Re: was amino acids? now soil

[Guest guest]

On Mon, 18 Feb 2002 02:26:08 -0000 " soilfertility " <ynos@...>

wrote:

Hi Wanita:

With respect for Adelle , I suspect she didn't know very much

about soil fertility. If her statement is your only basis for wanting

to add magnesium to your soil, I suggest that would be a bad idea

without looking at the total soil picture, at least as far as cations

are concerned (cations are just positive ions, the major ones in the

soil are calcium, magnesium, potassium and hydrogen). A simple soil

test should tell you the base saturation percentages of the major

cations.

One major problem with trying to balance available minerals in the

soil is that various minerals are antagonistic to other minerals. So

if you add too much of one which was too low, it may make another

mineral which was in proper supply behave as if there is a shortage.

Magnesium, like any cation you would add to your soil is always in a

compound form. In high mag lime it is in its carbonate form and in

epsom salts it is in its sulphate form. You would probably want to

know the ph and whether sulphur was deficient too before deciding

whether to add either to the soil to address a magnesium deficiency.

Sometimes just adding calcium to soil allows plants to pick pick up

more of other minerals like magnesium.

Chi

Hi Chi,

Have switched from digest to individual messages this week. Am just catching

up. I won't feel so much in the dark getting my soil tested now. Have put it

off too long and will be using the area nearer the house for the second year.

Had to vacate the pasture as the wildlife were getting fed better than we

were.

Our soil is acidic. The benefit is free wild blueberries and cranberries. The

one year I didn't put epsom salts in the tomato holes every plant got blossom

end rot. Saw epsom salt contained magnesium and used to balance the calcium

deficiency of the disease. Have had no tomato disease since. Used the hi mag

lime last fall for the first time. Know the soil needs work I can't guess at.

Have red clover and alfalfa cover crop growing in the greenhouse beds now in

this New England unwinter. These beds are more built up than the other

gardens.

Do I get two separate tests?

Wanita

[Guest guest]

> Our soil is acidic.

> Do I get two separate tests?

Hi Wanita:

If magnesium is low and the soil is acidic, it probably means calcium

is low too. Your high magnesium lime application would have addressed

calcium too, but you might find after the magnesium is 'ok' that you

still need to apply hi-cal lime to increase the calcium to 'ok' too.

I would just do one soil test on your normal soil to get an idea of

where things are to start.

Chi