Hello Team, I had posted my soil sample results a few days ago seeking some guidance but for what ever reason, its gone. Quick rundown of last year, my vines grew on target and the pumpkin I selected as The One grew extremely well until the first week ofAugust...it just stopped growing. The plant and fruit remained health, perfect to the day of harvest without growing another inch. Oddly, my wifes garden didnt grow anything...literally. The only common denominator was the purchase of a compost mix from a nearby dairy. I brought in approximately 6 to 7 yards total but in hind sight, I believe the compost mixture was hot and being sold as fast as they could mix it based on seeing some fresh veggies and fruit in front of the pile being loaded in my trailer. With it being hot, the urine/salts didnt have time to flush from the composts. Each year I use two companies for my soil testing: Western Laboratories and Spectrum Analytic ($14). With what little I know about soil management, the one thing that stood out to me was the Sodium-% of CEC level being 11%. Last year, my Sodium level was 23% which from my understanding, anything greater than 5% is basically sagebrush and tumbleweeds. A Western Laboratories article suggest my Sodium-% of CEC should be 0-5% for all fruits and vegetables. For last years catastrophe, I believe the sodium from a hot compost pile (urine) was the Primary cause of no growth and stunned growth with a Sodium-% of CEC rated at 23%. Between the two soil analysis, it looks like Spectrum Analytics caught/identified the sodium issue with a recommendation to add 585 lbs of Sulfur per Acre (approximately 10.6 lbs for my plot).From what I read, to rapidly reduce sodium levels, there are three options in order of preference: 1) irrigation to flush the salt content, 2) flood the plot with approximately 6-inches of water to flush the salt below the roots level, or 3) spread sulfur and Gypsum. The downside to the first two options of flushing the salt is the loss of minerals through the flushing process. This leads me to believe my best option is to follow the recommendation of Spectrum Analytics and use the sulfur. I started with a clay base in 2012 so its certainly changing...good and bad. I know there are several other issues I need to address. Any and all advice is sincerely appreciated. Sincerely, Todd If two attachments dont arrive on the first post, Ill attach the second analysis to immediately follow.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 05:23:01 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015