Fireknot farm 2016

[leadsled]

Thank you! I feel like I am beginning to understand my soil and what I will need to do to balance it.

Do you foliar raw Mn, or is there a product you recommend? I've been told calcium25 is good for foliar calcium.

In regards to efficiancy: will I be able to ammend this into each two yard mound after hauling it up to my garden with a skid steer, or is there a better way?

Excellent. You will get it down. Practice makes perfect.

Please note: I edited my previous post. I missed your post on weight and wanted you to have accurate measurements.
Need a moment to recalculate and re-post.

Calcium 25 is recommended spray it when the sun is out and when temps are above 77f.
So that can also be a blocker if the temps are not right.

Calcium Foliar when lights or off or sun is not out:
Albion metasolate organic calcium, AEA PHT Calcium, JH biotech Calcium are a few brands. Note: The AEA pht calcium also contains boron.

The AEA manganese is in a liquid form and easy to use. Rebound is NOP compliant version.


Yes, you can amend into each two yard mount and then haul it up. One option is to use a spreader rather than mixing in by hand.

 

[leadsled]

Did I dry it out too much in the oven? I thought thats how they did it at the lab.

I have RO, an atomizer, might just use a pump and spray nozzle

No that is normal. most mixes are soil less not soil and weigh less.
Your "soil less" weight is 40% less than the weight of furrowslice acre of soil .


----- re-post with adjusted numbers:

Left column Soil Test# 201.
Some of this was already stated by fisher.

The soil has excess, sulfur, sodium, magnesium potassium, iron,

A yard is a 4'x8' bed that is 10" deep.

Here are the amendments needed per yard.

Ag Gypsum: 972 grams
Ag Lime: 807 grams
Manganese Sulfate: 54.6 grams
Copper Sulfate (blue): 5.4 grams
Zinc Sulfate: 13.8 grams
Borax: 6.6 grams

So your soil is 40% lighter than the field soil weight used on the soil test. I reduced all amendments by 40% to account for the weight.

There is an application limit on amendments. That is the recommended maximum you can apply at one time.

The application limit was reached on Copper, Zinc, and Boron.

Please retest after harvest until levels in the soil reach 100% of recommended amounts.

Apply the ag lime and half the gypsum now. Than apply the remaining gypsum in 4-6 weeks.

Really good idea to irrigate that soil with an innoculate of spectrum-extra and pepzyme-c. That will help with the excess sodium.

Because your combined potassium and sodium is above 10%, manganese uptake will be limited. Suggested to Foliar spray Mn weekly.

I also suggest you do a weekly foliar of calcium to help increase the calcium in the plant. The sodium and potassium is easily taken up by the plant and can usually cause issues with the uptake of other cations.

I am mixing by hand, so I like to spread out the soil on a tarp. Than take about two gallons of earth worm casting and then mix all the amendments in with the castings. I then layer the amendments over the soil and mix them in evenly. Than mix well.

If you got a larger area or the proper machinery there are more efficient ways to do things.
Hope that helps. After you got the soil amended can test again or than plant and go.
-------

 

[_tessarecting]

This is like my bible right now. Thanks again. I'll be looking into spreaders / how to efficiently ammend 40 yards.

 

[leadsled]

This is like my bible right now. Thanks again. I'll be looking into spreaders / how to efficiently ammend 40 yards.

Excellent. Glad it was helpful.

Some spots rent the spreaders, so no need to buy one for one application of amendments.

Information on calibration of spreaders.
http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/landscaping/maint/selectin_10.html

Happy amending and growing.

 

[_tessarecting]

Ive been reading the intelligent gardener all day, lack of sleep, my brain hurts enough as it is, that link currently is reading like gibberish to me. I'll try to wrap my head around it tomorrow, thanks

 

[theJointedOne]

That's cool I just tossed that book into my satchel for reading. Had it for a while just haven't gone inside

 

[_tessarecting]

It's very informative, I just finished chapter 5. Explains a lot of stuff Ive been wondering about.

I just read that webpage again on calibrating spreaders.
I kinda understand the concept but I am struggling to work out how to apply that to 40 yards. I just cant fathom putting 40 yards thru a spreader. I cant fathom any of it. Are you supposed to scoop out a yard onto a tarp, mix ammendments with spreader, then scoop that back up then move it up the hill? It seems like an insane amount of work, or like I'm missing something here.

 

[plantingplants]

Have you thought about just dumping your amendments into your pot or hole and using a gas powered auger? I think mendo420 does that but I'm not 100% sure. Check out his 2015 thread.

 

[_tessarecting]

Im not doing pots.

 

[redlaser]

Ideally the forty yards would be spread out evenly like a raised bed, then when amendments are applied evenly from the spreader, they get incorporated by tilling and piling it over and over. You could do it by the yard by dividing your total amendment volume by forty and adding to each yard.

 

[_tessarecting]

That makes things a hell of a lot easier.

You're saying I can dump the 2 yrd mounds then apply ammendments by just...rolling the spreader over the mound cross hatched until depleted? Then mix it in with a tilling tool?

It would be great if it was this easy. It wouldnt even need calibration.


Or does it have to be done by the yard, on a tarp, super evenly, then hauled up after?

 

[_tessarecting]

Ok guys, bear with me here, I'm not someone who likes to waste time, and am new to this whole ammendment thing. I just had an idea...

Could I push the 40 yards flat with a skid steer, use a spreader to ammend, then collect with the skid steer and bring it up the hill? Is this how the big boys do it?

If so, what about all the dirt/rocks on the ground? Is it so minimal it doesnt matter?


I will poke around IC tomorrow and see what I find... I feel like this gets tricky on this scale, especially without pots, like theres a "trick" to it, you just gotta know what it is. (Like taking a forklift to a supersack and dumping that in your pot)

 

[oct]

I've just always done like what redlaser suggested and its worked out the last 5 years.

Don't over think it brother. Just get after it, mix the shit out of it. Use common sense, when you think its done, its done.

 

[_tessarecting]

Im such a noob here that I dont fully understand his suggestion honestly. Youre confirming I can just ammend and mix the shit out of the 2 yard mounds? This is how I want to do it. But I want to do it right.

 

[theJointedOne]

Put your soil out, then top with ammendment. Proceed to till in. Smoke a bowl. Form your mounds. Done

 

[_tessarecting]

Thank you. That is what I'll do!

 

[megayields]

I've just always done like what redlaser suggested and its worked out the last 5 years.

Don't over think it brother. Just get after it, mix the shit out of it. Use common sense, when you think its done, its done.

 

[Shcrews]

Put your soil out, then top with ammendment. Proceed to till in. Smoke a bowl. Form your mounds. Done

TJO with some real talk

 

[FoothillFarming]

I am mixing 50 yards by hand..... not that big of a deal.

 

[redlaser]

Mixing with the skid steer can be done, just have to spend the time (masked up) I've had larger landscape projects mixed that way and put on trucks, then dumped and its still not mixed well. I would want to do it in smaller batches because some of the amendments quantities are so small its difficult to make sure they are evenly spread out. Adding boron with Borax for example, a couple pounds spread over 1,500 sq. ft.