Soil Tests? Yay or Nay?

[Mate Dave]

I've not got a mix. I was referring to the differences in the 2 mix's mentioned & how they came to be non optimal once the legalisation came about. I've not used either mix but I did learn loads from those 2 they certainly kept me thinking organics. Microbeman also. My mix would be to simply add organic matter to the native dirt.. Manure & Compost, maybe worm castings.. Depends on what your starting with doesn't it.. Don't need to be importing things from Cuba when you live in Toronto if you catch my drift..


It perhaps wasn't their faults as differences in Ameliorant constituents vary & so do tests & microclimates & the plants being grow.. This gets back to Tests on leaf & soil tissue & climatic changes. Testing leaf & soil prior to vigorous growth peak vegetative & transition & peak bloom..


If you didn't max out on veg they would no doubt grow some serious weight in & outdoor.

 

[Microbeman]

Microbenam,
Considering your comment, I'm wondering what did you take away from those two, if any?


It sounds as if you disregard their studies completely.

No I do not disregard everything they assert(ed) nor that by Reams, Fukuoka, Solomon, Loewenfels, Ingham etc. There are many pieces from which to draw. I just disregard discipleship and absolutes. Man has over and over made the mistake of knowing the facts.

 

[Microbeman]

Mate Dave; I'm glad you elaborated. Coot spent a lot of time studying, learning and passing on what he learned. I do not agree with all of his conclusions but he is a smart guy and taught me a few things. Besides that we both know the value of Oaxoca spears.

 

[Mate Dave]

Mate Dave; I'm glad you elaborated. Coot spent a lot of time studying, learning and passing on what he learned. I do not agree with all of his conclusions but he is a smart guy and taught me a few things. Besides that we both know the value of Oaxoca spears.

Nothing is quite like good Sativa

So we had torrential rain here. I've got 2-4 tonnes of dirt that slid off the mountain on my drive last night.

You might pay hundreds of pounds for this quality dirt. I just done a basic texture test it's a clay based dirt lots of sand & silt. Vey stoney.

I shifted one lot earlier in the year & grew San Marzano's in cut up irrigation pipe & transplanted into the bed.. Stuff grows fine in it..

I've got a whole GOAT shed of manure that I will cut it with & all the shredded trimming & strimming i've been composting..

That's my mix..

I'm off to get some bricks from builders merchants now & I'll show you how I Mix with a cement mixer.. pH irrelevant, Peat now Redundant.

 

[Microbeman]

We used a cement mixer on our small farm after selling the big farm.

 

[bigbadbiddy]

Cement mixer was also what I was going to use on my farm if that materializes.


In the meantime, in my small setup, I use one of those "handheld" concrete/mortar mixers (you know, the ones that look like an oversized kitchen handmixer).


Works like a charm, sometimes gotta apply some hand labor to get stuff out of the corners or so but otherwise, I am very happy with it.


Compared to mixing by hand/with a spade or something, it's night and day. No longer do I emerge from my soil mixing sessions bathed in sweat

 

[jidoka]

So I have been lucky enough to have both soil and tissue tests with cannabis. It totally depends on the inputs you use. Use something soluble and bam, there it is in the tissue ahead ahead of all of your not soluble but available stuff

That is why there aren’t a whole lotta great big pumpkin growers. You start really pushing energy levels in the soil and it can seriously go off the rails

I will say all the rock dusts scare me. High Na, Fe and Al always come with them

 

[DTOM420]

I'm open to advice from anyone, even though I directed this post at MM.

I think soil testing can be valuable IF you are working with a reliable lab. They must clearly state their protocols and parameters (benchmarks) and reasons for using these. The same lab should also do leaf tissue analysis and should be recommending this to you.

In my opinion, they should be using HPLC and ICP where applicable

If this is not the case, you could be dealing with a substandard non-accredited lab and end up wasting money. Worse, you could be chasing your tail.

In the instance where one is growing commercially AND buying soil, I think testing is essential and I would compare results from 2 similar labs. However one would expect a commercial grower to be mixing their own soil.

When growing commercially using living soil, we did not test our soil but did test raw materials used for mineral inputs. Prior to this we did get soil testing and did chase our tail with the recommendations of; add this or that, without seeing improvement and sometimes worse results.

Another point is that no matter the testing technique used, not everything is known and not all sequestered nutrients can be tested for. Just look at the SNAFU around the plant uptake of boron.

Can you recommend a good lab and what test(s) I should be asking for? I was thinking about going through KIS Organics or BuildASoil.com for their testing and recommendations on my native soil. Although KIS Organics is about 30% less than BuildASoil. All I really know is that we have an alkaline soil that has some clay in it but but that it's pretty fertile because there's a huge ag business in our area and all around me. Growing corn to cotton to cucumber to milo to grass. I really want to grow outdoors using my native soil because I just can't afford to buy enough soil to replace what I have naturally - at least not at the scale of what I want to do. Besides, it's a pride thing. Lol! I like the idea of growing with my own soil and compost and manure and worm castings, etc. We're trying to be as self sustaining as we can and improve our own land as best as we can.

What I definitely need is some advice on how much clay I have and what/how much I need to add to compensate for that clay. I'd like to know what nutrients are in the soil but I really want to know what's available. Considering what I'll save by amending my native soil will BY FAR outweigh the cost of some soil samples before I start amending and another sample in a few months, when I'm getting ready to plant. Anyway, I'd sure appreciate your advice.

 

[jidoka]

Spectrum for alkaline soil. Get the AA8.2 for Ca. Post the results. Get ready to buy gypsum and soft rock, lol

 

[Mate Dave]

Iff all the outdoors guys in the USA went & grew a tonne for nothing then there would be no 'WooWoo' business to have profited from it. Hence all these peat proprietary mix's. Pot snobbery I love it.

 

[Microbeman]

I'm open to advice from anyone, even though I directed this post at MM.



Can you recommend a good lab and what test(s) I should be asking for? I was thinking about going through KIS Organics or BuildASoil.com for their testing and recommendations on my native soil. Although KIS Organics is about 30% less than BuildASoil. All I really know is that we have an alkaline soil that has some clay in it but but that it's pretty fertile because there's a huge ag business in our area and all around me. Growing corn to cotton to cucumber to milo to grass. I really want to grow outdoors using my native soil because I just can't afford to buy enough soil to replace what I have naturally - at least not at the scale of what I want to do. Besides, it's a pride thing. Lol! I like the idea of growing with my own soil and compost and manure and worm castings, etc. We're trying to be as self sustaining as we can and improve our own land as best as we can.

What I definitely need is some advice on how much clay I have and what/how much I need to add to compensate for that clay. I'd like to know what nutrients are in the soil but I really want to know what's available. Considering what I'll save by amending my native soil will BY FAR outweigh the cost of some soil samples before I start amending and another sample in a few months, when I'm getting ready to plant. Anyway, I'd sure appreciate your advice.

I would just mix up some vermicompost/compost, peat moss, drainage material and your soil and try her out.

The last lab I used; https://www.mblabs.com

 

[DTOM420]

Spectrum for alkaline soil. Get the AA8.2 for Ca. Post the results. Get ready to buy gypsum and soft rock, lol

Yessir, I’ll do it. Yeah, I’ve been stocking up on gypsum. I’m also starting to raise Alabama Jumper worms. I ordered some that will be my composting worms so that I can release the excess worms I raise into my beds. Turns out they love compacted clay soil and will break it up. So, I can get double duty out of them and they do better in our hot summers.

I would just mix up some vermicompost/compost, peat moss, drainage material and your soil and try her out.

The last lab I used; https://www.mblabs.com

Thank you, sir. I’ll call them mañana. Not sure if I can send soil, even for testing, into Canada? I’m going to check with them. If not, do you think that KIS Organics or even Logan Labs would be a decent choice?

I thought about just winging it with some basic amendments, like you said; but it’s going to be a pretty big investment as I don’t have nearly enough compost or vermicompist on hand. I found a decent source and I’m having a 7-yard truck of manure compost delivered, to help out. However, I thought the soil test and recommendation would help me get it right and not waste any materials. That’d be a big money saver. I’m trying to end up with 12 200 gallon beds for the photo garden.

 

[Defacto]

Clear as MUD yo!
This is about as useful as looking at 3 different pH pens that all display different numbers in the same water!

lol OUCH

 

[Mate Dave]

Soil test recommendations & other testing was a great way to get you to fund their businesses startup & pay the tax costs before it became a lawful requirement. They are not necessary but the 2 businesses, testing & the peat Semi organic approach to farming dope on any scale outside was born.

I hear hemp is comparable with wheat @ £300 per Acre or whatever these days.. Marijuana must be worth 12 million odd...


You should have a look @ the major soil types globally & what they are & what grows well What landrace types faired well & what Hybrids we're needed to grow in rich peat in a Guiri climate. Some of the best genetics we're propagated/bred in rockwool & with fertiliser so that was a selection criteria from Neville anyway.

We have a bit about native dirt in the Taxonomy group. You should join to read it. Where I am we have 13 soil types. I have an alluvial marl.. It's the good stuff if a bit like clay naturally low in K & other soluble nutrients after rain. There is an aspect of natural asbestos & other mineral issues that can only be tested for within the plant to be honest as to their effects on crop uptake.

 

[Microbeman]

DTOM; You can just do a smaller trial with your soil and your free compost.

I did not pay for a SSL certificate for my webpage...why bother?