicken litter or other natural fertilizer available here in the northland.....or I would add some. I'm not sure what the calcium and magnesium levels are telling me. I've not been fertilizing recently....but when I do I usually add some sulfur in the fertilizer....which is common to do around here. Anyone got any suggestions for soil amendments?

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

It looks like you could use a bunch of potash to increase your potassium levels. Lime would help too since it would make the p & k you do have more readily available.

I’ve been using kmag when I need potassium, magnesium and sulfur, so that might be a good option if any is available in your area.

 

[Foggy47]

It looks like you could use a bunch of potash to increase your potassium levels. Lime would help too since it would make the p & k you do have more readily available.

I’ve been using kmag when I need potassium, magnesium and sulfur, so that might be a good option if any is available in your area.

Was just reading about that K-Mag fertilizer. Seems I have a somewhat nearby source......wonder how much should be applied?

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

Did your soil test recommend pounds per acre of potash and sulfur? I see it lists lime recommendations but I didn’t see fertilizer.

I believe potash has around 50 pounds k per hundred pounds of fertilizer. Kmag has around 20 pounds of k per hundred pounds of fertilizer.

This is just a guess, but I think 100 pounds of potash and 100 pounds of kmag per acre would get you closer to where you want to be.

 

[Foggy47]

Did your soil test recommend pounds per acre of potash and sulfur? I see it lists lime recommendations but I didn’t see fertilizer.

I believe potash has around 50 pounds k per hundred pounds of fertilizer. Kmag has around 20 pounds of k per hundred pounds of fertilizer.

This is just a guess, but I think 100 pounds of potash and 100 pounds of kmag per acre would get you closer to where you want to be.

They did not provide any fertilizer recommendations this time. They have done so in the past. Generally they had recommended about 50 lbs/a for the P.(varies a bit with the intended crop) ....and suffer was constant at 30 lbs/a across multiple crops. I have never tested for Magnesium before.

 

[Foggy47]

Did your soil test recommend pounds per acre of potash and sulfur? I see it lists lime recommendations but I didn’t see fertilizer.

I believe potash has around 50 pounds k per hundred pounds of fertilizer. Kmag has around 20 pounds of k per hundred pounds of fertilizer.

This is just a guess, but I think 100 pounds of potash and 100 pounds of kmag per acre would get you closer to where you want to be.

This is from the label on KMag:

PRODUCT ANALYSIS​

Potassium (K): 21.0%
Magnesium (Mg): 10.0%
Sulfur (S): 21.0%

​

 

[matinc]

Foggy I'm jealous 1.7 OM which is dam near double my paltry .9 OM. How many years have you been doing no till. Your light on potassium. Not sure if you can buy 0 0 62 near you.
SD. Curious on your thoughts

 

[SD51555]

Does that second one say 5.8 for pH?

Couple things to ponder:

Do the crops look like they're struggling? If they don't, I wouldn't add anything other than maybe 200 lbs/ac gypsum. Remember, a soil sample is only a snapshot of available nutrients at that moment in time. You're in a stay-green program, so your plants are mineralizing nutrients every moment of the day now that those tests do not measure. Those tests assume tilled and spray killed soil. Your rye is pulling up K at an alarming rate right now, and will continue to do so. If you have a good stand of rye last year, you're going to already have a boat load of potassium. Member the Rick Clark rye residue tests?



You should have gotten some rain, and very well timed. If nothing else, I'd wait and see what kind of rye crop you get. If it fills out bigly, I wouldn't get excited about adding fertilizer.

 

[Foggy47]

Foggy I'm jealous 1.7 OM which is dam near double my paltry .9 OM. How many years have you been doing no till. Your light on potassium. Not sure if you can buy 0 0 62 near you.
SD. Curious on your thoughts

Actually I REDUCED my Oganic Material from the soil tests in 2017 which were 2.3 and 2.9. At that time I was doing heavy tillage to grow corn and beans, etc.....and ruining my soil profile with excessive tillage each year. Since that time I changed to mostly no-till.....and I am re-building those soils. I need to find my other soil tests and make them into a chart to compare (they are at my land).

I am hoping in time to get my OM to perhaps about 4 or so near term. I wish I could buy some poultry litter or manure around here. It's always work in process.

 

[Foggy47]

Does that second one say 5.8 for pH?

Couple things to ponder:

Do the crops look like they're struggling? If they don't, I wouldn't add anything other than maybe 200 lbs/ac gypsum. Remember, a soil sample is only a snapshot of available nutrients at that moment in time. You're in a stay-green program, so your plants are mineralizing nutrients every moment of the day now that those tests do not measure. Those tests assume tilled and spray killed soil. Your rye is pulling up K at an alarming rate right now, and will continue to do so. If you have a good stand of rye last year, you're going to already have a boat load of potassium. Member the Rick Clark rye residue tests?

View attachment 64570

You should have gotten some rain, and very well timed. If nothing else, I'd wait and see what kind of rye crop you get. If it fills out bigly, I wouldn't get excited about adding fertilizer.

Yep.....got some rain (1/2") and the rye is looking very good......but it's still early. Strangely.....my clover did not look too good when I was on my land for a short visit about a week ago. I'm spending more time Saturday and need to have a closer look at things. If that sweet clover grows and my millet/sorghum mix.....I will be building my OM as fast as the land is capable. I'm not going to lime.....and I may sell my Lime Spreader this summer. I have not limed in a few years. I need to watch that video above. Thanks.

 

[SD51555]

Yep.....got some rain (1/2") and the rye is looking very good......but it's still early. Strangely.....my clover did not look too good when I was on my land for a short visit about a week ago. I'm spending more time Saturday and need to have a closer look at things. If that sweet clover grows and my millet/sorghum mix.....I will be building my OM as fast as the land is capable. I'm not going to lime.....and I may sell my Lime Spreader this summer. I have not limed in a few years. I need to watch that video above. Thanks.

You're talking about the sweet clover correct? If so, go back and look at the dates on my pics from page 2 of the sweet clover thread. I didn't get confident about the sweet clover until the weekend of June 12th. By July, the rye crop was disappearing into the sea of sweet clover. I'm anxiously waiting to see how those driest of dry spots with the sweet clover come in for you.

The Sweet Clover Thread

I’m really anxious to see the YSC and rod plot this weekend. The curious is killing me, especially because it’s drought season. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

habitat-talk.com

 

[omicron1792]

I think test looks good fog. I wouldn’t do a thing except what you have been doing.

 

[matinc]

SD you great guru you. Please bring me up to speed on the rye residue test. You never fail to amaze me

 

[SD51555]

SD you great guru you. Please bring me up to speed on the rye residue test. You never fail to amaze me

I can’t take credit for that one. I just stumbled upon that Rick Clark video. Rick decided to test his rye at various stages to gauge the nutrient value of his residue and the rate at which it gets released. What’s informative is that he last tested his live rye at 28”. I’d venture to guess most of us get rye to twice that height or more.

One can reasonably assume a relatively linear increase in stored nutrients as rye continues to generate biomass. What u see for biomass is also a soil test. We know plants are 98% carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. The other 2% is the macro and micronutrients on your soil tests. So if we have 10,000 lbs/ac biomass above ground, we have roughly the same below ground, or 400 pounds of available nutrients that will eventually release from the residue. That doesn’t count the 8,000 pounds of carbon which is a feedstock for the biology to consume and also convert to nutrients as well.

So if there is a big rye crop and a companion clover to balance out the C:N ratio, there’s gonna be a lot of fuel for the next crop.


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[SD51555]

But keep in mind, that’s in a living system. If there ends up being a disruption from spraying or tillage, that cycle is interrupted, and that’s when things don’t transition quite so smoothly.


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[TreeDaddy]

I can’t take credit for that one. I just stumbled upon that Rick Clark video. Rick decided to test his rye at various stages to gauge the nutrient value of his residue and the rate at which it gets released. What’s informative is that he last tested his live rye at 28”. I’d venture to guess most of us get rye to twice that height or more.

One can reasonably assume a relatively linear increase in stored nutrients as rye continues to generate biomass. What u see for biomass is also a soil test. We know plants are 98% carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. The other 2% is the macro and micronutrients on your soil tests. So if we have 10,000 lbs/ac biomass above ground, we have roughly the same below ground, or 400 pounds of available nutrients that will eventually release from the residue. That doesn’t count the 8,000 pounds of carbon which is a feedstock for the biology to consume and also convert to nutrients as well.

So if there is a big rye crop and a companion clover to balance out the C:N ratio, there’s gonna be a lot of fuel for the next crop.


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like PB&J as Paul Knox said in the classic threads

bill

 

[TreeDaddy]

and.......

..........where are the scottie sheffler memes ?



bill

 

[Skeeter]

Yep.....got some rain (1/2") and the rye is looking very good......but it's still early. Strangely.....my clover did not look too good when I was on my land for a short visit about a week ago. I'm spending more time Saturday and need to have a closer look at things. If that sweet clover grows and my millet/sorghum mix.....I will be building my OM as fast as the land is capable. I'm not going to lime.....and I may sell my Lime Spreader this summer. I have not limed in a few years. I need to watch that video above. Thanks.

Can you get free compost from the county compost facility? I threw out some compost in a couple of my bad areas last year and the clover is doing really well in those spots.

 

[Foggy47]

Can you get free compost from the county compost facility? I threw out some compost in a couple of my bad areas last year and the clover is doing really well in those spots.

I did do a little search on this.....and so far have not found a source for any quantity of material. Good suggestion.....but stuff like this is hard to come by here.

 

[matinc]

Foggy is that near bfe, hell and gone, or timbak2. Lolll.