Soil Analysis

[jack]

I got a soil analysis kit for Christmas and ran the tests on samples from a number of different places and conclude that nothing can grow anywhere.

The only place nitrogen was indicated was in a sample from one of those compressed peat pots.

I also took samples from my corn patch, the farmer's field corn field across the road, our compost pile and the chicken coop.

The compost (10 years of chicken manure, fireplace ashes, sawdust, leaves, etc) showed the faintest tint of pink, the peat was very pink but the rest where absolutley clear indicating no N1.

The pH is around 8 on all but the farmer's field and I can believe this because it agrees with my pH meter and I will take steps to correct this in Spring.

Anyone have any experience or thoughts on these test kits?

js

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[Lauren]

Soil tests for nitrogen are, at best, useless because available nitrogen varies tremendously depending on many factors, including temperature, soil moisture, type of soil, percent of organic matter, time of year, etc. Reliable soil tests can be had for P and K and most minor elements because they are relatively stable in the soil profile. Nitrogen comes and goes, mostly goes, and the only way to be sure you have enough is to apply it yourself in a timely manner.

You can get a reading on available N today, but if it rains tonight the reading tomorrow will be completely different.

[presley]

often the best indicator of abundant nitrogen is simply quick dark green leafy growth, as opposed to slow, anemic, greenish/yellow growth in spring and early summer