Soil Test Report

After 4 years of gardening, I finally got myself enough curiosity to find out how my soil is doing. It seemed that I had the first timer's luck on my first year that I harvested quite a bit of crop from the garden with my newly brought in top soil. I noticed as years pass on, it seemed that my plants did not produce as vigorously as they did the first year (well, i had the deer battle the other years too).

I am excited to actually know what is in my dirt. It took me sometime to comprehend what the report meant and how each component actually affects my vegetable gardening.

Below is the report that came back with my two soil samples. The three bars represented pH, Phosphorous (P), and Potassium (K). I was happy to know that both my samples are in the optimum range for pH.

Soil pH is a measurement of the alkalinity or acidity of the soil. The soil pH range is measured on a scale of 1 to 14, with 7 as the neutral mark — anything below 7 is considered acidic soil and anything above 7 is considered alkaline soil. The middle of the range on the soil pH scale is the best range for bacterial growth in the soil to promote decomposition. The decomposition process releases nutrients and minerals into the soil home of our plants, making them available for the plants or shrubs to use. Soil fertility depends on pH. The mid range is also perfect for micro-organisms that convert the nitrogen in the air into a form which the plants can readily use.

Phosphorous helps a plant convert other nutrients into usable building blocks with which to grow. It is the "P" in the NPK balance that is commonly found in fertilizers. If your plants are small and produce very little flowers, you may have Phosphorous deficiency. Plants cannot have too much Phosphorous as it is difficult for them to absorb, however they can be a pollutant when it runs off to water supply area. Looks like my soil is good amount of Phosphorous.

Potassium is important to plant growth and development. Potassium helps:

• Plants grow faster
• Use water better and be more drought resistant
• Fight off disease
• Resist pests
• Grow stronger
• Produce more crops

With all plants, potassium assists all functions within the plant. When a plant has enough potassium, it will simply be a better overall plant. The first report you see below labeled MBED (my Middle garden bed sample) is deficient in Potassium. I think this explains why I have tall tomato plants, but never produced at all.

To amend the possible combination of deficiencies, the report suggests the right right fertilizer. For example, my first report recommends NPK fertilizer 15-0-14. The second report suggests NPK fertilizer of 21-0-0.

By the way, the soil test does not measure the nitrogen level (N). Nitrogen fertilizer recommendations are based only on the needs of specific crop.  Nitrogen is the most important component in the soil. All plants require nitrogen for healthy growth and reproduction.

Other than the recommended NPK fertilizer, organic compost material should help bring your soil to an optimum level necessary to have a successful harvest in the end.

Here is link to NC Department of Agricultural and consumer services for more information on soil test services and reports. Soil test are provided for free at a certain time of year (maximum of 3 soil samples per person).