I am building my first vegetable garden. I took some soil to be tested and it was recommended that I put 8 pounds of 13-13-13 per 1000 sq ft.
My garden is only 160 square feet so I don't need very much. The Coop suggested a small bag of 6-7-7 and using twice as much (2.5 pounds). This makes sense, but thought I would check here for confirming advice.
A legitimate soil tester would have been concerned with PH values... there's no point in adding fertilizer before knowing your soil PH. I wouldn't add any fertilizer to a vegetable garden its first season anyway. It sounds like wherever you went they were just trying to sell you a supply of fertilizer, probably something you really don't need. You'd do better to buy your own little soil test kit so you can check the PH, a basic kit costs under $10. You can add some granular lime to lower acidity, add peat moss to raise acidity... don't add too much or you will find yourself seesawing. For fertilizing your size garden till/spade in like a half dozen 40lb bags of composted cow manure, after the first growing season. Think about composting... you'll never need to buy any additives.
What vegetables are you plan on growing? Quite frankly I don't understand why your coop suggests 6-7-7. Also, they need to learn that using twice as much is not (usually) as good a solution as using the right fertilizer to begin with. Actually it might be better to use the amount that you were told (8 lbs per 1000 sq ft) and use the 6-7-7 (if is is readily available; that seems like a strange mix) and put it on now and then again latter in the season.
I have an established garden and each spring I use about 1 pound of
9-12-12 per two hundred square feet at least a month before I plant anything. Once the garden is off and growing on the heavy feeding crops (like tomatoes) I feed them every couple of weeks using a liquid fertilizer. I like the Expert brand (sold by Wal*Mart). It is as good as the brand names and is much cheaper (but double what it was 5 years ago).
I had the testing performed by the County extension office.
The PH level is 6.4.
Nutrient P 16 (ppm) below optimum K 26 below optimum Ca 689 Mg 56 SO4-S 12 Zn 3.9 below optimum Fe 144 Mn 214 Cu 1.0
Estimated Base Saturation
Total 62.4 Ca 51.8 Mg 7.0 K 1.0 Na 2.6
I took the soil sample made right after I turned the sod. It took three weeks to get the results and since then I have added 2.2 cubic feet of compressed peat moss and two bags of manure humus mix. I am a little concerned with the PH being more acidic since I added the peat moss, but there was a lot of dirt compared to the thin layer of peat moss.
The 13-13-13 came in pretty big bags. I only needed 1 1/2 pounds of
13-13-13 so he recommended I buy a small bag of 6-7-7.I am growing a lot of stuff since this is my first garden. I am going to try and cram in the following.
Corn Zucchini Tomatoes Okra Peas Cantaloupe Potatoes
I bought an electronic soil tester. It was measuring my PH at about 7.3. Maybe it was too cool to get a good reading, but I thought my soil was more Alkali than the report showed.
That's a very small bag of peat moss, I'd not concern myself. I think you should plant your first crops without adding any fertilizer, that way you'll know the results, it may well be that you don't need to ever add fertilizer... if it ain't broke don't fix it.
I totally disagree with you about not adding any fertilizer. ALL crops require a lot of food and even if your soil is very good the proper amount of fertilizer (as recommended after a soil test) is HIGHLY recommended. Yes, the OP could get by without adding any but my bet is that he would not get anywhere near the crop that he will get by using it.
Cheap probe testers (maybe yours was not cheap) are not very accurate, the dye indicator pH kits are more reliable, easier and cheaper for home use. Why did you think your soil was more alkaline?
David
Your math is correct. If you can till it in, all the better. I test my own soil, usually twice a year, although taking the soil to a lab could be more accurate.
Just as long as everybody knows that chemical fertilizers are salts and that they kill soil (an incredibly stupid thing to do).
There is a financial incentive for lobbyists and public relation types to get you to buy chemical fertilizers and insecticides which kill ecosystems. There is no money in composting and crop rotation which grow top soil. Are you smart, stupid, or apathetic?
admire my results. I only add compost, which is not legally fertilizer.
My electronic PH meter measured 7.3. The County extension office measured
6.4.
And the environmental wacko comes out of the woodwork! If it was up to you people a lot of the world would starve to death.
I advise you to to do a little research and you will see who wrong you are.
Are there buffered soil standards ? If so get three PH 3,7 and 10 .
Bill
Perhaps of interest deals with "the Green Revolution".
Wacko Bill W
Did you test the from the same sample given to the County extension office? Keep in mind there are pockets of soil with varying pH. Over a 1 acre area I take 8 samples per year, all results are slightly different but all taken 4-5 inches under the soil surface. If the test results of one sample is way off, I tend to discard it and take another sample. There is some risk of contamination during the sample collection and possibly during the quantitative analysis.
I use about 500 to 700 pounds of lime over an acre of lawn and have been doing this for many years. Finally, some samples are showing a pH of 6.7 but none have shown alkaline.
I used to use test strips, but now use an electronic device specifically made for soil testing. Not as accurate as a lab, but more convenient and less expense.
Hey! Count me in as one of the envirowackos!!!
Try a bit of research on the number of *children* that die each day from starvation and dig into *why* so many are starving. The answers may surprise you.
Thanks to *you* people, we seem to be in a bit of a bind 'round the world, doncha know?
Charlie, wacko
Would you add composted cow manure the first year of a small tomato patch and maybe some squash and peppers?
Why not just adjust D.I. water with NaOH or H2SO4 to pH 7 and drop in your sample?
Please sir, give this ignorant peasant a cite (if you can), where I can learn this wondrous news.
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