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Picture of Little Minnie
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Getting down to the nitty gritty- besides 15 truckloads of compost and a couple of manure between now and spring, my own brewing batch, lots of pine needles and leaves, what else should I do to improve my statistics?


No longer a market virgin; looking forward to year two of being a professional grower.
 
Posts: 1033 | Location: Central Minnesota, zone 4 | Registered: July 27, 2008Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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Rock phosphate, green sand.


Paul
 
Posts: 124 | Location: A Little Bit South Of Sane - Poconos, Pa Zone 5b | Registered: October 07, 2005Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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Green sand? Are you serious? Minnie is an independent market grower with an obviously large plat. Do you have any idea how much green sand she'd need? Not to mention the cost? Get real!
 
Posts: 1841 | Location: Culpeper, VA - Zone 6/7 | Registered: June 18, 2008Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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Excuse me? Greensand is an excellent product. Well worth the buck$.


Paul
 
Posts: 124 | Location: A Little Bit South Of Sane - Poconos, Pa Zone 5b | Registered: October 07, 2005Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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Whether of not Greensand or Rock Phosphate are needed will depend on what the soil test has to say. Spending money on nutrients that are not needed is not a cost effective way to garden.
Since Minnies soil test says the Phosphorus (P) is very high buying and applying Rock Phosphate would be not only unnecessary but could could cause even more problems with the plants and since she really does not need more Potash (K) that too would be a large waste of money, especially since excess levels of Potash in the soil can inhibit a plants ability to uptake and use Nitrogen.
I would concentrate on that organic matter and not be concerned about other soil amendments.


The sign of a good gardener is not a green thumb, it is brown knees.
 
Posts: 2958 | Location: Central Michigan along the Lakeshore | Registered: August 28, 2004Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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Kimm thank you for explaining why Greensand and Rock Phosphate wasn't needed rather than just giving me a "are you serious" comment. Please note I haven't been following this thread closely and if I had, I wouldn't have made my specific suggestion.

I just don't want folks to think a garden can live on just compost IF other nutrients are required. IMO if needed Rock Phosphate and Greensand are great items for the garden and are cost effective.


Paul
 
Posts: 124 | Location: A Little Bit South Of Sane - Poconos, Pa Zone 5b | Registered: October 07, 2005Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
Picture of Little Minnie
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Kimm is right- I don't need any phosphorous!

Kimm why don't I need potash exactly?

Has anyone gotten Irish Eyes organic seed catalog? It seems awesome. There are some great, reasonably priced soil amendments in there.
Kelp meal is 1n 0.1 P and 2 K, with trace minerals. It says it acts as a funigicide and improves water retention (I have sand).
Pelleted sulphur-irish eyes
to raise ph.

I know myself and will think more about problems and their reasons *since* I got the soil test. I will just try to compost every time I start worrying!


No longer a market virgin; looking forward to year two of being a professional grower.
 
Posts: 1033 | Location: Central Minnesota, zone 4 | Registered: July 27, 2008Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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Your soil test indicates that you have ample quantities of Potash so you need not add more from specific sources. The compost and organic matter you are adding will have some K in it, but since excess K can interfere with N uptake you do not want to add any Potash that would unbalance your soil.


The sign of a good gardener is not a green thumb, it is brown knees.
 
Posts: 2958 | Location: Central Michigan along the Lakeshore | Registered: August 28, 2004Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
Picture of Little Minnie
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LOL. Now I see why you are saying I don't need potassium. I looked back at my soil tests. Although the 1. area was 144 medium and the 2. area was 170 high they recommended a 10 0 10 fertlizer and a 20 0 10 fertilizer respectively. So that was in my head for some reason and I had forgotten about the actual amounts. Sorry. Thanks for refreshing me!

I think I'll make some treats for the city compost facility guys so they will keep dumping compost for me! Wink I've gotten 4 loads this fall and will get 2 more on Tuesday. I have noticed it is better quality in fall than spring, because in spring it is all just chopped leaves and in fall it is a better mix (having been made in summer). I also have more than enough homemade finished to sift for seed starting. So far I have sifted 2 buckets. I can't wait to use compost for seed starting as I have never saved it in fall to use through winter.


No longer a market virgin; looking forward to year two of being a professional grower.
 
Posts: 1033 | Location: Central Minnesota, zone 4 | Registered: July 27, 2008Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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minnie, I've been following your post on your soil samples and one thing that hasn't been pointed out here is the fact that there is a difference between "nutrient levels" and levels of "available nutrients", that is nutrients that a plant can actually use. The three main plant nutrients (N-P-K) can all be tied up in the soil structure to different degrees so that they become unusable to plants. You mentioned you had areas of high K levels and also some high P levels. These nutrients in those paticular areas may be to a degree unavailable. Also remmber that P&K will not move through the soil like nitrogen will. P&K stay where it is applied. So this could mean that the heavy spots just received more, sometime in the past.Uping the organic material in the soil will create more bio activity and should help free up any unavailable nutients.
 
Posts: 27 | Registered: March 09, 2008Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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As kel-og states nutrients can be tied up, or not be available to plants, because of imbalances. Soil pH can keep plants from uptaking necessary nutrients and excess P can keep plants from uptaking Zinc, Iron, and Cobalt, while excess K can prevent the proper use of N. Too much Calcium can keep Magnesium form being used and too much Magnesium can keep Calcium form being properly used. too much Zinc interferes with the proper use of Iron and Magnesium as does excess Copper.
Old school thought was that Phosphorus was pretty stable in the soil and stayed, but in the last 15 years we have learned that is not true and excess levels of P will be washed out of the soil into the ground water as well as the streams and lakes, just as excess Nitrogen is. That may be true of Potash as well but this far no one has found (to my knowledge) K in the ground water. Ground water is what you drink, by the way.
There is a lot of research that dows show that adequate levels of organic matter in the soil can slow the movement of nutrients out of that soil.


The sign of a good gardener is not a green thumb, it is brown knees.
 
Posts: 2958 | Location: Central Michigan along the Lakeshore | Registered: August 28, 2004Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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