Lightweight Peat's Mucky Muck soil testing

[biggreg]

For Albrecht how to. Try the Ideal soil by Astera or Inteligent Gardner by Solomon. Both have worksheets to pencil it all out.

Anyone know of any other Albrecht based worksheets? Or differing ratios from this same school of thought?

 

[biggreg]

68Ca-12mg-4K -1Na- 10 H based on TCEC calc with a ph of 6.4?

What else y'all working as ratio targets?

I'm seeing fill the H with Ca. And go 80% or more with Ca. no Na.

Anions? P=K? Every micro pegged to a ratio with antongonist or synergist?

I'm neutral on all the argonomic methods of soil test interpretation. Since I'm in containers, might as well learn them all and run em.

 

[acespicoli]

biggreg are you growing in pots or in the field?
Im growing mainly in containers.

 

[acespicoli]

 

[acespicoli]

I think the biggest thing im working with is one plant in one container for 8+ weeks
Top dressing nutes is the only remedy... ?

 

[biggreg]

So let's say neverforget4/20 wants to add 300ppm of Ca in the form of gypsum.

That's 300mg elemental Calcium per kilo of dried soil

Assuming a density of 1, we have 300mg or .3g Ca per liter to add.

His gypsum may be 22% Ca by weight.

.3gram Ca per liter divided by 22% Ca per gram is 1.36g gypsum per liter of soil required.

If he measured a volume of his field moist soil, dried it and weighed it, he would have a bulk density.

Say it was .3g/cm3 =.3kg/L

So if he wanted to add 300ppm to what he is seeing on his test:

300ppm = 300mg/kg dried soil or .3g/kg

.3g/kg x bulk density .3kg/L =.09g Ca or . 4g 22% gypsum/L

Using the bulk density to figure amendment amounts on lightweight soils should work but why didn't it?
Why did I have to add more than the math said I should?

That was the beginning of my rabbit hole.

At first, was thinking the M3 was not giving an accurate CEC. It must be higher.

It kept bothering me until one day i called the lab to confirm. They are not measuirng the mass of the sample, they scooped it.

That causes a low CEC
That's why my carefully measured amendments didn't move my retests as it should

 

[biggreg]

I think the biggest thing im working with is one plant in one container for 8+ weeks
Top dressing nutes is the only remedy... ?

It is a remedy but not the only one.

A soil with enough exchange capacity can hold enough charge for a water only run, container size dependent.

Your Albrecht chart you pasted is telling you to get a Mehlich 3 done. Ph alone won't give you the full cation picture.

Have you checked your ph yet or sent a sample in?

 

[acespicoli]

I didnt send a sample in yet im waiting on a reply from the lab...

HydroBuddy v1.50 : The First Free Open Source Hydroponic Nutrient Calculator Program Available Online)

 

[_tessarecting]

Is there a tutorial online anywhere that explains how to calculate the % weight of your soil mix compared to that of a furrowslice acre of soil? Last year mine came out to 40% the weight but I'm trying to figure out how to do this on my own.

 

[biggreg]

Is there a tutorial online anywhere that explains how to calculate the % weight of your soil mix compared to that of a furrowslice acre of soil? Last year mine came out to 40% the weight but I'm trying to figure out how to do this on my own.

An acre slice is based on 2million lbs of 1g/cm3 drymass/field volume mineral soil.

Measure a liter of field moist soil. Oven dry all the water out and weigh it in grams.
g/cm3 ( 1000cm3 = 1 liter)

 

[jidoka]

then realize, in spite of you knowing the density, your lab is using the wrong amount of reactant

 

[acespicoli]

the reason why the metric system is superior 1 10 100 1000...
dry bulk density of the soil in question? 40%
Standard bulk density? Often, a soil bulk density of 1.33 grams/cubic centimeter is used because this approximates the bulk density of a silt loam soil.

40%=?

 

[biggreg]

Last year mine came out to 40%

.4g/cm3?

I'm imagining a well recycled mix with some mineral soil added. Maybe sand?

Just wanted to guess.

 

[_tessarecting]

Thanks, starting to get the hang of this. It really is as simple as comparing dry weight to wet weight and then applying that percentage to your #'s?

Modified cootz mix.

 

[biggreg]

then realize, in spite of you knowing the density, your lab is using the wrong amount of reactant

I'm all over that one. If it ain't at least close to 1:10 then it's a basto-version

And it is a double basto-version if they cut the sample size and solution in 1/2. What cheapskates! Unbelievable.

 

[biggreg]

Thanks, starting to get the hang of this. It really is as simple as comparing dry weight to wet weight and then applying that percentage to your #'s?

Modified cootz mix.

No. Bulk density is dry weight per moist volume

Measure volume of plant ready, moist, packed in your container the way you do soil.

Measure the mass with all the water out of it. Oven dry at 220 all night worked on a gallon sample spread out on a couple of my less than impressed wifey's baking pans.

 

[acespicoli]

.40÷1.33
0.30075188

Is that the math?
Im learning too...

weight and volume confuse me
volume of soil ?
weight of amendments ?

 

[acespicoli]

Again if my volume of soil weight is less than standard does my weight of amendments stay the same?

 

[acespicoli]

What does field capacity mean?
Field Capacity is the amount of soil moisture or water content held in the soil after excess water has drained away and the rate of downward movement has decreased. This usually takes place 2–3 days after rain or irrigation in pervious soils of uniform structure and texture.

 

[acespicoli]

g/cm3=BD ?