On Fri, 6 Mar 2009 07:49:18 -0600, "The moderator"
wrote:


"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...
The moderator wrote:

I bought an electronic soil tester. It was measuring my PH at about
7.3. Maybe it was too cool to get a good reading, but I thought my
soil was more Alkali than the report showed.

Cheap probe testers (maybe yours was not cheap) are not very accurate, the
dye indicator pH kits are more reliable, easier and cheaper for home use.
Why did you think your soil was more alkaline?

David

My electronic PH meter measured 7.3. The County extension office measured
6.4.



Did you test the from the same sample given to the County extension
office? Keep in mind there are pockets of soil with varying pH. Over
a 1 acre area I take 8 samples per year, all results are slightly
different but all taken 4-5 inches under the soil surface. If the
test results of one sample is way off, I tend to discard it and take
another sample. There is some risk of contamination during the sample
collection and possibly during the quantitative analysis.

I use about 500 to 700 pounds of lime over an acre of lawn and have
been doing this for many years. Finally, some samples are showing a
pH of 6.7 but none have shown alkaline.

I used to use test strips, but now use an electronic device
specifically made for soil testing. Not as accurate as a lab, but
more convenient and less expense.

Would you add composted cow manure the first year of a small tomato patch
and maybe some squash and peppers?

Gloria
"Compostman" wrote in message
...

"Billy" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Bill R wrote:

brooklyn1 wrote:

That's a very small bag of peat moss, I'd not concern myself. I think
you
should plant your first crops without adding any fertilizer, that way
you'll
know the results, it may well be that you don't need to ever add
fertilizer... if it ain't broke don't fix it.



I totally disagree with you about not adding any fertilizer. ALL crops
require a lot of food and even if your soil is very good the proper
amount of fertilizer (as recommended after a soil test) is HIGHLY
recommended. Yes, the OP could get by without adding any but my bet is
that he would not get anywhere near the crop that he will get by using
it.

Just as long as everybody knows that chemical fertilizers are salts and
that they kill soil (an incredibly stupid thing to do).

There is a financial incentive for lobbyists and public relation types
to get you to buy chemical fertilizers and insecticides which kill
ecosystems. There is no money in composting and crop rotation which grow
top soil. Are you smart, stupid, or apathetic?
--

Billy
Democrat and Republican Leaders Behind Bars
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7843430.stm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTf...ef=patrick.net

I never add fertrilizer to my plot in a community garden and other
gardeners admire my results. I only add compost, which is not legally
fertilizer.

In article ,
Bill wrote:

In article ,
"The moderator" wrote:

"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...
The moderator wrote:

I bought an electronic soil tester. It was measuring my PH at about
7.3. Maybe it was too cool to get a good reading, but I thought my
soil was more Alkali than the report showed.

Cheap probe testers (maybe yours was not cheap) are not very accurate,
the
dye indicator pH kits are more reliable, easier and cheaper for home use.
Why did you think your soil was more alkaline?

David

My electronic PH meter measured 7.3. The County extension office measured
6.4.

Are there buffered soil standards ? If so get three PH 3,7 and 10 .

Bill

Why not just adjust D.I. water with NaOH or H2SO4 to pH 7 and drop in
your sample?
--

Billy
There are no lobbyists for cover crops and crop rotation. Why?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7843430.stm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTf...ef=patrick.net

In article ,
Bill R wrote:

Billy wrote:

Just as long as everybody knows that chemical fertilizers are salts and
that they kill soil (an incredibly stupid thing to do).

There is a financial incentive for lobbyists and public relation types
to get you to buy chemical fertilizers and insecticides which kill
ecosystems. There is no money in composting and crop rotation which grow
top soil. Are you smart, stupid, or apathetic?

And the environmental wacko comes out of the woodwork! If it was up to
you people a lot of the world would starve to death.

I advise you to to do a little research and you will see who wrong you
are.

Please sir, give this ignorant peasant a cite (if you can), where I can
learn this wondrous news.
--

Billy
There are no lobbyists for cover crops and crop rotation. Why?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7843430.stm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTf...ef=patrick.net

In article ,
"Compostman" wrote:

"Billy" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Bill R wrote:

brooklyn1 wrote:

That's a very small bag of peat moss, I'd not concern myself. I think
you
should plant your first crops without adding any fertilizer, that way
you'll
know the results, it may well be that you don't need to ever add
fertilizer... if it ain't broke don't fix it.



I totally disagree with you about not adding any fertilizer. ALL crops
require a lot of food and even if your soil is very good the proper
amount of fertilizer (as recommended after a soil test) is HIGHLY
recommended. Yes, the OP could get by without adding any but my bet is
that he would not get anywhere near the crop that he will get by using
it.

Just as long as everybody knows that chemical fertilizers are salts and
that they kill soil (an incredibly stupid thing to do).

There is a financial incentive for lobbyists and public relation types
to get you to buy chemical fertilizers and insecticides which kill
ecosystems. There is no money in composting and crop rotation which grow
top soil. Are you smart, stupid, or apathetic?
--

Billy
Democrat and Republican Leaders Behind Bars
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7843430.stm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTf...ef=patrick.net

I never add fertrilizer to my plot in a community garden and other gardeners
admire my results. I only add compost, which is not legally fertilizer.

At some point you will be obliged to add nitrogen to your soil, if you
grow heavy consumers like tomatoes or corn, ect. Manure is the
traditional choice, and a good one. I've been experimenting with legumes
and rye. Legumes because they fix nitrogen in the soil (yes, I know that
it is really bacteria), and rye because it puts so much organic material
IN the soil.

Top soil is reduced by using chemical fertilizers, REGARDLESS of what
Bill R. thinks (I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt here.).
Chemferts work best with top soil but as the topsoil disappears, more
and more chemferts must be added to maintain crop production. In the
meantime, the chemferts flow with rain water into aquifers to poison the
water (children are the most susceptible) or follow the water sheds to
the sea where they create enormous blooms of algae that then die and
decay, sucking up nearly all the oxygen from the water and create
enormous dead zones. Don't tell Bill R. though. I want to surprise him
;O)
--

Billy
There are no lobbyists for cover crops and crop rotation. Why?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7843430.stm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTf...ef=patrick.net