Looking for a mail in soil test

Quite lucky in the Uk, a few Universities run soil testing, the more accuracy and indepth you go the more you pay. It actually gets quite exspensive but you can pick and choose what you want testing.

2Hearts said:

Quite lucky in the Uk, a few Universities run soil testing, the more accuracy and indepth you go the more you pay. It actually gets quite exspensive but you can pick and choose what you want testing.

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Im trying out a test that measures the microbial activity. It will show the digestive power of the soil biology. Im duper curious to see where i stand biologically. Ive been nurturing yhis doil gor about 5 years. Did i love it to death? Ill find out soon.

I chose 3 tests
1 basic weak acid test
2 formozan test for microbial activity
3 base saturation and micro's

The vendor reports back with recommendations $93

Ill report back with what i learn.

radiant Rudy said:

Im trying out a test that measures the microbial activity. It will show the digestive power of the soil biology. Im duper curious to see where i stand biologically. Ive been nurturing yhis doil gor about 5 years. Did i love it to death? Ill find out soon.

I chose 3 tests
1 basic weak acid test
2 formozan test for microbial activity
3 base saturation and micro's

The vendor reports back with recommendations $93

Ill report back with what i learn.

Click to expand...

I'll be following.

Thats pretty cheap for testing, try £500 or more just for basics . 90 bucks dosent get you far in a university lab here.

Anyone looking at Soil Saavy their site has been unable to retrieve reports for quite some time now. Some bullshit excuse they gave me several weeks ago and I went to check on my recent submission and it's still down. So just a heads-up if that matters to you. They should explain why it's down and when it'll be fixed by - and commit to it.

radiant Rudy said:

Ive used Spectrum and Logan. I think both are reliable and provide prompt service. I worked with an agronomist who had more faith in Spectrum's reports so i have more experience with them. When sampling with a new lab expect differences in measurements from other previous lab tests even if same methods are used. In my experience repeat testing using the same lab shows up useful info better than comparing values from different labs.


Im a huge soil testing advocate.

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Tried out Spectrum Analytic. They recommended soluble nutrient analysis for my "soilless mix"...even though I think of my mix more like a "hybrid soil-soilless mix"...it has 20% coco, 30% turkey compost, 30% mushroom compost, 10 % lava rock, 10% perlite...then amended throughout last 2 grow seasons with: 0-7-0 bat guano, oyster shell flour, blood meal, kelp meal, langbenite, fish bone meal, and EWCs.

Here are the results:

I'm very new at interpreting these, and I am doing my best to guess what these numbers should look like, but I'm thinking of amending my mix with (still trying to figure out how much to add):

Gypsum (Ca and S)
Fish bone meal (Ca and P)
Bat guano 070 (P)
Composted chicken manure (N, life)
Blood meal (N, lower pH)
Kelp meal (micros)
Earth worm castings (micros, life)
Humic/Fulvic acids

I'm guessing I used too much langbenite last season, resulting in high Mg, K. To me, it seems I need to bump up my Ca, N, S, and maybe P?

Anyone have better recommendations? My K seems through the roof...any suggestions with this?

Also still trying to understand how the conditions of the test affect the numbers reported....for example, does the pH 7.1 make the phosphorus number seem lower, since phosphorus is less available (i.e. soluble?) at neutral pH? And with all of the oyster shell flour I added last season, am I going to have problems lowering the pH? Do I even need to lower it? Am I hydro or am I soil? I'm a bit confused, but guessing I may hedge my bets by trying to get to around ph 6.5?

Also wondering if the high pH and high potassium explains my symptoms last year, leaf margin yellowing near end of colas during flowering...perhaps lockout of sulfur and iron? Or maybe it really was potassium def, but I added langbenite late in flowering, too late to fix the issue, but now its showing up hot in the mix because of the late additions? Though, I did have molding on some cola tips, noticed after the dry, so possible the leaf margin yellowing could have been from the molding, due to warm rains late september.

Dont add anything until you consult with an expert or use an online program. A huge issue there on your test is that you are super low on CA and all of the trace metals are ultra low.

Read up on soil tests. If you feel compelled to do something right away I would run some gypsum through your mix like 20 gms to a gal keep it agitated as you pour it in. Get a good grade CaSO4 avoid Na and Fe contaminants.

If youve got time to read try to make your way throught this thread several of the guys there are pro's, they are at times hard to follow but it's worth the trip.

By coincidence I received my soil analysis results today. I used both the weak acid test below, and a separate test for fungi and bacteria not shown. the document didnt paste in cleanly let me know if you have a question. I have no idea why my P is so crazy high. P is an anion and likely unbalancing the uptake of anions.

I attached a pic of plants growing in this substrate below chart.

PadawanWarrior said:

I'll be following.

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Sorry these docs dont paste so well. This is the report from Earthfort. I did not phone them to get their recommendations. Pretty sure a brief consult is included with this assay. Let me know if you think of any good questions I might pose when I catch up w them.


Assay Name Result Units Desired
Level Commentary
Organism Biomass Data
Dry Weight 0.35 N/A 0.20 to 0.85 Within normal moisture levels.
Active Fungi 31.52 μg/g > 30.00 Fungal activity within normal levels. -
Total Fungi 4,832.93 μg/g > 300.00 Good fungal biomass. - Good fungal diversity. Hyphal diameter: 1.5 to 6.5 μm.
Hyphal Diameter 2.95 μm > 2.85 Good balance of fungi. -
Active Bacteria 368.64 μg/g > 30.00 Bacterial activity within normal levels.
Total Bacteria 1,368.84 μg/g > 300.00 Good bacterial biomass. -
Actinobacteria 90.05 μg/g < 40.00
Organism Biomass Ratios
TF:TB 3.53 1.00 to
10.00 Correctly balanced fungal and bacterial biomass for most plants.
AF:TF 0.01 > 0.10 Low fungal activity relative to total biomass, foods may be required.
AB:TB 0.27 > 0.10 Good bacterial activity.
AF:AB 0.09 1.00 to
10.00 Fungal dominated, becoming more bacterial
Protozoa (Protists)
Flagellates 132,488.56 number/g > 10,000.00 Nutrients are being cycled and made available to plants in good rates.
Amoebae 13,248,856.13 number/g > 100,000.00
Ciliates 6,158.45 number/g < 133813.00
300+ lbs/acre Ni

radiant Rudy said:

Dont add anything until you consult with an expert or use an online program. A huge issue there on your test is that you are super low on CA and all of the trace metals are ultra low.

Read up on soil tests. If you feel compelled to do something right away I would run some gypsum through your mix like 20 gms to a gal keep it agitated as you pour it in. Get a good grade CaSO4 avoid Na and Fe contaminants.

If youve got time to read try to make your way throught this thread several of the guys there are pro's, they are at times hard to follow but it's worth the trip.

By coincidence I received my soil analysis results today. I used both the weak acid test below, and a separate test for fungi and bacteria not shown. the document didnt paste in cleanly let me know if you have a question. I have no idea why my P is so crazy high. P is an anion and likely unbalancing the uptake of anions.

I attached a pic of plants growing in this substrate below chart.

SOIL ANALYSIS REPORT
				Desired	Desired		Lab	Soil Index
	Nutrient		Measure	Ratio	Level		Results	37
	Humus					30-40		20
	Nitrates		lbs. / Acre			40		70
	Ammonia		lbs. / Acre			40		16
	Phosphorus		lbs. / Acre	1P:1K	174		2520	1.92	: 1 P to K Ratio
	Potassium		lbs. / Acre			167		1313
	Calcium		lbs. / Acre	7Ca:1Mg	3,000		3350	12.6	: 1 Ca to Mg Ratio
	Magnesium		lbs. / Acre			429		266
	Sodium		PPM			<35		68
	ERGS		mS/Centimeter			200		1083
	ORP					28		27
	pH					6.5		7.0
	Copper		PPM			0.8-2.5		12.1
	Iron		PPM			10-25		19.5
	Zinc		PPM			1-6		54.5
	Manganese		PPM			8-30		6.2
	Boron		PPM			0.8-1.2		Not Tested
	Sulfur		PPM			30		Not Tested
	Formazan		PPM			600		1130
	C.E.C. Test
	Phosphorus
	Bray 1		(ppm)					224
	Olsen		(ppm)					164.7
	Potassium		(ppm)					497
	Calcium		(ppm)					2562.57
	Magnesium		(ppm)					355.03
	Sodium							68
	Organic Matter		%					6.22
	pH							7.0
	K		%			2-5%		7.1
	Ca		%			60-70%		71.8
	Mg		%			10-20%		16.6
	Na		%			0.5-3%		1.7
	C.E.C		meq/100g					17.3
	Acidity		meq/100g					0.5

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Not bad radiant...other than phosphorus being out of whack, looks like you're in the pocket. ton of life!

Just found the actual guidelines for this test (left) to compare to my results (right). They refer to it as an "artificial soil media", and measures water soluble nutrient levels. I know it's not accounting for the insoluble reserves, but at least a starting point. Thing that worries me the most, is how they consider pH 5.7 optimal...sounds very hydro. I like to think of my style as a hybrid hydro-soil mix, since I do use compost teas and organic amendments in a 30% coco, 10% perlite, 10% lava rock media base. I'm guessing pH 6.3-6.5 may be a good starting point for my style, but a lot of organic growers don't think overall soil pH is important. Wondering how my higher pH affects the results and how I compare them to the recommendations chart. Guessing calcium and phosphorus are a little lower in water soluble fraction due to the somewhat higher pH.

radiant Rudy said:

I would run some gypsum through your mix like 20 gms to a gal keep it agitated as you pour it in. Get a good grade CaSO4 avoid Na and Fe contaminants.

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Newbie with gypsum here, but 8.5 lbs/yd3 seems a little high? Maybe 2 lb/yd3? idk.

growerNshower said:

Newbie with gypsum here, but 8.5 lbs/yd3 seems a little high? Maybe 2 lb/yd3? idk.

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With ph in the 5's you could use CaCO3. Do not sweat using gypsum . I sometimes dose 50 grams to a 5 gal pot 3 or 4 times during a grow. YOU WILL NEED Mg and K after hitting w gypsum

radiant Rudy said:

With ph in the 5's you could use CaCO3. Do not sweat using gypsum . I sometimes dose 50 grams to a 5 gal pot 3 or 4 times during a grow. YOU WILL NEED Mg and K after hitting w gypsum

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My pH is 7.1 and my Mg and K are way high...that's why I'm adding the gypsum. Dont want to add too much gypsum, so I won't have to add more Mg or K. My pH is already on high side due to CaCO3 from oyster shell flour. What am I missing?

Sorry i misread your pH data Gypsum wont have an impact on your pH.

Im not qualified or experienced enough to guide you. I think on my first soil test i used https://growabundant.com/organicalc/ and it worked really well.

radiant Rudy said:

Sorry i misread your pH data Gypsum wont have an impact on your pH.

Im not qualified or experienced enough to guide you. I think on my first soil test i used https://growabundant.com/organicalc/ and it worked really well.

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I'll check it out, thanks. I was anxious to get it going and I ended up adding the following to 200 gallon pots of the 'soil' in question:

*My hasty approach was that since my soluble salts are a bit on the low side I feel comfortable adding some amendments in. Mg, K were super high especially in relation to calcium, so I tried to bump up everything but Mg, K, and included a couple things to help lower the pH. I'm not too concerned with pH because I will be adding some compost teas and ferments, hopefully the life will determine the pH.

-Chicken manure - 1 cut ft (N)
-blood meal - 1 cup (N, lower pH)
-gypsum - 2 lbs (Ca, S)
-fish bone meal - 1 lbs (Ca, P)
-sulfur, elemental - 10 oz (S, lower pH)
-earth worm castings - 1/2 gallon (life, micros)
-rainbow pro mix - 1 cup (life and organic nutes)
-kelp meal - 1 lb (micros, vitamin)
-silicate powder volcanic (1 cup)

I spread on top and mixed in with an auger...sadly killing several worms. It's going to rain an inch in 2 days, then after 2 weeks Im going to dig out a hole in the center and replace with mild potting mix and my transplants. I guess we'll see soon enough.

Any mulch tips? I hate the thought of bugs in those kind of amendments...same reason im nervous using chicken manure compost...I can already see flies 5 min after adding the chicken manure, and red mites and other larvae looking things...hopefully no aphids. I usually use blood meal as my main N since it doesn't have bug problems, but risk of BSE.

growerNshower said:

My pH is 7.1 and my Mg and K are way high...that's why I'm adding the gypsum. Dont want to add too much gypsum, so I won't have to add more Mg or K. My pH is already on high side due to CaCO3 from oyster shell flour. What am I missing?

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You might want to get your water tested for mineral content. High pH like yours is usually caused by alkalinity present in the irrigation water. It certainly was in my case. Carbonates/bicarbonates in irrigation water act like "liquid lime" every time you water. It neutralizes acid present in the soil solution on contact. The carbonates in your OSF most likely aren't even being solubilized, which means your not getting any soluble calcium, either.
Also, I think your sodium levels are problematic. You need to figure out the source for those numbers...

Was this test from a fresh batch of soil, or one that's been previously grown in?

Edit: For what it's worth, if you plan to do more testing in the future, Logan Labs includes soluble bicarbonate testing in their saturated paste report.

waktoo said:

You might want to get your water tested for mineral content. High pH like yours is usually caused by alkalinity present in the irrigation water. It certainly was in my case. Carbonates/bicarbonates in irrigation water act like "liquid lime" every time you water. It neutralizes acid present in the soil solution on contact. The carbonates in your OSF most likely aren't even being solubilized, which means your not getting any soluble calcium, either.
Also, I think your sodium levels are problematic. You need to figure out the source for those numbers...

Was this test from a fresh batch of soil, or one that's been previously grown in?

Edit: For what it's worth, if you plan to do more testing in the future, Logan Labs includes soluble bicarbonate testing in their saturated paste report.

Click to expand...

Thanks, yeah, I bet theres a lot more calcium locked in the mix due to high pH. I might have to adjust pH of the irrigation water.

Old batch of soil. Someone on here mentioned mushroom compost as a possible high sodium amendment. That was in the original mix I bought. Not sure about sodium in anything I've been adding.

Yeah, I wanna try logan, they seem user friendly.

waktoo said:

You might want to get your water tested for mineral content. High pH like yours is usually caused by alkalinity present in the irrigation water. It certainly was in my case. Carbonates/bicarbonates in irrigation water act like "liquid lime" every time you water. It neutralizes acid present in the soil solution on contact. The carbonates in your OSF most likely aren't even being solubilized, which means your not getting any soluble calcium, either.
Also, I think your sodium levels are problematic. You need to figure out the source for those numbers...

Was this test from a fresh batch of soil, or one that's been previously grown in?

Edit: For what it's worth, if you plan to do more testing in the future, Logan Labs includes soluble bicarbonate testing in their saturated paste report.

Click to expand...

DING! I "titrated" my tap water vs. distilled water with pH down (1 gallon water each):

Tap water pH:
0 drops pH down = 7.0
3 drops pH down = 6.6
6 drops pH down = 5.5

Distilled water pH:
0 drops pH down = 7.0
3 drops pH down = 4.0

I believe you are right my friend. My tap water has significant basic strength that I need to account for. Guess I need to pH my water before adding to the girls.