From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Syracuse, NY

in an effort to keep the tedium down for people who DO know all about soil, unlike me, lol,
perhaps there should be a range chart of some sort on here that almost TELLS us if our soil test results are okay,
bad, bearable or whatever;
a person could look at the "chart" and be able to tell if they are in the OK zone or not, and then if they are still worried then they can still post pertinent questions to the
pumpkin-growing public:

EXAMPLE ONLY:

Ph 6.7-7.2
Buffer PH 6.8--7.2
Organic Matter 10%--20%
P 25--50 PPM
K 100--140 PPM
Ca 2000--10,000 LBS/ACRE
Mg 200--400 LBS/ACRE
B 10--50 PPM
Zn 2.0--5.0 LBS/ACRE
Cu 1.5--12 LBS/ACRE
Fe 3.0--15 LBS/ACRE

see, i myself am somewhat "Soil Ignorant";
the only thing i am really familiar with is the
soil pH, only because i know what it means...
but the rest of it either floats into forgotten-ness
as soon as i put down the book, or log-off of BP.com!

perhaps a sort of 'calculator for your dirt', as it were, lol.
i REALIZE that different components of the soil in differing amounts will affect other aspects of the soil,
just like any other 'equation' of sorts, and the above
soil report was cut and pasted and modified like all heck to provide merely an EXAMPLE of what a range-ometer for soil would sort of look like. any thoughts, i am all ears and eyes, and it's just an idea....for now...
patent pending....thanks! eric g

3/17/2006 11:35:59 AM

San Jose garysand@pacbell.net

that seems like a REALLY good idea, and there was some talk of a spreadsheet a couple months ago, I would be willing to try to put something together, but I know NOTHING about soil.

then on another sheet, show different additives to correct your problem. We will need a collaborative effort by the "experts"

I read (my wife and I)already did a "seed tracker" spread sheet for mike turner. I also forwarded it to a few others on this site. Drop me an email if anyone wants a copy.

Gary

3/17/2006 9:20:05 PM

Follansbee, Wv

There are several problems with something like this. Don't get me wrong, it would be a great thing if it was possible. The first and largest obstacle is the variety of soil testing labs used. This is a problem because different labs use different extraction methods. This varience in extracting nutrients for analysis can lead to varying results from lab to lab. Tremor knows more about this than I do, but I do know that different types of soil require different testing methods.
It's this difference that can cause nutrient levels to range widely from one growers patch to the next. This may lead some to say, "Well, why don't we all use the same lab then"? The answer is, we all have different types of soil. Even if everyone used the same lab, the results would be scattered across the entire spectrum because of the lab using the same proceedures on many different types of soils.
Like I said, it would be a great thing, but I simply do not think it's possible.

3/21/2006 7:39:44 AM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Here is my first critique (LOL)

Percent OM Range ~ 6-20%

We often see the best results where an old grower finds a new patch. The new patch will likely have lower OM but very low pathogen counts. As we stay in the new gold mine real estate (who wouldn't go back after a new PB?) the OM rises (we are AG growers & we do like manure!) & the weights drop off sharply (soil pathogens rising).

CATCH 22 you might say.

Either way, a lot of monster fruit have come off low OM soils.

3/21/2006 10:47:16 AM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Next critique....Why are some values PPM & other Lbs/acre.

I'd prefer lbs/acre despite A&L's influence on reporting.

3/21/2006 10:49:03 AM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Monty is spot on with respect to labs. But the person pulling the sample is the MOST notorious contributor to the inconsistencies we see on reports.

99% of the labs today use a single acid reagent extraction method (read CHEAP). Then they apply a mathematical set to the results which does vary by preference & region. Only 2 labs use a multi-reagent extraction process (CLC & M.D. Harris). If folks want really accurate & consistent reporting then seek out either of these 2 fine labs.

Andy Wolf has a huge database of soil test reports for AG growing. Most of the submissions were processed by A&L. Andy has been trying for years to disseminate some logic from the data. He & I have discussed trying to establish some recommendations based on our collective data. Neither of us is prepared to stick our necks out this far.

As Monty said, the variables are too great to generalize on a broad scale.

3/21/2006 11:12:28 PM

Syracuse, NY

funny, i had sort of forgotten i had created this
post...it is fun to come back by chance and see a bunch of replies. Trem, Trem, Tremor-ooo, lol---no reason on either of those, just hacked-up somebody's other info and
tried to make it like an example range-ometer for soil.

if i get a soil report back, type it into BP.com,
read all the replies and they are all basically the
same as to what my soil needs or what can be made better,
then THAT was the original purpose of my idea, but a "mechanical" one that could be GENERALLY utilizable by the general public before posting
"What's wrong with my soil??"
not a problem for ME, as i will be the one asking
"What's wrong with my soil" in a week or two, lol! eric

3/22/2006 6:31:45 PM

Syracuse, NY

oops...forgot the '??' in there.
ahhhh, well.....

3/22/2006 6:33:10 PM