Hi folks,
Below is the message from back in April with the soil test results. The magnesium tested high.
Based on Mike’s recommendations, I think we should plan to put on less than the recommended amount, rather than the full amount, this fall – because we sure don’t have 6 inches of topsoil on a lot of that land. Ideally, we would put on ½ the recommended amount.
The calcitic lime vs. dolomitic lime question is tricky. While calcitic lime would be the best thing, it is much harder to get and more than twice as expensive. I would recommend that we go ahead with dolomitic lime now at ~½ the CAES recommended rate, and work on getting calcitic lime for the next application in the spring. While we don’t need the magnesium, and I know that Mike would argue that continuing to put on dolomitic lime and adding more Mg year after year will decrease soil quality in the long run, at this point I think getting the pH in a reasonable range is a higher priority. Extra Mg will not lead to pollution, the way extra P or N might.
I’d say, after going through the above process, we should get one pallet-load of dolomitic lime from the least expensive local source (or donated, if possible!). On Monday, we can figure out how much area we want to lime
Is there anyone willing to work on getting a pallet-load of lime delivered quickly and at low (or zero) cost?
Here are the results:
Soil texture: Sandy loam
Organic Matter content: medium low
pH 4.8
Nitrate N Low
Ammonium N Low
Phosphorus: Stripped area = medium, area not stripped = medium high
Potassium Very Low
Calcium Low
Magnesium High
Suggested treatments in pounds per 1000 square feet:
Limestone 175 lbs. (this may be too much to apply all at once – we may want to apply half in spring and half in fall)
Fertilizer (given both as 10-10-10 and as organic fertilizers)
Either 25 lbs. 10-10-10 pre-plant and 10 lbs in July
Or 30 lbs. cottonseed meal, 20 lbs. bone meal, 20 lbs. Greensand (this would all be pre-plant, but these might not be the best choices for organic fertilizers – I’ll work on alternative recommendations)