Living soil test.

[Yunggrasscroper]

I recently hand mixed about 22 yards of no till living soil. 7 yards peat moss 2 yards worm castings worm castings two yards biochar two yards of oly fish compost and about 6 yards of lava rock. Also a shit load of biolive and other amendments.. super green sand, calphos, neem and karanja meal, alphalpha, kelp meal etc. my question is this. I recently bought a soil savvy soil test. I just finished mixing my soil and it’s sitting in 3 big trenches in my greenhouse (32x20). Should I wet the soil to activate it? Also should I take my soil test now or wait for a few weeks so that the soil “sets up”. I’m planning on planting first of May. Is it better to send my test in now so that I can make adjustments or should I let it sit to get a better reading? Maybe test 2-3 weeks before I plant so that I can adjust? Thanks for your time and I’m excited to be a part of icmag! Have a great day everyone!!!

 

[GreenGuy]

I've posted the same question a few threads down the list from this one.

I have soil tests from mixes that have composted over 4 weeks, and recently sent a sample to Logan Labs of one that only composted for 10 days. I'll be able to tell if the composting time impacts the soil test results when I receive my report this week and let ya know what I find..

I suspect, as one of my thread posters eluded to, that what's in the soil as far as mineral content goes, is the same on day one as it is on day 28 and beyond..

 

[GOT_BUD?]

Absolutely wet your soil down. And keep it moist. But not too moist.

You should be able to grab a handful of soil and squeeze as hard as you can and maybe get a single drop of water out of it.

Let it go for 4-6 weeks. I like to turn mine a couple of times, but folks smarter than me say it's unnecessary.

As for testing - I waited until I harvested a crop and then had it tested.

 

[trichrider]

soil biology may change availability of some of those minerals...they may still be there but not available.
let it sit for a minnit, get a test before and after, and you'll know.
honestly i wouldn't worry over it, by the time they flower bioavailability will be at maximum...jmo.

DankFrank could give you some clues...

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?p=8366499#post8366499
nice constituents in your mix, good luck!


edit: yes wet it

 

[weedlover_89]

From this wonderful thread I got this:
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=335672&page=13

"More diffrences between our recycled organic soil container mix testing and mineral soil testing: Time required after applying amendments before retesting.

Mineral soils generally are amended either in the fall or spring. Recent liming can distort extraction tests that will pick up free calcium un-attached to the exchange sites. The time required for all the lime to react and attach itself to the exchange sites is dependent on variables such as soil temp, rainfall or watering, lime quality, lime particle size and evenness of distribution. Maybe 6 months to a couple years to fully incorporate in those soils.

In our soils we generally use high quality micronized lime. Our mixing and distribution of the lime into the soil is much more uniform than plowing it into a field. So how long should we wait after a re-amend to test? Our variables that influence the answer are also temp and moisture related. Assume we incubate our soils at garden conditions after a re-amend using micronized powder amendments that have been pre- "cooking" in some compost and/or humates and we have robust soil life. How long before the amendments "settle in" and become stable enough for a good test? Ph stability is one measure of readiness.

What do you think? 3 weeks min assuming ideal conditions? 4 weeks? 6 weeks? It's definitely less than what's needed out in the field.

Whatever the answer is, if we don't wait long enough, the test will be garbage."

In the other thread Greenguy is talking about I had hypothesized that waiting time does not make a difference but I must be wrong.

According to the above post, we should wait at least for stabilization of PH before sending samples. Because we are usually using micronized lime for our organic soils, the required PH reactions take place rapidly (14-40 days)in comparison to lime of bigger sizes (search for the different between different mesh sizes of lime). So, I guess waiting 14 days minimum would be best?

Besides that, bulk density of soil is a crucial factor in getting proper soil test results.

 

[Yunggrasscroper]

Your awesome! Thanks for the reply!