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soil Tell me about my soil test results...(pic)

It says your soil is GOOD! I see they are recommending a small amount of (N)itrogen to be added, but I didn't see clearly where they actually took a reading for the amount of nitrogen you have currently. That is all they are recommending, so you should focus on using something like 5-1-1 fish fertilizer on your garden as you have higher than optimal levels of (P)hosphorus and (K) Potassium.
 
theghostpepperstore said:
It says your soil is GOOD! I see they are recommending a small amount of (N)itrogen to be added, but I didn't see clearly where they actually took a reading for the amount of nitrogen you have currently. That is all they are recommending, so you should focus on using something like 5-1-1 fish fertilizer on your garden as you have higher than optimal levels of (P)hosphorus and (K) Potassium.
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Thank you sir that is what I was hoping to hear.  The 5-1-1 Fish would be applied all over my garden before planting?  I am very new to this and never grew anything so..... 
 
My garden is about 30' x 30'
 
JoeFish said:
Thank you sir that is what I was hoping to hear.  The 5-1-1 Fish would be applied all over my garden before planting?  I am very new to this and never grew anything so..... 
 
My garden is about 30' x 30'
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You could apply it to your entire garden before planting, but honestly, you would be best served by using it once a month during your growing season. Since the test only came back recommending 0.5lb of N per 1000sq ft that means you only need to add less than 0.5lb for your entire garden. That is relatively low, which means that you likely wont HAVE to add any to have a good garden. It is, however, important to feed your soil, and fish fertilizer is a great way to do it! It is also hard to over-fertilize with fish. Just follow the directions on the bottle, and you will be fine.
 
I see you are not far from where I live, and that they classified your soil as sandy loam. You must be near the Mississippi? You should have no trouble if you are in the river bottoms like me. Good luck to you.
 
:welcome:   Agreed, you have good soil.  One thing to consider with the fish fertilizer, though, is that in an outdoor setting it may attract critters and encourage them to dig.  I had to stop using it in my garden because of that.  You haven't said if you're committed to growing organic, but if not, one pound of urea would be plenty spread over the whole 900 sq. ft. of space, as per the recommendation at the bottom of the test results.
 
Sawyer said:
:welcome:   Agreed, you have good soil.  One thing to consider with the fish fertilizer, though, is that in an outdoor setting it may attract critters and encourage them to dig.  I had to stop using it in my garden because of that.  You haven't said if you're committed to growing organic, but if not, one pound of urea would be plenty spread over the whole 900 sq. ft. of space, as per the recommendation at the bottom of the test results.
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Yep, also what he said.... sorry, I guess I have been organic for so long now that I don't even consider the other things!
 
theghostpepperstore said:
 
You could apply it to your entire garden before planting, but honestly, you would be best served by using it once a month during your growing season. Since the test only came back recommending 0.5lb of N per 1000sq ft that means you only need to add less than 0.5lb for your entire garden. That is relatively low, which means that you likely wont HAVE to add any to have a good garden. It is, however, important to feed your soil, and fish fertilizer is a great way to do it! It is also hard to over-fertilize with fish. Just follow the directions on the bottle, and you will be fine.
 
I see you are not far from where I live, and that they classified your soil as sandy loam. You must be near the Mississippi? You should have no trouble if you are in the river bottoms like me. Good luck to you.
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Yea I live right in the NE corner of Arkansas between two huge swamps the ground here is really good according to the farmers.  I am worried about Calcium though since I am growing tomatoes and peppers mostly.  I have read a lot and its got me scared of not enough.  This is my first garden and I really don't want to have a complete failure.
Sawyer said:
:welcome:   Agreed, you have good soil.  One thing to consider with the fish fertilizer, though, is that in an outdoor setting it may attract critters and encourage them to dig.  I had to stop using it in my garden because of that.  You haven't said if you're committed to growing organic, but if not, one pound of urea would be plenty spread over the whole 900 sq. ft. of space, as per the recommendation at the bottom of the test results.
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I have not committed to organic but I am leaning that way.  My garden is located in the very corner of my backyard inside a fence.  Hopefully that can keep some critters at bay.
theghostpepperstore said:
 
You could apply it to your entire garden before planting, but honestly, you would be best served by using it once a month during your growing season. Since the test only came back recommending 0.5lb of N per 1000sq ft that means you only need to add less than 0.5lb for your entire garden. That is relatively low, which means that you likely wont HAVE to add any to have a good garden. It is, however, important to feed your soil, and fish fertilizer is a great way to do it! It is also hard to over-fertilize with fish. Just follow the directions on the bottle, and you will be fine.
 
I see you are not far from where I live, and that they classified your soil as sandy loam. You must be near the Mississippi? You should have no trouble if you are in the river bottoms like me. Good luck to you.
Click to expand...
 
Yeah I live in a sandy spot between 2 swamps.  I always hear about how good the ground is here so I'm about to put it to the test with my first ever garden.  Wish me luck.
 
I would use an animal manure like sheep manure and amend your garden with that and some Lucerne straw. Till it in or leave it on top of the ground to break down until planting time and it will feed your soil all season. If you can get away from having to feed your soil throughout the season I would .... Check out pepper gurus blogs to see what can be achieved with simply good soil and one big feed a season. Or windchicken's blog for a slightly different approach but same principal
 
+1 for #8 ^  It's too late for this season, but growing a mixed winter cover crop of winter vetch and some winter grain (rye, oats, or wheat; barley tends to lodge under the weight of the vetch in my experience) for support can provide enough nitrogen for an entire season for many crops (corn and  maybe onions excepted).  Even now, any kind of early season green manure you can grow and till under two or three weeks before peppers plant out time will help condition the soil.
 
Yo JoeFish!  Great results for unamended soil bud!  Others have covered pretty much every base regarding what you can add, so I will chime in with other info that might be of use:
 
It's your first garden.  Understand you're unlikely to grow prize winning produce your first season.  Also understand that so long as you're planting in good sunlight and keep things adequately watered you should see acceptable yields even without gigs of data to figure out every little thing.  This is NATURE after all ;)  This first year you'll be learning quite a lot.
 
Plant things you already love to eat.  Cukes, tomatoes, peppers (of course!).  I planted ground cherries when we first moved in to our new house because I was always interested in them.  Discovered shortly thereafter that they tasted, well, unique.  Uniquely BAD.  The damn things took over one of my raised beds and self seeded all over the backyard.  
 
When I get home from work each day, I wash up and head directly out to walk the beds of our garden.  This not only helps me relax from the day but it also gives me a chance to thoroughly check all the beds, note what needs weeding, or what might be getting et by critters, check fences and guestimate the days till the green fruits will be ripe and ready!
 
Read up on square foot gardening, companion planting and crop rotation.  Things you plant this year should not go into the same spots next year.
 
30 x 30 is a great size to start!  Given good management and conditions there's no reason you can't grow enough produce to take a significant bite out of your monthly grocery bill all summer long.  Not only that but also enough to start canning, drying and preserving.  <-- this especially opens up a whole new truly cool world.  
 
Beware pests - rabbits and deer, creepies and crawlies, molds and blights.  When the first signs are noticed take action - hoping it will go away or get better on its own puts your crops in peril.  I control rabbits (they are bad out by me) with home depot chicken wire to good effect.  Doesn't look pleasant to the eye but its effective.
 
I started in containers on the fire escape behind my apartment in Chicago about ten years ago (tomatoes).  Next year I'll have 25+ types of peppers, 15+ types of tomatoes, 3-4 different cukes and beans and melons and squash and corn and eggplant and and and.... All in 4raised beds I built and hauled the dirt to fill with.  (heavy clay soil) Gardening has made a hugely positive impact on my life and I wish you the same.  Good luck!
 
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