Organic Gardening and Soil Tests - Page 2

Lindalana · August 20, 2019

Lubadub, there are more soil tests that will test what you have in soil and what is actually avail now. Those tests cost a bit more though.

lubadub · August 21, 2019

You are right. There are lots of other tests available but they are, as you stated, expensive and difficult to interpret. I think I have a better understanding of how to go forward and will make some changes in how I go about everything next year. Thanks again to all who responded to my post.

PureHarvest · August 22, 2019

A test will still help regardless of organic methods or not.
I think the mental block comes from the terminology we use.
We hear the word "chemical" and think, whoa, that's bad or what I'm trying to avoid.
However, chemicals don't have to mean synthetics. Look to organic (ha, ironic) chemistry.
Every compound has a chemical formula. On a simple level, Rock salt is NaCl. Sodium chloride, or NaCl is the "chemical" name for it.
Does that make salt bad across the board? Of course not.
Point being, that your soil is a blend of chemical, biological, and physical components.
Your soil test will help guide you in deciding if the chemistry is off. Your test will show what the cation (nutrients with a positive charge) levels are and their ratio to eachother (will require some education to understand if your cations are out of whack), and your TEC or CEC (Total or Cation exchange capacity). TEC basically tells you how big of a sponge is in your soil. A big sponge has more surface area to interact with everything to exchange or hold nutrients. It also would mean you need more nutrients to fill the sponge. The test will tell you if your are severely lacking or excessive in any element. it will take a little experience, research to find out the best way to supply what is missing or mitigate the excess. Note: there is new thinking that says soil life, when abundant and present and diverse, can supply whatever the plant needs, regardless of what the tests say.
Your eyes and intuition will tell you about the physical: How hard is it to dig? Standing water? Hard to wet? Doesn't hold any moisture? Bad smell? No soil aggregation around roots (soil agg. looks like worm castings or brown cottage cheese around root zone.)
Biological is a little trickier, as nobody really has it nailed down even close. Nor may we ever. It is beyond complex. I think soil is the final frontier. There are so many things interacting at once on so many order of magnitude and species.
The simple answer is to create an environment that fosters "biology" to do what it already knows how to do with interaction from our plant's roots.
This means:
No tillage/disturbance which injects O2 into your soil and pushes microbial activity to burn up resources/organic matter. Also ruins soil structure (which is needed to create the environment to support diverse populations of "stuff".
Always covered soil/armour your soil (mulches, living plants, physical cover). Sun, wind, and rain ravage bare soil and create problems over time.
Green all year. Have live plants with roots 365 days/year: grow multi-species cover crops, some that can survive winter. Roots feed and support microbes/"biology". If you can, have a section of garden that stays in temporary cover for a season or two and rotate into that. Plant multi-species cover on the spot you rotated out of.
Watch Carbonomics by Keith Burns. It will explain the relationship between plants, roots, and microbes.
Diversity, see above.
Avoid "synthetics" whenever possible. I don't care what the experts say, they mess with the system balance. Technically everything does, even stuff considered "organic". Chemicals, especially the 'cides, are just really really good at it.
Lastly, keep asking questions and reading/watching.

lubadub · August 23, 2019

I think your post is pretty much all inclusive and I thank you for it. You clearly have given the topic a lot of thought and have spent time reading and modifying your growing habits to include what you have learned from reading and growing. I will try to live up to it as best I can. This season for me is almost over and soil care for next season is about to begin after the garden is cleared of what is now growing there. Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts.

August 21, 2019	#17
lubadub Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: PA Posts: 169	You are right. There are lots of other tests available but they are, as you stated, expensive and difficult to interpret. I think I have a better understanding of how to go forward and will make some changes in how I go about everything next year. Thanks again to all who responded to my post. __________________ Bigger is Better!

August 23, 2019	#19
lubadub Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: PA Posts: 169	I think your post is pretty much all inclusive and I thank you for it. You clearly have given the topic a lot of thought and have spent time reading and modifying your growing habits to include what you have learned from reading and growing. I will try to live up to it as best I can. This season for me is almost over and soil care for next season is about to begin after the garden is cleared of what is now growing there. Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts. __________________ Bigger is Better!

August 20, 2019	#16
Lindalana Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Chicago IL Posts: 857	Lubadub, there are more soil tests that will test what you have in soil and what is actually avail now. Those tests cost a bit more though.

August 22, 2019	#18
PureHarvest Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Mid-Atlantic right on the line of Zone 7a and 7b Posts: 1,369	A test will still help regardless of organic methods or not. I think the mental block comes from the terminology we use. We hear the word "chemical" and think, whoa, that's bad or what I'm trying to avoid. However, chemicals don't have to mean synthetics. Look to organic (ha, ironic) chemistry. Every compound has a chemical formula. On a simple level, Rock salt is NaCl. Sodium chloride, or NaCl is the "chemical" name for it. Does that make salt bad across the board? Of course not. Point being, that your soil is a blend of chemical, biological, and physical components. Your soil test will help guide you in deciding if the chemistry is off. Your test will show what the cation (nutrients with a positive charge) levels are and their ratio to eachother (will require some education to understand if your cations are out of whack), and your TEC or CEC (Total or Cation exchange capacity). TEC basically tells you how big of a sponge is in your soil. A big sponge has more surface area to interact with everything to exchange or hold nutrients. It also would mean you need more nutrients to fill the sponge. The test will tell you if your are severely lacking or excessive in any element. it will take a little experience, research to find out the best way to supply what is missing or mitigate the excess. Note: there is new thinking that says soil life, when abundant and present and diverse, can supply whatever the plant needs, regardless of what the tests say. Your eyes and intuition will tell you about the physical: How hard is it to dig? Standing water? Hard to wet? Doesn't hold any moisture? Bad smell? No soil aggregation around roots (soil agg. looks like worm castings or brown cottage cheese around root zone.) Biological is a little trickier, as nobody really has it nailed down even close. Nor may we ever. It is beyond complex. I think soil is the final frontier. There are so many things interacting at once on so many order of magnitude and species. The simple answer is to create an environment that fosters "biology" to do what it already knows how to do with interaction from our plant's roots. This means: No tillage/disturbance which injects O2 into your soil and pushes microbial activity to burn up resources/organic matter. Also ruins soil structure (which is needed to create the environment to support diverse populations of "stuff". Always covered soil/armour your soil (mulches, living plants, physical cover). Sun, wind, and rain ravage bare soil and create problems over time. Green all year. Have live plants with roots 365 days/year: grow multi-species cover crops, some that can survive winter. Roots feed and support microbes/"biology". If you can, have a section of garden that stays in temporary cover for a season or two and rotate into that. Plant multi-species cover on the spot you rotated out of. Watch Carbonomics by Keith Burns. It will explain the relationship between plants, roots, and microbes. Diversity, see above. Avoid "synthetics" whenever possible. I don't care what the experts say, they mess with the system balance. Technically everything does, even stuff considered "organic". Chemicals, especially the 'cides, are just really really good at it. Lastly, keep asking questions and reading/watching.