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Upa Creek, Mo

I have added many ammendment including nitrogen in forms of bloodmeal, compost and manure. I took a sample from at least 10 parts of the garden. Do these reults look off with N decreasing? I guess I am growing on a slab of concrete with potash on top. LOL

Before:
Nitrogen: 5
Potassium: 54
Phos (weak Bray): 55 (has as high in report)?
Phos: 21
PH:5.5

After:
Nitrogen:2
Potassium: 1604 (3000% increase)
Phos (weak Bray): 131 (has as low in report)?
Phos:79
PH: 7.7

5/5/2011 8:54:48 PM

Kentucky, U.S.A.

My patch in on an old tobacco base, talk about bleached out soil. My numbers are the pits, PH is the only number close to ballpark!!!! We'll figure it out eventually!
BSD, David

5/5/2011 9:52:10 PM

East Jordan, MI

Luke,

Rain (especially as much as we've had here) leaches nitrogen out of the soil. PLUS while the microbes are breaking down organic matter they are consuming a bunch of nitrogen. After it gets broken down it will be release again.

5/6/2011 8:15:33 AM

Garden State Pumpkins

nitrogen is fleeting...most reports won't even give you a nitrogen rating because it changes so fast. Rain etc can move it in and out depending on if the source is running it in or away from the spot tested. While a good source of nitrogen is needed for early plant growth it's more important to watch your leaves and vine length. Once you get it where you want it avoid additional nitrogen cause you want that sucker to start blooming and producing fruit.
a dose of nitrogen at the wrong time and the green will start growing again and abort the fruit. you start with N, move along to P, and end with K,...GrowEmBig!

5/6/2011 9:12:40 AM

Linden, Mi.,

N is for growth 50-10-10
P is for blossom < example > 10-50-15
K is for fruit & weight 05-15-50

"NOW THE NUMBERS ARE ONLY EXAMPLE" !!!!!!!

5/6/2011 9:51:52 AM

Ashby, MA

I've heard that the warm sun and overall higher temps will increase the nitrogen levels. So it's probably higher now than when you took the samples.

5/6/2011 12:14:59 PM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

Temperature also effects PH

5/6/2011 1:08:56 PM

Upa Creek, Mo

Thanks everybody for the input. I had no idea that heat and microbes affected N so much. We are gonna be in the upper 80's by next weeks so I'm feeling better about this.

5/6/2011 2:37:40 PM

Johnston, Iowa

All of this is giving me a flashback

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/msgboard/ViewThread.asp?b=20&p=390975

5/7/2011 12:48:13 AM

long Island

Hi Luke, I noticed that you PH went up as a result of adding the compost and manure. So did mine.

I am reluctant to add Sulfur to bring it down because I don't want to bring it down to low.

I think that before I add the sulfur that I will try to get a PH test kit that I can do at home.

I have had a tropical fish tank for many many years and the PH is a tricky thing to get right without a test kit. I think the soil would be the same way. No test kit equals no idea.

5/8/2011 9:12:52 AM