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Puzzling soil test result
On Feb 13, 9:29*pm, Jake Nospam@invalid wrote:
On 13 Feb 2012 19:32:04 GMT, JakeD wrote: Hi all, I just did a soil test on my newly created veggie beds. Here is the result: Alkalinity: pH 8.0 Nitrogen: sufficient to slightly surplus Potash: deficient ...and then there was the Phosphorous test which is the puzzling one! The liquid was supposed to turn blue, to a greater or lesser degree, but it didn't! It turned a very pale amber (the colour of the average lager or cider). What does this indicate? Extreme phosphorous deficiency?? The test kit is called a "Mini Soil Test Kit", containing four vials, each with a different clour cap, and two each of four different chemical (each in a capsule, which you pull in two and add content to the liquid in the vial). I followed the instructions to the letter. My soil is somewhat clayey and sandy and has had a fair bit of last years compost dug into it. What is the cheapest way to add potash and phosphorous (assuming I need it)? Thank you, Jake You've got a funny mix of soil there - clay and sand, soils are usually one or the other, unless the sand has been added maybe? Clay soil will usually be pH 7 or lower - tending toward the acid. Chalky soils are the alkaline ones, unless lime has been added maybe? Has builders' sand been dug in perhaps? This will tend to upset the pH balance, unlike horticultural sand. What was growing there before you created the veg patch? The results of your tests just don't seem right. Chemical soil test kits often have a use by date on them - does yours and it is past? I'd place a bet on the kit delivering faulty results. I'm not a believer in them, to be honest. Soil pH testing's one thing but as far as everything else is concerned, I play "by ear". Deficiencies of *various things will show in specific ways and you can react to them quite easily. Cheers, Jake ======================================= Urgling happily from the dryer end of Swansea Bay where the four seasons are salt,pepper,mustard and vinegar.- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - Builders "sand" is somtimes crushed limestone (ie from the quarry rather than the sea/gravel pit). Has a dramatic effect on ph obviously. If the grains of sand are all the one colour it's probably is just that. Dunno about the phosphorous. |
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