My Zone 6A Soil Test Results - Please decipher!

[yoderjac]

Well, there's a whole bunch of ways to look at the many philosophies behind fertilizer applications. From a production point of view, one way to look at the soil is like a mine. This is just me, but what I heard the accomplished gentleman in the video say was, "I'm going to mine the soil until most all the nutrients are gone. Then, I might consider applying soil amendments. Other producers understand it's important to replace the P & K carried off in the harvest. That gets to the true cost of production. Low levels of nutrients probably do no harm to yield under ideal circumstances. He mentioned all the different kinds of weather. An inadequate soil nutrient level when weather conditions are cold and wet will bang the heck out of yields.

Which brings us to habitat management and food plots specifically. My question is, and its a probing question - "What are we trying to accomplish and will fertilizer and lime get us there?" My thinking is, if you're a rookie and you're asking me, I'd say fertilize. You want to see something grow and lime and fertilizer takes on variable out of the "possible failure" equation. Now, if you have buckets of experience and have logged many hours of study (reading these forum threads is studying), and have time and patience, then, you are ready to initiate, to use yoder's words, "long-term sustainable nutrient cycling and permaculture.

There are many ways to think about all of this. Dear reader, I'd encourage you to understand yours!" I can't leave it there. i know many of you long time contributors and readers get it, but, I guess there are a lot of people interested in food plotting that don't post and lots of times don't understand what the heck we're writing! Tip of the cap to you....

Great summary! Start with realistic goals and apply the methods and techniques that most effectively achieve them. Most of us started in the middle anxious to dirt under our nails and plant a food plot. There is certainly something to be said for building the long-term interest and dedication you need by getting planting something and watching deer eating what you planted. Having said that, I did more long-term harm to my place with a 2-bottom plow as a result. We will all make mistakes like this. I wish I understood 10 years ago what I understand now. On the other end of the argument is that in 10 years I'll probably say the same thing and if you don't start somewhere, you don't get anywhere.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[GloryDaysDesign]

Here are links to all the plots I am planting including pictures.

Link to Gasline Plot Pictures - 1/8 Acre - Lots of Shade and pretty wet on one side
http://habitat-talk.com/index.php?t...oil-sample-old-gasline-plot.7448/#post-141128

Link to Gate Plot Pictures - 1/8 Acre - Wet
http://habitat-talk.com/index.php?threads/pasture-natural-spring-food-plot.7334/

Link to Pond Plot Pictures - 1/3 Acre - Full Sun and a postage stamp
http://habitat-talk.com/index.php?threads/novice-question-spring-planting-vs-fall-planting.7396/

Link to 360 Pictures - 1 acre - Only Planting Pink "L" - Planting on edge of hay field
http://habitat-talk.com/index.php?threads/what-how-would-you-plant.7320/

 

[GloryDaysDesign]

So trying to absorb all of this.

My soil test is telling me my current PH, which in most cases is low. I understand that liming raises PH. Then what about fertilizer - Is my fertilizer used to build PH or is my fertilizer used to give the plants maximum nutrition after the lime raises the PH?

 

[yoderjac]

So trying to absorb all of this.

My soil test is telling me my current PH, which in most cases is low. I understand that liming raises PH. Then what about fertilizer - Is my fertilizer used to build PH or is my fertilizer used to give the plants maximum nutrition after the lime raises the PH?

Different plants have different abilities to uptake the nutrients they need. It is quite complex if you really want to understand the details, but you don't really need to understand that to be successful. In general, most of the plants we use for deer management are most efficient at absorbing the fertilizer and making use of it when the pH is between 6.0 and 7.0. As a general rule, 6.5 is not a bad target. Keep in mind that there are benefits from mixing complementary plants compared to farmers who plant monocultures. As a general statement, if your soil is highly acidic, if you don't apply lime, you are wasting your money on fertilizer. You'll buy it, apply it, but your crops will generally only be able to access a fraction of it. So, spend your first dollars on lime to get your soils amended to the correct ballpark range of 6.5.

Next, select crops that are tolerant of poor fertility and low pH (high acidity). Winter Rye and Buckwheat are great examples of crops to begin with depending if you are starting in the fall or spring because they will grow, impact weeds, and feed deer while you lime is slowly adjusting your soil pH.

When you get a soil test and ask for a fertilizer recommendation, remember, it is aimed at farmers which have some significant differences from food plotters. It is not a bad place to start, just keep in mind that it has limitations. N generally isn't even measured in most soils tests. So, recommendations for N are based solely on crop needs, not your soils. Some more advance tests ask about previous crops and may include banked N in the estimate. They generally measure P and K and perhaps a few trace minerals depending on the crop you specify and compare those to the needs of the crop and assume you are looking for maximum yield like a farmer (which we are not as food plotters).

There are other threads that discuss this in more detail, but generally don't sweat it. In general, proper pH makes nutrients more available to plants, whether they are being cycled in your soil (our goal) or added as fertilizer.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[FarmerDan]

So trying to absorb all of this.

My soil test is telling me my current PH, which in most cases is low. I understand that liming raises PH. Then what about fertilizer - Is my fertilizer used to build PH or is my fertilizer used to give the plants maximum nutrition after the lime raises the PH?

There are always some level of plant nutrients in the soil. When your pH gets too low - think of it like this - those nutrients are glued tightly to to soil particles and they are not coming loose until the pH gets raised. Raising the pH is like a solvent. Once applied, off come those nutrients and some substantial results are almost immediate (I had to slip that in there). Now we have nutrients running loose, but are there enough? If not, here comes the fertilizer application! The dynamics of the situation is complex. What you want is availability of plant nutrients are the right stage of a plant's growth cycles. Close enough for government work,,,

 

[yoderjac]

There are always some level of plant nutrients in the soil. When your pH gets too low - think of it like this - those nutrients are glued tightly to to soil particles and they are not coming loose until the pH gets raised. Raising the pH is like a solvent. Once applied, off come those nutrients and some substantial results are almost immediate (I had to slip that in there). Now we have nutrients running loose, but are there enough? If not, here comes the fertilizer application! The dynamics of the situation is complex. What you want is availability of plant nutrients are the right stage of a plant's growth cycles. Close enough for government work,,,

Great high level explanation!