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soil Thoughts on this Garden Soil?

newbiepepperguy said:
A local place has garden soil (mix of their compost, potting mix, and sand) available by the cubic yard, and I'm looking at getting some to put in my 3 8'x4' 1 foot deep raised beds. They have the following lab results of what's in it.
 
http://www.cityofdavenportiowa.com/egov/documents/1382380066_11519.pdf
 
Being a newbie, I'm not sure what to think. It sounds good to me, but I'm not sure. What are your thoughts?
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At a glance, it looks like the only real drawback, is that it has a high ash content.  For me, this means that I'd probably want to cut it with some clean top soil for raised bed use.
 

 
 
solid7 said:
 
 
At a glance, it looks like the only real drawback, is that it has a high ash content.  For me, this means that I'd probably want to cut it with some clean top soil for raised bed use.
 
 
Click to expand...
 
Thanks. What's the impact of high ash content? 
 
newbiepepperguy said:
 
Thanks. What's the impact of high ash content? 
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Because the small particulate that constitutes ash, contributes towards higher TDS - and therefore, higher EC of the soil.  When you raise the EC, it muddles the plant's ability to use nutrients.
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Plants don't eat like we do.  They grab ions, on an as-needed basis, until an equilibrium is reached.  However, some particles are electrically similar to others - even though they may not be able to be used by the plant.
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This is a vast oversimplification, but it's a simple illustration.  It's one of the reasons why you use RO water in hydroponics, instead of well water or city water.  Yes, the city and well water will work, but with greatly reduced efficacy. (and increased risk of failures)
 
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