Soil has too much nitrogen

mugenius

Member
Hi folks,

So I've made a fairly large batch of organic soil, which turns out to have far too much nitrogen. My main question is: can this be remedied? If so, how? Or, do I need to start from scratch a build/make a new soil.

Essentially, I have a basic formula I've been using for a complete soil. 1/3 Peat, 1/3 Perlite/Vermiculite, 1/3 Compost

I made a large batch of compost. Unfortunately, I did not write down my ingredients, but it loosely based off this.

Base:
Sheep/Mushroom compost (4 bags total, I think)

Amendments:
Handful of worm castings/ gallon.

1/2 cup of blood meal (12-0-0) per cubic ft
1/2 bone meal (4-10-0)
1/2 cup of kelp meal (1-0.5-1.5)
1/4 cup bat guano (0-8-1)
1/4 azomite (forgot the precise measurements)
sprinkle of epsom salt

I have the mix in 3 large tote bins and they have been cooking for over a month before I used them on my plants. I still have 3 large bins that are cooking (2 months total).

I just tested my soil N and the levels are reading very high according to my soil test kit.

Is there a way to fix this? Do I just add less compost material when I mix a batch of soil? Should I start over?

Any help is much appreciated.
 

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
Hi folks,

So I've made a fairly large batch of organic soil, which turns out to have far too much nitrogen. My main question is: can this be remedied? If so, how? Or, do I need to start from scratch a build/make a new soil.

Essentially, I have a basic formula I've been using for a complete soil. 1/3 Peat, 1/3 Perlite/Vermiculite, 1/3 Compost

I made a large batch of compost. Unfortunately, I did not write down my ingredients, but it loosely based off this.

Base:
Sheep/Mushroom compost (4 bags total, I think)

Amendments:
Handful of worm castings/ gallon.

1/2 cup of blood meal (12-0-0) per cubic ft
1/2 bone meal (4-10-0)
1/2 cup of kelp meal (1-0.5-1.5)
1/4 cup bat guano (0-8-1)
1/4 azomite (forgot the precise measurements)
sprinkle of epsom salt

I have the mix in 3 large tote bins and they have been cooking for over a month before I used them on my plants. I still have 3 large bins that are cooking (2 months total).

I just tested my soil N and the levels are reading very high according to my soil test kit.

Is there a way to fix this? Do I just add less compost material when I mix a batch of soil? Should I start over?

Any help is much appreciated.
whats up my man

ok, so you have easy options man

1. Easiest and most effective would be to simply cut the mix.
Pro mix comes to mind
i'd go a 50/50 cut of it
can't overdo it with perlite or with peat (the pro mix is already limed)
2. Another but much more complicated way would be to add a good 15% of biochar, uncharged with nitrogen, then it'll sequester some out of the soil mix, I have no experience doing this, and the theory would be more conjecture than something I could confidently say would work.

Another option would be to use the soil as a base for a quick compost pile, layering dry leaves between the soil and allowing it to break down and use the nitrogen in the composting process.

All in all i'd recommend the pro mix to cut it with, way easier.
Plus I've had to do it before, and I know it'll work, assuming the other basics are met.
Your calcium levels good?
 

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
Haha yeah that's why you were tagd in the comment. I'll get there one day:bigjoint:
not too far off though man, if you are savvy this site alone can teach you probably everything you need to know
Also helps if you just love plants in general, houseplants, flowers etc, the more you grow the more you;ll get an instinct on them, and after a while you'll see trends and such, very similar to fixing cars when I think about it, some models have typical problems and at first it's all overwhelming where to start because all you have is "possible" problems with described symptoms and maladies
sorta like when you hear people thinking they have iron or boron deficiencies..
Sure there is pics of it but it's rare as hell
 

backtracker

Well-Known Member
I just got my results from a soil test and the results for N was in two forms NH4n, ammonium and NO3N, nitrate. the no3 was good but the no4 was real low. this is what they said:
Understanding Your Soil Analysis Report. ©2011 Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply. All rights reserved.

Nitrogen is a primary nutrient for plant growth, and is responsible for plants’ green foliage. Over-applying nitrogen
can “burn” plants (root damage that shows symptoms above ground), so stay within recommended application rates.
Excessive nitrogen in your crops can actually lead to nitrate poisoning if you or your animals eat these greens.
Some of your nitrogen needs may be met by organic matter as it decomposes. Because this nitrogen is difficult to test
chemically it can only be taken into account as an estimate. In general, higher organic matter means higher potential
nitrogen release. In soils with over 5% organic matter, consider reducing nitrogen amendments by 1/4. Add liquid
forms of nitrogen during the growing season if observable deficiencies occur. If nitrogen levels are higher than 40
ppm, the soil needs to be “devigorated”. Plant “heavy feeding” crops such as corn or grass-only cover crops.
 

mugenius

Member
not too far off though man, if you are savvy this site alone can teach you probably everything you need to know
Also helps if you just love plants in general, houseplants, flowers etc, the more you grow the more you;ll get an instinct on them, and after a while you'll see trends and such, very similar to fixing cars when I think about it, some models have typical problems and at first it's all overwhelming where to start because all you have is "possible" problems with described symptoms and maladies
sorta like when you hear people thinking they have iron or boron deficiencies..
Sure there is pics of it but it's rare as hell
Awesome thanks. Just to clarify, I should keep my same formula of 1/3 Peat, 1/3 Aeration, 1/3 compost and AND THEN take my bins of compost and cut those by half with some pro-mix. Pro-mix is largely peat, right? Do you think I can just cut my compost down with the peat I already have? If not, I'll go buy some pro-mix and cut it down.

After I cut the organic composted material, my formula would look something like this, right?: 50% Peat/or Promix, 16.6% Compost, 33.3% aeration? Does that make sense? Will my plants be able to acquire nutrients from such a small percentage of organic material in the soil?

Thanks for your detailed answers!
 

Joomby

Well-Known Member
not too far off though man, if you are savvy this site alone can teach you probably everything you need to know
Also helps if you just love plants in general, houseplants, flowers etc, the more you grow the more you;ll get an instinct on them, and after a while you'll see trends and such, very similar to fixing cars when I think about it, some models have typical problems and at first it's all overwhelming where to start because all you have is "possible" problems with described symptoms and maladies
sorta like when you hear people thinking they have iron or boron deficiencies..
Sure there is pics of it but it's rare as hell
Your not wrong. I have always grown veges and all sorts of plants since I was about 5. something about it just gives me a fix. But I have never really gotten right into the science of it all until about a year ago and as for our favourite plant I am just a novice not to mention it's hard for me to even make a mistake to learn from since its illegal here and I can't get enough experience. I currently work in open cut mining on maintenance side of things but im itching to ditch it and do a botanist degree and do something I actually enjoy
 

Joomby

Well-Known Member
Awesome thanks. Just to clarify, I should keep my same formula of 1/3 Peat, 1/3 Aeration, 1/3 compost and AND THEN take my bins of compost and cut those by half with some pro-mix. Pro-mix is largely peat, right? Do you think I can just cut my compost down with the peat I already have? If not, I'll go buy some pro-mix and cut it down.

After I cut the organic composted material, my formula would look something like this, right?: 50% Peat/or Promix, 16.6% Compost, 33.3% aeration? Does that make sense? Will my plants be able to acquire nutrients from such a small percentage of organic material in the soil?

Thanks for your detailed answers!
I think that sounds pretty good man. If you already have peat use that first .again I'm no guru
 

BobCajun

Well-Known Member
Just a quick tip. Vermiculite isn't that great a product. It can have small amounts of asbestos in it, depending on the source, and it just breaks down too easily. Then all you have is a bunch of flat pieces of mica. Perlite is the only thing you need, if you want to lighten a mix up.
 

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
Just a quick tip. Vermiculite isn't that great a product. It can have small amounts of asbestos in it, depending on the source, and it just breaks down too easily. Then all you have is a bunch of flat pieces of mica. Perlite is the only thing you need, if you want to lighten a mix up.
a valid concern, but they do have certified free vermiculite
the plant linked to asbestos closed almost 30 yrs ago in 1990

hers a link
https://www.planetnatural.com/product/vermiculite-medium-grade/

I also don't seem to have the issue of it breaking down fast, it usually lasts a yr or two
very good for the mix in the summer.
I don't prefer perlite as the sole aeration ingredient, not for a heavy organic mix anyways
 
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greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
Awesome thanks. Just to clarify, I should keep my same formula of 1/3 Peat, 1/3 Aeration, 1/3 compost and AND THEN take my bins of compost and cut those by half with some pro-mix. Pro-mix is largely peat, right? Do you think I can just cut my compost down with the peat I already have? If not, I'll go buy some pro-mix and cut it down.

After I cut the organic composted material, my formula would look something like this, right?: 50% Peat/or Promix, 16.6% Compost, 33.3% aeration? Does that make sense? Will my plants be able to acquire nutrients from such a small percentage of organic material in the soil?

Thanks for your detailed answers!
hmm, not sure I follow, I thought the soil mix was complete, and already high in nitrogen, @ShLUbY made a damn good point, I completely overlooked that you have virtually no potassium that'll be a problem for sure.
adding more promix will dilute the other macros as well.
although depending on how much manure you have you may be good there, especially considering manure is usually added in larger amounts (I really like steer manure)
whats the rest of that soil test tell you (us)?
 
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