Replies

Hi everyone! Slinking into the back of the class! Last week, a bit after I posted the installment 7 on SOIL, I also posted a Master Gardener newsletter out of Tulsa. I’d like to note that for those who did not see it, it can be seen in last week’s thread http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3287788/posts at post 65.

THERE IS AN ARTICLE IN IT ABOUT USING A SOIL TEST!

I give my apologies to those I have been pinging directly to these Master Garden info posts, as I have lost the ping list I had compiled.

Here is the FINAL INSTALLMENT to my soil notes! Hope they are helpful!

Blessings to all gardeners here!
Fondly,
TEXOKIE

BEGIN Installment 8 on SOIL

[He showed us some pictures of problem fields/plants, and discussed the soil situation associated with the pictures. I was only able to grab a few examples.]

Nitrogen Deficit: foliage is yellow at the tip of oldest leaf
Phosphorus: 1)oversufficiency.
2)A deficiency in corn can show up as foliage turns purple on the edges. He stated that this is VERY rare these days.
Other Nutrients: if you test, will have special recommendations if there are some needed. Remember that problems with your plants can also be due to pests, etc. as well as the wrong soil profile.

FERTILIZING STRATEGIES
*ALWAYS TEST YOUR SOIL BEFORE YOU FERTILIZE!!!!
*Apply according to needs
*Avoid over or under applying a particular nutrient
*Recycle nutrients if possible – ie, lawn clippings, composting, conserving left over product, etc
USING THE RIGHT FERTILIZER
He showed a table here, with the N, P2O5, and K2O in %. These are numbers we see on fertilizer products, but have not always known what they mean. For example, 10/20/10 is the % of Nitrogen, Phosphate, and Potassium nutrients in a product. So are:
19/19/19/; 3/17/17; 29/3/4 ;31/0/4; 46/0/0 – urea; 18/46/0
10/20/10 is the most popular, but not necessarily what your soil actually needs. Remember that these days, typically you won’t need that much phosphorus, if any. His advice (here in Oklahoma, at least) is to think first of using a 31/0/4 product in many places. BUT TEST YOUR SOIL AND USE THE PRODUCT PROFILE THAT BEST FITS THE NEEDS OF YOUR SOIL!
He went through some SOIL TEST RESULTS
Ex 1: already high in P and K
Apply N fertilizer only
Urea, 46/0/0/; Ammonium Nitrate 34/0/0 are best to consider here. Also appropriate would be 29/3/4, 31/0/4 or similar, depending on what your source has available.

Ex. 2: Low in P and K
Use a complete fertilizer early in the year
19/19/19/ or 13/13/13 etc would be appropriate. This should build up the fertility of your soil. However, bear in mind that you ARE changing the profile of your soil, and after a few years, those levels can change! TEST AGAIN!!!!
ALWAYS TEST YOUR SOIL BEFORE YOU FERTILIZE!!!!!

HOW MUCH
*Apply according to what your soil test results outlines
*No more than 1 pound of Nitrogen per 1000 square feet (or 44 pounds per acre) per application
* P and K are most likely not needed for established lawns and gardens.
CALCULATE THE AMOUNT OF FERTILIZER NEEDED TO SUPPLY REQUIRED NUTRIENTS:
*1 POUND N/1000 SQU FT
* 19/19/19
*1 lb N x 100/19 = 5.3 lb fertilizer/1000 sq ft
25 lb covers 5000 sq ft
* What is the area of your garden?
* Use the same calculation for other nutrients and other fertilizers
*Do not apply everything you have if you don’t need to.
A 34 oz Coffee Can holds about 5.5 lbs of fertilizer.
A 13 oz Coffee Can holds about 2 lbs of fertilizer
HOW OFTEN??
Ask yourself these:
* Mulching or not?
* How often do you mow?
* 2-4 applications per year for N
* Once per year for P and K at the first time of the year – AFTER YOUR SOIL TEST RESULT!

He recommends use of a mulching lawn mower; don’t bag it and throw it away. If you bag, use the contents as compost/mulch
IMPLICATIONS TO OVER FERTILIZATION
*Salts build up in the soil media
*Alters the pH of the media
*Unbalanced growth
- More vegetative, less reproductive growth [he showed pix of anemic sweet potatoes in this condition with lush foliage and finger sized roots.]

- More disease and less winter-hardy

SALINITY
He showed pix of salinity examples out in the field. There was one picture of a field that had a wavy furrow character. Farmers had learned to plant in the burrow of the “wave” rather than the top of the “wave” because the salts were precipitating at the top of the “waves.”
Soil salts can conduct electricity more.
Gypsum can remedy increased/high salt in certain conditions

SOURCES OF SALT
* From the soil itself – Rain water can leach out salts
*Irrigation water – TEST YOUR WATER! Some ground waters are salinic.
* Fertilizers/chemicals – adequate soil test can mitigate this problem
* Compost or animal waste
Someone asked about leaves here, he said, “they’re good. No problem.”

TABLE OF ORGANIC SOURCES OF NUTRIENTS
This is a table describing the amounts of nutrients by percentage as if you were buying them from a package source. And in fact, you CAN buy them from a package source!
[I’m unable to duplicate this here, but here is the description, as best as I can manage:]
Headings: Left column heading: “Source” then “Total N%” then “Total P2O5%” then “Total K2O%”
First Row source data, followed by the percent data:
Cow poo: 1/1/2.5
Chick poo: 3/3/2.5
Alfalfa meal 2.5/.5/2
Blood meal 12/0/0
Fish meal 9/6/0
Bone meal 0/10/0
Wood ash 0/0/5

He cautions to definitely use compost, but even that, do not over apply. He says put your kitchen scraps into compost containers. Empty into the garden. [He seems to advocate the use of manure and compost components before they are completely rotted, but in “not over-applied” amounts. ]

One way to save your compost for rotting, is to take chicken wire, make a simple staked cage, put your scraps/cuttings/etc into it, and mix that with soil…. Or you can buy your compost! It can be purchased from composting facilities. Some municipalities actually have those, so you need to check for availability of that source.

Someone asked about adding enzymes to the compost pile.
He said some people inoculate with bacteria, and also worms, but was not familiar with an enzyme kind of treatment with respect to compost.

Discussion of leaves: Person asked, can you have too many leaves in your soil? No. But it is best to shred them. You can use them very well as mulch or in your compost pile.

Someone asked about the IRRIGATION WATER TEST
He pointed out that ponds and well waters should be tested. Check with your county ag agent. In order to properly obtain a sample, your agent may be able to provide a vessel. If not, here is how you will obtain the sample:

USE A CLEAN CONTAINER!!!
A drinking water bottle rinsed well with the test water several times is good.
The profile you want from your irrigation water is:
*low in total solution salts
*low in sodium
*low in chloride

Someone asked about the use of water softeners: Can you use that on your garden? NO! THERE ARE TOO MANY SALTS! It is best to use the softened water for drinking and not gardening. However, if you put your softened water through a reverse osmosis membrane to remove those salts, you can use it on your garden or plants.

Someone asked about the use of rain barrels, and harvesting rain. Our county agent stepped in and said we would be discussing that in a later session. The Botanic Garden does have an example of rain harvesting, so in general, it is a practice looked on favorably.

FUNGAL STRUCTURES [SHOUT OUT TO JRANDOMFREEPER!]
Someone [Guess who!] asked about the issue of how there are reports plants rely on the various fungal structures, and that it is not a good practice to till the soil. His reply:

The need is to manage the previous factors, such as the pH, nutrients, etc as covered by the soil test. He affirmed that overtilling is not recommended, but you DO need to till! Track your soil pH and that will keep your soil microbes happy. Those structures of concern WILL grow back, and be sure to add the nutrients and organic matter that build up your soil. Again, be sure to test and follow your plan for soil nutrient build up. He noted that it is very difficult if not impossible to directly manage the soil microbe profile, except by monitoring the pH, organic matter, etc.

If you balance the bacteria, then they can keep the adverse fungi and “bad” microbes in check. All of this will help keep your plants happy.

Someone [Texokie!] asked about the use of store-bought soil test kits. Our county agent stepped in and reported that there had been extensive testing at OSU to rate the ones available in the market. He said the general consensus is that most of them are very difficult to use and even more difficult to understand how to interpret what results are being given. They are not well calibrated. Results are often inconsistent, and “all over the place.” He said he had tried them also himself and found them hard to use and even more difficult to interpret. HOWEVER, that being said, if you do not have access to your county agent and a soil test for some reason, the kit is better than nothing…. But not much! LOL!

SUMMARY
* Soil properties are important for plant growth: pH, chemical, organic matter
*16 nutrients – N, Ph, K are the most important
* Soil in Oklahoma tends to be slightly acidic
*Soil testing is important for successful turf, garden, nursery, environments, and helps with the issues of money, nutrient application, etc
* A representative sample is needed to ensure reliable test results
*Balanced fertilizing program BASED ON A SOIL TEST is critical
*Misused fertilizers impact our environment (algal blooms in water bodies, etc.)