Based on recommendations from my friends here, I have had my soil analyzed. Now, can someone help me make sense out of the gobbledy-gook they told me? Of the three samples I sent (lawn, veggie garden, azaleas), the pH was, respectively, 7.1, 7.3, and 7.0. So I need to lower the pH in all three, especially the azaleas. They also said that all three samples had a very high concentration of sulfur (135 ppm in the azaleas) and calcium (7298 to 9546), but did not offer a solution. I also seem to have a high phosphorus (160 in the azaleas to 288 in the lawn) and they suggested cutting back on the fertilizer (I confess, until recently I was using the commercial stuff). Nitrogen was low in all (from 18 to 7).

Potassium was high too, yet they recommended Muriate of Potash or sulfate of Potash Magnesia (even though the sulfur level is high).

Any help at all as to how to straighten out this mess would be appreciated. I am trying to get my compost going and make compost tea, but I think I may need to take some other action to get things closer to balance.

I don't really believe in soil analysis, and I've never had mine tested. I believe that if you follow good gardening practices everything will take care of itself. Just stop using "the commercial stuff" and use composts, mulches, and cover crops to get as much organic matter into your soil as possible. This will take care of the majority of your fertility needs and bring the soil to a neutral pH (7 is neutral so you're already close). All those high readings are probably the result of using the commercial fertilizers.
The azaleas you'll have to treat differently. I thought that people added sulfur to bring down the pH, but it doesn't seem to be working in your case. You can mulch with pine or spruce needles if you can get them. I use cottonseed meal to fertilize which is supposedly good for acid-lovers.
Most importantly, look at your plants. How did they do this season? Good luck--I hope you have a great garden next year.

Sounds like you had a comprehensive analysis done. I've only ever tested my soil using store bought tests, and those only test the major 3 components, Nitrogen, phosphorous and potash, plus the ph level. My ph is ALWAYS above 8, closer to 9, so your ph is perfect!!! Don't bother trying to change it. As for your other nutrients, just add more mulch and perhaps some steer manure. YOur high readings may be the result of quick release, chem style fertilizers. The real test of soil fertility is in the slow release of needed nutrients. If you are visiting this "organic gardening" site, does that mean you plan on using organic type fertilizers now?

To improve soil using NO chemical, quick release type fertilizers, the key is to use a lot of mulch, and other "natural" things, ie. leaves, grass, manure, egg shells, bone meal, blood meal, things that came from living creatures and plants, and minerals that are mined, not man-made, to improve the soil. Sounds like your soil however, is pretty rich.

The question now is, does your soil have good texture? Is it very clayish, or sandy, or is it pretty nice? If nice, you really only need to mulch it, and it'll grow things nicely. If sandy, or clay like, the mulching of it will also help. Use leaves for mulching.

Hope this helps.

The reasons for doing the test were because my soil is very heavy (lots of clay), plants and veggies do grow well, but lack any blooms or fruit (flowers bloom poorly, vegetables grow well, but never produce). Also, my lawn (St. Augustinegrass) is dying (brown patch?) and refuses to spread (I have large areas where no grass will grow). When we go through a dry spell, the ground cakes and the top 1" of soil is hard and pulls up easily.

I felt that a soil analysis would help me determine what to do.

I am trying to go organic, but I tend to be impatient and look for "quick fixes". I have been spraying everything with compost tea about every two to three weeks. I have put down about 3" of compost on my veggies (did not mix in thouroughly because still have things growing). However, the lab reports show a 3.4% organic content. Is that good? What should it be? I assume that you can't hardly get too much organic material.

Since all the tests showed very low nitrogen levels, what is the best organic way to boost that?
Any help to keep me going with this would be appreciated.

A good organic way to add nitrogen is to grow a legume as a cover crop. These include peas, beans, and clovers. You can turn them under or slash them and leave them on the surface as a mulch. They add considerable nitrogen to your soil. To find out the best type for your area you might try calling your extension agent, or try to get the info from a local farmer or gardener.

We have heavy clay here too, and I've found that growing a cover crop and leaving the roots intact to rot, rather than tilling, really helps break up the soil.

Cover crops take a while, but there are also quick-fix organic methods. I hope someone else will chime in because I don't know much about fish emulsion, foliar sprays, etc, to give you good advice. And these will probably have more oomph than compost tea. (Don't tell Captain Compost I said that!)

I'd suggest you get ahold of any garden book written by Ruth Stout. She is the queen of "lazy" gardening and yet building up great soil - quickly. It's basically mulch, mulch, mulch. You could use her techniques this fall/winter and be ready with great soil for planting next spring. She also has lots of related ideas that work especially well for beginning gardeners, working on plots that have not been gardens before.

Thanks for all the info from everyone. I am heading out to the bookstore now. (Can't get out in the garden- there's 100% chance of rain for the next four days

A great handy source of nitrogen is in used coffee grounds or tea. I'm told that they're stronger by volume than cow manure and obviously more readily available and smell better too. They'll make your soil more friable as more accumulate, as will grass clippings. We have hard clay here in Indiana too. Just keep pouring on the clippings and leaves, etc. Eventually, you'll notice a difference. BTW, don't use coffee grounds on houseplants. Inside, it tends to draw teeny bugs. No problem out, though.

Might try a used bookstore. Ruth Stout is probably out of print.

Wow, there's a lot to comment on in this thread!

I agree 100% with worm-monger who doesn't believe in soil tests. Everything she said is what I would have said.

I disagree only slightly with mulchwoman. If this had been a comprehensive soil analysis, drichard58 would have found out how many bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes he/she had.

Then drichard58 wrote back with the real gist of the problem - looking for a fix for fungus disease and for an organic nitrogen source. Here's what you're looking for...corn meal.

Corn meal hosts the beneficial fungus called Trichoderma. Trichoderma eats fungus disease for lunch! Corn meal has been found by us organic gardeners (not all the universities - yet) to work against every soil-borne fungus disease it has been tried against. Texas A&M University (TAMU) has tried it on peanut fields and found that it worked as well as crop rotation against all the fungal diseases found in peanuts. You can apply corn meal at 10 pounds per 1,000 square feet and your fungus disease should be stopped dead in 10 days. Apply a very thin layer of compost to get the grass growing back again.

Now that we've solved the fungus problem, what about an organic nitrogen source? The answer to that is...corn meal. Yup, same thing! Corn meal provides protein which is a complex nitrogen compound. Once the protein has been digested by a few layers of the soil food chain (read about it at www.SoilFoodWeb.com), it will come out in the exact for needed by the plants. This process takes 3 full weeks at soil temps above 50 degrees F, so don't get impatient. If you can't find corn meal locally, try alfalfa, corn gluten meal, soy, barley, wheat, oats, sorghum, or coffee grounds. All will work at the same application rates.

For the person who suggested cow manure might be interchangable for coffee grounds, I say no. Manure in any form is not to be use directly on plants. Manure is an ingredient in compost and should be composted for many months to kill off the disease pathogens. Finished compost smells fresh when damp. If yours doesn't, then it is not finished. Coffee grounds, on the other hand, are ready to go directly onto your plants or yard as a nitrogen source under the conditions I mentioned above - 10 pounds of dry coffee grounds per 1,000 square feet.

Just a warning to do some research on the cover crop idea. Your County Extension Office would be very helpful. They are great for stopping erosion, however when I went to the farm store to get some seeds, he asked me why I wanted it. When I told him I wanted the added nitrigen, he told me that unless I allowed the legumes to mature, they wouldn't really help, because the nitrogen comes from some nodes that grow underground on the root system. I haven't had a chance to dig into this any more as yet, but thought I'd just let you know and see what you think.

BG