2014 Professional Soil Test Results...YIKES

[SummerSky]

Those results are very similar to the one I had last year, which was the first time I thought to have the soil tested (big duh moment for me, since my dad has his crop fields tested every year). After amending the soil to lower the pH and increase the nitrogen, it was much more productive than in previous years.

But yeah, blueberries die screaming in my garden.

[oldasrocks]

I must be the biggest idiot here. I put foot of old aged manure on my garden THEN did the soil tests.

Nitrogen 1360 lbs/a,phosphorus 532 lb/a, sulfur 318 lbs/a, calcium 4238 lbs/a, magnesium 2544lbs/a, potassium, 11,922 lbs/a PH 8.4

I've amended the PH to 6.8 with aluminum sulfate

Think I'm a little high in other areas?

[zeroma]

Thanks all of you for making this thread interesting and funny...'crying over worms". But I get that!!!!

LOL

[Vicmeister]

Oh no worries, I'm going to put up a memorial stone "Site of the 2013 Great Worm Massacre"

Old As Rocks...you should start a new thread. Most people have read through this one so they won't know there's another person who posted results. That way you can grab more people to help

I did pick up pine bark fines & steer manure, plus some peat moss for the blueberries.

[oldasrocks]

[QUOTE=Vicmeister;408242]Oh no worries, I'm going to put up a memorial stone "Site of the 2013 Great Worm Massacre"

Old As Rocks...you should start a new thread. Most people have read through this one so they won't know there's another person who posted results. That way you can grab more people to help
I do have another thread "is my soil too hot" Just asking everywhere for advice.

[lostriver21]

Bookmark for home

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by Vicmeister

You know what completely TANKED last year??? CARROTS. Carrots did NOT like the soil at all. Luckily I'm allergic to carrots so I only planted them to help out the tomatoes, which I'll do again this year but they are not happy critters.

I am glad this thread got bumped. I forget where, sorry, but I do remember reading somewhere that carrots are obligate mycorrhizal hosts. That means it is possible they are a clue as to what happened in your soil. Possibly too much nutrient load "burned" and killed off the mycorrhizal fungi, which possibly caused a cascading radical shift in the soil biosphere. The change in the microbiology as the base for the entire soil food web could be the reason for the mass slaughter of worms, as they are near the top of that particular food chain. So the carrots not doing well, if it was because the Mycorrhizal fungi in the soil died off, could be a clue. It's a bit late to test this hypothesis, however, one thing you could do next year is inoculate with this:

Mycogrow

Probably only need to do that one year though.

[drew51]

Is it possible to give light doses of synthetics and not kill the fungi? I would like to go as much organic as possible, but in some cases like peaches, one must use fungicide to control the brown rot. Many people I have talked to have tried organically and have not has success. Part of it is the area, like in CA brown rot is not a problem. But in the South, Northeast, and Midwest it is a major problem with peaches and other stone fruit. No organic solution has worked very well. I refuse to stop growing them. We need some effective organic fungicides. Hopefully in the future we will find a way.

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by drew51

Is it possible to give light doses of synthetics and not kill the fungi? I would like to go as much organic as possible, but in some cases like peaches, one must use fungicide to control the brown rot. Many people I have talked to have tried organically and have not has success. Part of it is the area, like in CA brown rot is not a problem. But in the South, Northeast, and Midwest it is a major problem with peaches and other stone fruit. No organic solution has worked very well. I refuse to stop growing them. We need some effective organic fungicides. Hopefully in the future we will find a way.

I don't grow peaches. Sorry I can't give first hand knowledge. However, I have found a guy very knowledgeable on the subject.

Successful Biological Orcharding

Hope that helps.

[JamesL]

Drew,
Have you tried either Serenade or Actinovate? Both play nice with mycos.
My father grows a few peach trees and he says calcium spraying does help.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science...61219406000676

[Hermitian]

Originally Posted by Vicmeister

... I received the results from my soil test today ...

With a bit of Magnesium supplement it looks great for growing fruit.

[drew51]

Most of the products mentioned don't handle brown rot. Sure I can use the products, as a number of fungi like peaches. I have used actinovate. It's just the synthetic stuff works and works well on brown rot, and just about everything else. Though I would settle for even a 50% yield. Monterey Fungi Fighter gives me about 98% fungus free fruit. Even my organic friends have given up and use it. Year after year of no fruit, they had enough and are now happy. Best example is Scott on gardenweb. he grew peaches for 12 years organically before he switched. It is a major problem for now. Scott grows everything organically, except peaches and some plums. We do use organic fertilizers and such. I still have some chemical fertilizers, and will use them for now, but soon will try and eliminate them. See how it goes.

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by drew51

Most of the products mentioned don't handle brown rot. Sure I can use the products, as a number of fungi like peaches. I have used actinovate. It's just the synthetic stuff works and works well on brown rot, and just about everything else. Though I would settle for even a 50% yield. Monterey Fungi Fighter gives me about 98% fungus free fruit. Even my organic friends have given up and use it. Year after year of no fruit, they had enough and are now happy. Best example is Scott on gardenweb. he grew peaches for 12 years organically before he switched. It is a major problem for now. Scott grows everything organically, except peaches and some plums. We do use organic fertilizers and such. I still have some chemical fertilizers, and will use them for now, but soon will try and eliminate them. See how it goes.

I would tend to agree with you. The knowledge required to grow an organic fruit tree is significant higher than the knowledge required to grow them with various pesticides.

But there are people doing it successfully. Not many, but a few. I truely do wish I could help you better. But honestly I haven't grown organic fruit trees in 30+ years. So my knowledge is not even close to up to date with all the new diseases and insects that now plague us.

All I can say is this in general terms....the increased pest load is a symptom of a larger ecological deterioration of the whole country. I wish you luck. I truly do. If that means you are forced to sparingly use some pesticides until you learn ways to avoid it? That's OK too. Organic should never become a dogmatic religion, it instead should be a guiding principle. You use it when you can, and if you can't, that's ok.

[Hermitian]

Calcium, Copper, and Zinc chelates in lignosulfates are organically certified under the USDA NOP. As foliar sprays (and Cu soil drench) these are the major line of defense against pathogens in commercial organic fruit production.

[drew51]

Originally Posted by Hermitian

Calcium, Copper, and Zinc chelates in lignosulfates are organically certified under the USDA NOP. As foliar sprays (and Cu soil drench) these are the major line of defense against pathogens in commercial organic fruit production.

And I use them, but brown rot is much like the Honey Badger, it doesn't care!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r7wHMg5Yjg
'