In article ,
(FarmerDill) wrote:


Thanks for the tips. I will look into getting a soil test kit this
fall and seeing if I need to add anything.


Watch out for the home soil tests kits. Many of them are VERY unreliable.
Virtually all state agricultural colleges laboratory testing through local ag
extention agents (county agents). Used to be free but many now charge a
nominal
fee

In Alaska, it's $20. I'll bet it's cheaper out there in the small states.
Oh, up here,
if we ask the state lab to email or mail the soil test results to our
extension agent
and to us, our agent will interpret the results for us and tell us what
our soil needs.
(He gets real specific, like, "apply 1 ton of 20-20-20-5 per acre" on our
hay meadows.)
I've never had my home garden soil tested. I know the pH. I just add
composted cow poop
by the truckload and things grow okay.

When we have hay or grain tested for protein, TDN's, etc., they'll do the
same thing
with our cow guy at CES. Our taxes pay for the Cooperative Extension
Service. It's
one of the few state or federal agencies that I can find no fault with.

NACSO sells good quality home soil test kits. They're online.

Jan

On Tue, 22 Jul 2003 05:29:39 -0500, (Pat
Kiewicz) wrote:



Choose the right varieties for your area and personal tastes, pump up the K
and the micronutrients to ensure good flavor and then hope it doesn't pour
down rain when the green tomatoes are putting on their growth and particularly
when they are ripening.

It just did. (Northern PA here.)

After a month of total dryness - which followed the ENTIRE
SPRING OF CONSTANT RAIN. Help, I'm lost in this sentence!
takes deep breath and starts over

Anyway: after NO rain in July, the heavens opened and we've
had serious storms during the last week (even some tornadoes
were spotted locally). And tons of rain, more on the way.

I think I give up on this entire season...

Pat

I'm having the exact same problem, and weather as Pat, tho I'm in West
Virginia. July has been terribly dry, and recently as she said the storms
have started. They had a tornado ALERT (as in actual tornado spotted) just
south of my where my mother lives. That scared the hell outta me since that
almost never happens here. I've been doing my best to keep my soil wet when
it stays dry too long. For awhile there I was watering daily. Now since the
storms started, they are sometimes drenching the ground, so I only water
after a few days of very hot weather (which we have had this week). This
week has been HOT, the day before yesterday it was 98, with heat index of
104. The hottest day so far this year. For awhile there we were starting to
think summer was over, since we had almost a straight week of low 80s and
nights as low as high 50s...


"Pat Meadows" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 22 Jul 2003 05:29:39 -0500, (Pat
Kiewicz) wrote:



Choose the right varieties for your area and personal tastes, pump up the
K
and the micronutrients to ensure good flavor and then hope it doesn't
pour
down rain when the green tomatoes are putting on their growth and
particularly
when they are ripening.

It just did. (Northern PA here.)

After a month of total dryness - which followed the ENTIRE
SPRING OF CONSTANT RAIN. Help, I'm lost in this sentence!
takes deep breath and starts over

Anyway: after NO rain in July, the heavens opened and we've
had serious storms during the last week (even some tornadoes
were spotted locally). And tons of rain, more on the way.

I think I give up on this entire season...

Pat