Who knew soil could be too rich?

[catjac1975]

I do not know if too rich is the right way to put it. I had my soil tested for the first time in many years., We have composted and used horse and chicken manure for 40 years or more. I have not soil tested because when I last did it I was offered chemical fertilizer advice based on usage per acre. No help for the small organic farmer. This time I was able to ask for results based on per 100 square feet. A much more usable manor for how my gardens are set up. And the advice uses organic products as amendments. What I never knew is that New England soil has an abundance of natural micro nutrients and rarely needs adjustment for that. I always figured that manures would leach out quickly. All of my gardens tested at ABOVE optimal range for nearly all things tested. Only one old bed, that I am completely revamping and resting for the season, needed potassium only. And one other bed need a small amount of lime and nitrogen.I guess I need an agronomist to figure this out. All of my gardens have always performed well, especially my vegetable garden. So a little bit of this and a little bit of that will be my needs this season.

 

[Alasgun]

@catjac1975, congratulations for sticking with “Organic” all these years.
hopefully you’ll get to see how it turns out in ANOTHER 40 years!

 

[Dirtmechanic]

I read some white papers from authors who tested the percentage of organic matter and found that above 30 percent the plants began to roll back. I guess it backs up the "too much of a good thing" or "everything is toxic at a certain quantity" pithy sayings.

 

[heirloomgal]

What a blessing to have naturally mineralized and fertile soil!

 

[catjac1975]

Always the funniest sight of the spring. My husband

tilling the garden and the chickens gleefully following to find the juicy larvae that he disturbs.

 

[flowerbug]

fresh eats!

 

[flowerbug]

I do not know if too rich is the right way to put it. I had my soil tested for the first time in many years., We have composted and used horse and chicken manure for 40 years or more. I have not soil tested because when I last did it I was offered chemical fertilizer advice based on usage per acre. No help for the small organic farmer. This time I was able to ask for results based on per 100 square feet. A much more usable manor for how my gardens are set up. And the advice uses organic products as amendments. What I never knew is that New England soil has an abundance of natural micro nutrients and rarely needs adjustment for that. I always figured that manures would leach out quickly. All of my gardens tested at ABOVE optimal range for nearly all things tested. Only one old bed, that I am completely revamping and resting for the season, needed potassium only. And one other bed need a small amount of lime and nitrogen.I guess I need an agronomist to figure this out. All of my gardens have always performed well, especially my vegetable garden. So a little bit of this and a little bit of that will be my needs this season.

once you get above a certain level of organic matter in the soil then the soil community is going to be dominated by fungi, which is ok for some woodland and perennial species but is generally not appreciated by the annual garden veggies. not that this is a hard and fast rule to follow but it's in the ballpark. of the things i grow some plants that don't mind a lot of organic material are the strawberries and the squash.

 

[catjac1975]

once you get above a certain level of organic matter in the soil then the soil community is going to be dominated by fungi, which is ok for some woodland and perennial species but is generally not appreciated by the annual garden veggies. not that this is a hard and fast rule to follow but it's in the ballpark. of the things i grow some plants that don't mind a lot of organic material are the strawberries and the squash.

Fungi? As in mushroom? Never have seen that in my garden.

 

[meadow]

What I never knew is that New England soil has an abundance of natural micro nutrients and rarely needs adjustment for that.

Wow! How lucky is that!? Maybe that is what's known as "pay dirt."

Congratulations!

 

[Dirtmechanic]

once you get above a certain level of organic matter in the soil then the soil community is going to be dominated by fungi, which is ok for some woodland and perennial species but is generally not appreciated by the annual garden veggies. not that this is a hard and fast rule to follow but it's in the ballpark. of the things i grow some plants that don't mind a lot of organic material are the strawberries and the squash.

I was reading about the fungal vs bacterial compost tea ideas and came away with the distinct impression that higher protien contents translate to higher fungal levels where higher C (sugar) translates to higher bacterial levels the teas an thus in soil.