I’ve been using BOS 3.0 with added craft blend and build a flower + KNF (all organic) for the last 3 runs. I decided to send in a sample for the first time ever to see what is needed for the next round. Really excited to get these results! And here they are…Mainly need help adding N and all the mircos.
I’ve got a full 55 gallon tote and need to know with what and how much I should amended to get this soil ready for prime time. Thanks in advance for the help!
You can’t use it as is, but it’s a good base to start.
I’d add about 20~25% worm castings (N and to dilute the ‘high macros’)
You need some rock dust, I’d look at basalt and a little borax and Diatomaceous earth.
You need to look at adding to the micronutriments with adding to the high macros and get some serious N in there (worm castings are a good start)
no salts in this soil. and thank you for the recs!
Do you know about how much basalt/borax/diatomaceous per gallon? And diatomaceous adds micros? I thought it was more of an insect deterrent…Still learning
And would you try any feather or blood meal? Or just worm castings for N?
worm castings should take care of your boron and zinc, seaweed/kelp for the manganese.
Iron I would be tempted to use chelates though kelp will also provide some iron, as well as copper, manganese, it makes a great quick fix via a foliar feed and some kelp meal in the soil will deliver micronutrients over time as they break down. Basalt dust is rich in iron, magnesium and manganese, though they need to be broken down into plant usable form so they may not provide as fast a fix.
@Phil_Bombs, i have a couple of questions about the test. Who did you get the test from? What are the units, pounds per acre or parts per million? Where are the total cation exchange and cation percentage values?
All in all, it looks good to go with some topdressing of craft blend and some micronutrients.
Nitrogen is always hard to read because it is constantly in flux. I would use a seed meal here, but feather and/or blood meal can also work. There is probably plenty in the craft blend, top dress at their recommended dosages.
For micros, I would get some of the big 6 from BAS. It’s got all six major micronutrients in a chelated form. They leave out iron because of the basalt they use. What I do like seeing on this test is that manganese is about equal to the iron.
If you really want to get into soil testing and micronutrients balancing, check out the book The Intelligent Gardener by Steve Solomon. It does a fair job of explaining the basics of soil science and even has some worksheets at the end so you can calculate exactly what is needed.
@ReikoX - thank you for the thoughtful response and the book rec. I will look into it.
This is what I used, got this rec from an og member.
They were easy to work with and I got my results in 5 days. I’ll ask them the questions that you asked and we’ll see what they say. It does say parts per million but nothing about cation.
Curious about why it’s important that manganese needs to be equal to iron. Can that be an issue?
So no need to mix in the craft blend in the soil as well? Just topdress? I will get the big 6 - thank you!
Pretty interesting results, seems your either in excess or deficient and only thing that is optimal is ur pH
I look at the optimal ranges and where ur at and geez u are loaded down with a shit ton of sulphur and the others are all double optimal ranges, that throws up a red flag for me cuz excess can be just as problematic as deficient
Trace minerals can benefit from blood meal for zinc and iron and azomite for the others
Rabbit or guinea pig shit is great for nitrogen same with horse manure and alfalfa meal
No expert here but I would guess the high calcium and sulfur come from the craft blend. Is anything alive in your soil? Add worms from Uncle Jim.
Happy Harvests
Peace