Soil Test Results

[NickJames]

I got my soil test results back. 
 

How does this look for palms?

[sonoranfans]

neutral pH of 7.1 need to fertilize Mg, K and N but dont need phosphorus, sounds like florida.  SOil will have a slightly lower pH if you mulch  3" annualy.   Sounds fine, but a little construction debris underground can possibly give a higher local soil pH in spots.  Newer house up against it and 20' away might not even be the same soil.  There is nothing wrong with that soil test I can see from that report.  

[ahosey01]

53 minutes ago, NickJames said:

I got my soil test results back. 
 

How does this look for palms?

How much does one of these cost? I should do this.

[sonoranfans]

this report shows why florida has NPK formulation of 8-2-12 for palms.  There is plenty of phosphorus in our soils.  Too much phosphorus will stunt growth and possibly even kill plants.   https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/library/gardening/phosphorus-too-much-and-plants-may-suffer/

[NickJames]

3 hours ago, ahosey01 said:

How much does one of these cost? I should do this.

$10. The form said don’t send cash in mail so I wrote the third personal check I’ve ever written in my life. LOL.

[kinzyjr]

10 minutes ago, NickJames said:

$10. The form said don’t send cash in mail so I wrote the third personal check I’ve ever written in my life. LOL.

I'd have paid in Bitcoins LOL

[ahosey01]

21 minutes ago, NickJames said:

$10. The form said don’t send cash in mail so I wrote the third personal check I’ve ever written in my life. LOL.

People over 40 always mock me whenever I have to write a check, because I have to sit and confirm I’m writing the right values in the right fields - because I NEVER write them!

Hey bro, if the cavemen were still around, maybe they’d make fun of you for your crappy chisel skills.... lol

Edited August 20, 2020 by ahosey01

[kinzyjr]

8 minutes ago, ahosey01 said:

People over 40 always mock me whenever I have to write a check, because I have to sit and confirm I’m writing the right values in the right fields - because I NEVER write them!

Hey bro, if the cavemen were still around, maybe they’d make fun of you for your crappy chisel skills.... lol

I promise not to make fun

[NickJames]

8 hours ago, sonoranfans said:

this report shows why florida has NPK formulation of 8-2-12 for palms.  There is plenty of phosphorus in our soils.  Too much phosphorus will stunt growth and possibly even kill plants.   https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/library/gardening/phosphorus-too-much-and-plants-may-suffer/

I’m guessing my reclaimed water irrigation also adds phosphorus to the soil?

[NickJames]

9 hours ago, sonoranfans said:

neutral pH of 7.1 need to fertilize Mg, K and N but dont need phosphorus, sounds like florida.  SOil will have a slightly lower pH if you mulch  3" annualy.   Sounds fine, but a little construction debris underground can possibly give a higher local soil pH in spots.  Newer house up against it and 20' away might not even be the same soil.  There is nothing wrong with that soil test I can see from that report.  

This was an “easy” spot to access as I took it from six inches under a mulch layer near my p. Sylvestris. 

That area definitely has a lot of construction debris. I’m guessing the pine bark in that area has helped the ph above the last year.

So would it make sense to apply some standalone slow release potassium and magnesium granules?

[sonoranfans]

I also use sulpomag as johnny said, adding magnesium and potassium is the correct ratio without adding any phosphate.

[NickJames]

2 hours ago, sonoranfans said:

I also use sulpomag as johnny said, adding magnesium and potassium is the correct ratio without adding any phosphate.

 

3 hours ago, Johnny Palmseed said:

Sul Po Mag is a common fertilizer supplement and would be fine to add if done according to the recommended instructions. Although you have mentioned using palm specific fertilizer in the past and should be fine with just that. If you had a lot of fill dirt added to your soil, you might want to dig some of that up for a test as well since it could have a totally different pH and nutrient requirement. That is why my soil is so bad - most of the usable soil that the roots will be in is fill “dirt” until you dig down a few feet. Then I can see the original topsoil that they dumped the fill dirt on. It looks much better than the top layers.

Does this look good? This comes up when I search sol po mag?

Down to Earth Organic Langbeinite Fertilizer Mix 0-0-22, 5 lb https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VJN96LG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_RcQpFbMW65JYP

[sonoranfans]

https://www.amazon.com/Sul-Po-Mag-0-0-21-5-Magnesia-Greenway-Biotech/dp/B00I86FTMW/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=sulpomag&qid=1597941910&s=lawn-garden&sr=1-1

it isnt cheap but it also does some timed release of K, great for florida soils.  Sul po mag s $50/20lb the one you posted is 23/5 lb almost twice as expensive per lb.

[NickJames]

9 hours ago, sonoranfans said:

https://www.amazon.com/Sul-Po-Mag-0-0-21-5-Magnesia-Greenway-Biotech/dp/B00I86FTMW/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=sulpomag&qid=1597941910&s=lawn-garden&sr=1-1

it isnt cheap but it also does some timed release of K, great for florida soils.  Sul po mag s $50/20lb the one you posted is 23/5 lb almost twice as expensive per lb.

Thank you! Good catch. 

[Merlyn]

10 hours ago, NickJames said:

Thank you! Good catch. 

I found the Langbeinite sul-po-mag on Amazon in a giant 50lb bag, it was at one point available for $75 shipped.  I should have bought one immediately, now it's $150.  It's still cheaper than the other above options, but only if you plan on using a LOT of it.  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KO4L76I/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_9?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

My lot is fairly rich on the West side, and almost pure sand on the East and South sides.  I looked it up on the geological survey and there is a line going right through the center of my property switching soil types.  You could look up yours and see if there's a known variation, though that could easily have been blown away by land graders and construction.

SoilWeb: An Online Soil Survey Browser | California Soil Resource Lab  https://casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/gmap/

[NickJames]

48 minutes ago, Merlyn2220 said:

I found the Langbeinite sul-po-mag on Amazon in a giant 50lb bag, it was at one point available for $75 shipped.  I should have bought one immediately, now it's $150.  It's still cheaper than the other above options, but only if you plan on using a LOT of it.  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KO4L76I/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_9?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

My lot is fairly rich on the West side, and almost pure sand on the East and South sides.  I looked it up on the geological survey and there is a line going right through the center of my property switching soil types.  You could look up yours and see if there's a known variation, though that could easily have been blown away by land graders and construction.

SoilWeb: An Online Soil Survey Browser | California Soil Resource Lab  https://casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/gmap/

My lot appears to be completely encompasses by “Pomona fine sand” that is “poorly drained.”

I do think that is not absolutely accurate based on whatever was brought in for fill. There is definitely clay on the property because there were one or two palm spots where it was extremely obvious (the soil I dug out was shiny and water was running right off it). 
 

I am just glad at least that the lot was graded well. 

[Merlyn]

2 minutes ago, NickJames said:

My lot appears to be completely encompasses by “Pomona fine sand” that is “poorly drained.”

I do think that is not absolutely accurate based on whatever was brought in for fill. There is definitely clay on the property because there were one or two palm spots where it was extremely obvious (the soil I dug out was shiny and water was running right off it). 
 

I am just glad at least that the lot was graded well. 

Part of my lot appears to consist of hydrophobic sand.  I tried using some of it to pot up seedlings, and water would just sit on the top of it and drain around the sides.  I guess it's so fine that water won't easily flow through it.  Very weird.  If I mix it up when planting it's no big deal.  Maybe it was super fine silt or clay that they brought in around the back patio.

[sonoranfans]

On 8/13/2020 at 4:15 PM, Fusca said:

Tom, are the volunteer seedlings showing the blue color yet?  I assume the seedlings will eventually have the same color as mama.  She's gorgeous!

 

On 8/14/2020 at 1:33 AM, Palmfarmer said:

Using peroxide is experimental. google will not turn up any answers for it killing diseases. So i was asking if anyone had any experience using them for those things. 

 

55 minutes ago, Merlyn2220 said:

I found the Langbeinite sul-po-mag on Amazon in a giant 50lb bag, it was at one point available for $75 shipped.  I should have bought one immediately, now it's $150.  It's still cheaper than the other above options, but only if you plan on using a LOT of it.  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KO4L76I/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_9?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

My lot is fairly rich on the West side, and almost pure sand on the East and South sides.  I looked it up on the geological survey and there is a line going right through the center of my property switching soil types.  You could look up yours and see if there's a known variation, though that could easily have been blown away by land graders and construction.

SoilWeb: An Online Soil Survey Browser | California Soil Resource Lab  https://casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/gmap/

50 lb langbeinite for $150 in the link is now more expensive per lb than "sul po mag" 20 lbs for $50 is getting you 60 lbs(vs 50lb) for $150.  The prices have certainly risen 20% recently on many fertiizer products.

[sonoranfans]

1 minute ago, Merlyn2220 said:

Part of my lot appears to consist of hydrophobic sand.  I tried using some of it to pot up seedlings, and water would just sit on the top of it and drain around the sides.  I guess it's so fine that water won't easily flow through it.  Very weird.  If I mix it up when planting it's no big deal.  Maybe it was super fine silt or clay that they brought in around the back patio.

If water beads up sounds like you have some hydrophobic salts in the sand.   Its probably a residual from irrigation water.  That can be treated with a few good applications of humic acid, happens in my yard too.

[Merlyn]

1 minute ago, sonoranfans said:

50 lb langbeinite for $150 in the link is now more expensive per lb than "sul po mag" 20 lbs for $50 is getting you 60 lbs(vs 50lb) for $150.  The prices have certainly risen 20% recently on many fertiizer products.

Hah, that'll teach me to do math in my head.  $3 per pound for the 50lb bag or $2.50 per pound for the 20lb bag.  That's why I use a calculator or a spreadsheet these days... 

I'll have to check out humic acid.  My irrigation is well water, which is really high in Sulfur, and moderately high in Manganese, Iron and Calcium.  I don't recall anything else in there, but I haven't tested it recently.  I have a bleach injection system to precipitate out the Sulfur, because who wants to shower in fart water?  I'm not sure if the precipitates are significant, since they don't cause staining or clog water filters for the house. 

[sonoranfans]

55 minutes ago, Merlyn2220 said:

Hah, that'll teach me to do math in my head.  $3 per pound for the 50lb bag or $2.50 per pound for the 20lb bag.  That's why I use a calculator or a spreadsheet these days... 

I'll have to check out humic acid.  My irrigation is well water, which is really high in Sulfur, and moderately high in Manganese, Iron and Calcium.  I don't recall anything else in there, but I haven't tested it recently.  I have a bleach injection system to precipitate out the Sulfur, because who wants to shower in fart water?  I'm not sure if the precipitates are significant, since they don't cause staining or clog water filters for the house. 

I would not use bleach injection on water used to water plants.  When bleach reacts with sulfur, there are end products(chlorate and perchlorate) and these I would not want in the water I use on my palms.

[Reeverse]

Florikan nutricote IMO is the best all around polymer coated controlled release out there for our area. 

[sonoranfans]

2 hours ago, Reeverse said:

Florikan nutricote IMO is the best all around polymer coated controlled release out there for our area. 

yep I have used this for 7+ years here.  I do use sulpomag though when I get potassium deficiency at times, not common but it happens occasionally on some palms like kentiopsis O. and cuban copernicias.  

[Merlyn]

4 hours ago, sonoranfans said:

I would not use bleach injection on water used to water plants.  When bleach reacts with sulfur, there are end products(chlorate and perchlorate) and these I would not want in the water I use on my palms.

I've heard of chloramines being produced when bleach reacts with ammonia, but not with hydrogen sulfide.  The end PPM of bleach in my post-treated water is generally less than tap water, so I'm not too concerned about it.  My system is set up to use hydrogen peroxide too, but I'd have to buy it in the high concentration "industrial" types which is fairly dangerous stuff.

[Steve in Florida]

19 hours ago, Merlyn2220 said:

I found the Langbeinite sul-po-mag on Amazon in a giant 50lb bag, it was at one point available for $75 shipped.  I should have bought one immediately, now it's $150.  It's still cheaper than the other above options, but only if you plan on using a LOT of it.  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KO4L76I/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_9?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

My lot is fairly rich on the West side, and almost pure sand on the East and South sides.  I looked it up on the geological survey and there is a line going right through the center of my property switching soil types.  You could look up yours and see if there's a known variation, though that could easily have been blown away by land graders and construction.

SoilWeb: An Online Soil Survey Browser | California Soil Resource Lab  https://casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/gmap/

One of my fertilizer contacts sells 8-9 month slow release k-mag in Vero Beach if interested.

[NickJames]

22 hours ago, Steve in Florida said:

One of my fertilizer contacts sells 8-9 month slow release k-mag in Vero Beach if interested.

Sure. 

[Moose]

Keep on mulching heavily, year after year. Eventually you'll have lots of organic material and living soil. Then you don't need any mineral amendments. It's all there and the microbes bring it to your plant roots free of charge.

[Moose]

The UF soil test focuses what is plant available minerals. Microbes process the "locked up" minerals and make them available to you plants. Those minerals are not reflected in the soil test. 

Get that organic material breakdown going. It's a symbiotic relationship that is millions of years old, before man ever contemplated shoving a shovel into the earth