After many years, I think you have finally convinced me to get some professional soil testing. I'm not sure how much I am willing to change my methods in keeping with my goal of keeping the garden as close to self sufficient within my two acres of property as is reasonable. But it's almost always better to know than to remain ignorant. Thanks, Bruce.

Having a soil test is also important as a baseline for diagnosing plant health problems. There are a lot of nutritional issues that can look like pest or disease. Being able to rule one of those out can be useful.

Forgot to say, the key to higher TCEC is higher clay content. This can slowly be improved by just getting some clay, keeping it wet, and stirring some into watering cans when watering the beds or mixing small amounts into your homemade compost piles

Your videos are pure gold. Thank you so much.

While I don't know the types of amendmants you might have access to, sodium sulphate (used with care) might be a good alternative to gypsum, where the sulphate will inevitably end up as gypsum anyhow since you have calcerious soil and this would help with sodium deficiencies (at least before the next rains come) While I havent read into the more empirical end of biochar and related chars I can say at least that the _idea_ that they can hold onto ions better than typically amended soils makes sense in the chemistry of it, it's the intercolation of ions that makes activated carbon and related chars useful for swallowing up ions in solutions, and this also makes sense why raw "unactivated" char would harm growth, it will soak up avaliable ions. At least in the youtube sphere Skillcult has done some empirical work on it amongst others. Something that can hold on to critical ions when the rains come might be very useful in your context although again I havent dug enough into the research end of char to feel confident suggesting it. I know Way Out West on youtube make Char in Ireland, might be a source if you do take that path and can't make your own. Thank you for posting loads of the data you collect and sharing the work you do, even though large chunks of what you post don't make sense in my context the data you collect and how you manage it is immensely useful to see and there is loads of things learned that are transferrable.

Very interesting overview, thank you very much! I did also few soil tests from my property which has been field for who knows how many (hundreds of?) years. I was shocked to see that in typical location pH was 5.5 and 5.1 😲To the limestone/dolomite quarry!

Excellent video.lot to learn

Have you tried running correlation tests between the harvest data and the soil data? This could be interesting to see if the differences in yield could be linked to the soil composition. It's actually impressive how much data you've gathered over the years. Also, maybe take a look at studies with metagenomics analysis of soils. Although it's not practical for what you're doing, it could give some insights into what's going on with the diversity of microbial communities in your soil.

Thanks Bruce. I was doing a bit of research into clubroot earlier in the year as I possibly found some at a low level on some of our purple sprouting broccoli. Thought I'd spotted a mistake but apparently high pH factors clubroot but calcium helps plants have stronger cell walls and therefore resist clubroot more effectively. So it's the supply of calcium that's beneficial when growers add lime for clubroot prevention.

Great video! I soil tested the first time this year. It's interesting to see how my soil management has progressed over the years. I also have no till gardens and use commercial compost for several years. Potassium is higher in the 2 beds that have been in use longest, 5 years... ph is 6.8 and 6.7 . I will definitely watch this.... I use cover crops in rotation, I wonder what difference this makes? Appreciate you! Thank you for sharing. Lots of good information and thought inspiring content. Namaste

I think it is important how you always mention that this are not cut and dry results .

Probably make sense to compare the garden pots to a nearby forest plot to see if the potassium problem is common in the area, or if there are other things that the natural results could improve for your soil

Greetings from Croatia thanks for another analysis be careful with lime, it reduces bacteria the most important ratio is bacterial versus fungal this is the reason why the soil under the compost is different until next time, be healthy and happy

the common understanding seems to be that one cannot really change the nature of your soil. Testing would help to educate oneself on what your soil is like and what kind of plants will grow happily. --- Interesting that Bruce pronounces the H in Haitch. Unusual.

This guy gets it

Sulfur can improve flavor in fruit and vegetables. I target levels around 50-60. With such high calcium soils, you can do this really easily.

when i was younger my dad always said add lots of lime it will grow better and not hurt anything. then when we finally got a soil test calcium was 93.1% saturation of CEC and 7.4ph, while my base lawn soil is 76% and 6.7ph

Municipal compost has been problematic for me as well. I found that Bentonite clay increased CEC noticeably as well as either humic acid granules and/or compost tea. Finding a compost source that naturally has some clay in the mix would be really convenient.

Hi Bruce. Have you though about dividing your soil samples into depths for your soil tests ? I work in agricultural research and soil testing is a routine operation for us. We test 0-10 cm, 10-30cm, 30-60cm, 60-90cm and 90-120cm for most crops. This gives us a comprehensive view of the nutrient levels throughout the entire profile. I know you probably don’t have the equipment to go this deep but even sectioning up 0-10, 10-30 would be a benefit as you can seperate the top soil from the subsoil. Keep up the good work, enjoy watching your videos from Australia.

Great video as usual. I’d be curious to see how your municipal compost tests. I know they provide you with their own breakdown, but you never know. I find some analyses really unhelpful, like ph. I love growing blueberries and other vacciniums, and the general guide is to add sulphur every year to acidify the soil. But I don’t like that idea. To me it’s better to constantly add organic material to the the top layer to feed the mycelium. I haven’t done any tests to support my choices, however.

It would be interesting to do a small trial with half of the plants being ammended with sulfur and half with no treatment. To see if adding sulfur has any effect on plant growth or taste

ive wanted to do a soil test on my ground to see what is what!

Hi, I've been following your channel for quite some years now and in the meantime i have enrolled and graduated in agrisciences at university. I suggest you to buy an agronomy textbook of univeristary level (really any agronomy text, just to get the basic stuff) because I can see you really try to do your best and I really appreciate this, and having some more theoretical knowledge will really help you in more technical things such as reading and evaluating the results of soil tests. Thank you for the good video as always

Keep an eye on your ions !

Would the use of woven plastic fabric on top improve the decomposition of the compost? I think it would create a better environment for composting earthworms.

i am in a place with centuries of very acidic pine forests. Our soil is usually between 6-6.8pH, depending on the year. It's one of the main reasons i switched to all grow bags (except for raspberries, blueberries, beach plums in ground - which all are acidic loving plants) For you, I wonder, if, somehow you can get ahead of compost, letting that municipal compost sit a year or more. Adding all greens and browns (that you know well - not taking in stranger's yard waste). You know? getting a source of compost, added w/ that organic matter of your own. Know any landscapers that can create wood chips from trees, and add that to the sitting Muni compost?

Potassium is a calcium & magnesium antagonist. Meaning it will be taken up by plants instead of the other two. Magnesium is a very important nutrient for photosynthesis so if levels are low & potassium is high you probably have a deficiency. Also excess phosphorus causes calcium deficiencies. I would say apply Cal-Mag directly to your plants as a liquid feed. You may just be seeing legacy effects from previous management with potassium fertilisers. Potassium also ruins soil structure in clay soils, they literally use it to cause cementing in clay muds. Given the high pH I’d also say you have iron & manganese deficiencies too as they are not bioavailable above ~6.5. Again use liquid feeds as these two nutrients oxidise rapidly if not chelated. You also most likely have an ammonium deficiency caused by pH. Applying high ammonium fertiliser might actually be beneficial in lowering your pH & increasing growth. Ammonium sulfate should do the trick since you also need sulphur. I’m doing a PhD in soil health so always fascinated to see how soil tests are interpreted.

While, I'm with others, if it produces good veg, don't sweat the tests so much. I think One way to think about it would be to take two or more gardens that have the most drastic test results. Simple Garden and Polytunnel stick out to me. And dig their soil up and use in a grow bag trial. That's the only true way to know if it's your soil or the management that leads to differences.

There’s a lot of complicated inter-dependence in the chemistry, and you can sweat it too much if you’re producing healthy crops at fair yields - that’s the best test. But I’m interested whether there could be easier (maybe rule-of-thumb) methods of judging soil health by reference to the resident microbiology.

Since potassium is the number one thing to add if you want to increase the disease resistance of plants I wonder if your high levels are even a problem.

The Black Plot has weird results. Lower OM levels after a cover crop and then throught the roof ? Perhaps it was ’locked up’ in a stable form ? What acid / solvent was used ? Is it adapted to your soil basiline (pH etc) ? So many questions. Thanks for showing your results and thought processes. Do you have a relationship with an Ag university ?

Excess potassium is a nice problem to have, I imagine.😊

With such low sulfur levels, I bet the onions are quite sweet.

pelletized elemental sulfur is a very effective and cheap way of lowering soil pH.

I came back to say I did a soil test this year prior to the growing season got recommendations amended my soil and came back and did another test 3-4 months later PH went down 0.4% but I really jncreased levels of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium to normal levels, Now I am tackling trace elements and Calcium is a touch low. The big weird increase is that I did not add anything that could boost my soils Exchange Capacity yet it more than doubled and is now considered quite high for sandy soil. Really weird as I did nothing and it shouldnt have massively increased as it did.

n effective way to reduce soil potassium is to grow a round of potatoes. If you give it enough nitrogen, from a source that has low or preferably zero potassium, the potatoes will theoretically take 200 pm of potassium out of the soil. This is assuming that your K is excessive and over 200 ppm. I have done this myself after municipal compost had increased K to 550 ppm. The following year's soil test showed 350 ppm, so the prediction was spot on. If growing organically, blood meal is a good choice. It has 12-14% N and 0% K. You would need around 250 kg/ha N to get a good yield of potatoes, and the natural breakdown of organic matter in your soil will probably supply about 50-100 kg/ha of that number. Or, you could grow celery, which will take out even more K (around 250 ppm). It is a very good idea to get potassium in balance with particularly calcium, as K will suppress Ca uptake. This will result in low Brix values, increased pest susceptibility and worse taste & nutritional content. Sources: Dan Kittredge (Bionutrient Food Association, John Kempf (Advancing Eco Agriculture), Graeme Sait (nutri-tech)

You should get in touch with the Advancing Eco Agriculture channel, I'm sure You could work together.

Thank you for your content. I have watched every video you have done for a couple of years now and it is very interesting to me. I do wonder some things though. I have a science degree. I know many people that have science degrees that are not as rigorous as you. Can you tell us your education? It's none of our business, so by all means say nothing. No one knows how to do spreadsheets well though, unless you were taught. We grow about 14 hectares a year of raspberries, 2 hectares of blueberries and about 14 million strawberry plants. We often do leaf tests on the plants to find what they are deficient in. Is this something you have done? Cation exchanges and nutrient lock out is very hard to get your head around at the best of times but leaf testing can be as simple as "add more of that". I guess you're coming into winter now so good luck with that while I sit on the beach with a beer.😛

Who do you use for the lab testing?

if your soils are alcaline,they are always gonna be that way,here in brazil we have literally red soils from iron oxide,and my plants consistently suffer from iron deficiency because our soils ph are at around 4,and no amount of lime in the world manages to fix it,farmers apply lime every 2 to 3 years otherwise there is no way to grow crops for food

1000 lb / acre of p2o5 is crazy high!

I read The Intellegent Gardener as well, and also a fair amount of the source material that he cites throughout the book, and I think you don't understand the extent to which the things he says in the book apply. I analyzed your soil test using Steve Solomon's technique. Here is what is recommended: No-dig garden: 600lb/acre of gypsum optionally 16lb/acre of copper sulfate (I don't see a copper deficiency in your plants, so it is unlikely you need it). optionally 9.6lb/acre of borax (again, I don't see a boron deficiency) There is an excess of phosphorus, iron, manganese, nitrogen, and especially potassium, none of which exist in the simple garden, which is likely due to an overapplication of compost. Simple garden: 503lb/acre of gypsum optional 16lb/acre copper sulfate heptahydrate You could use 1102.92lb/acre of bonemeal if you want to prevent bringing in more potassium, or just more compost (I recommend compost). If you add bonemeal instead of compost, you will need to preemptively correct the following nutrient deficiencies that will likely pop up: optional 28lb/acre zinc sulfate heptahydrate (to balance the excess phosphorus from the bonemeal) optional 14lb/acre borax (I don't know how much you would need if you applied just compost, so better not to add any in that case) Extensive garden: 642lb/acre gypsum (small overapplication of compost in this garden) Intensive garden: 548lb/acre gypsum optional 2.6lb/acre borax (large overapplication of compost in this garden) Polyculture garden: 600lb/acre gypsum optional 17lb/acre zinc sulfate heptahydrate (to balance the excess phosphorus) optional 9lb/acre borax optional 16lb/acre copper sulfate heptahydrate (large overapplication of compost in this garden) It is unlikely that the high pH is actually doing anything bad to your soil. To explain why the pH goes up the more compost you put in it, poor soil has H+ ions in the cation exchange slots of the soil, however, when you put compost on, those slots fill with cations, which results in a higher pH (literally a measure of those H+ ions and their equivalents). As such, pH is a poor measure of soil quality in your context. However, with a normally acid soil, pH can be a very useful metric of soil mineralization. In addition, for every 1000sqft, Steve Solomon recommends you put down 1lb of kelp meal for trace minerals (especially iodine). I wonder what we would see on a soil test for more trace minerals (Logan Labs sells one, which is I think the same soil lab you went to this time). I can't really see what's going on in the soil test results for the polytunnels, but the one on the far left and middle right need to be desalinated by washing out with more irrigation water once a year at least. You just put a sprinkler in there hooked up to a hose or something. For the worst of the overapplication of compost (the no-dig garden), there is about two or three times the ideal amount of compost currently in the soil. In *the* book on no-dig, One Straw Revolution, Masanobu Fukuoka added only a small amount of chicken manure every year ongoing for best results. You may want to look into alternative phosphorus sources that are not as woody (high potassium) as municipal compost. Some that might be easy to get in Ireland would be hay for adding in large quanties to compost, bonemeal (applied directly or put in compost) and miscellaneous waste products (which I think you are already doing). Putting a large amount of hay into your compost would also give the benefit of being able to accept more weird abundances of composting materials without throwing things off too much. In summary, you should skip a year of applying compost to most of your gardens, and just apply it to the simple and new gardens and add a bunch of gypsum in the recommended amounts.

I know you won't have much spare time but it is worth re-reading the section of The Intelligent Gardener that covers the 'hierarchy' of calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium. In short, soil pH increases the more the proportions are skewed to the right in this hierarchy (i.e. sodium gives higher pH than potassium which in turn gives higher than magnesium and then calcium) so reducing excess sodium is priority, then potassium, etc. In Steve Solomon's latest edition, he goes as far as saying to never add sodium and he has reduced the desired target level to zero! I have been doing soil tests for 3 years and actively trying to reduce potassium levels as, like your soils, mine were way in excess. I have added lots of calcium carbonate and gypsum and also stopped adding woody materials (not even things like brassica stems and corn stalks) to my homemade compost. The soil has still some excess potassium but is much better and my compost is now actually too low in potassium so I will be putting some chopped stems back in this year. Sorry for the long comment. Great video (again!)

If you want your mind blown, using a Redox scale instead of pH is key. It gets much much more complicated. The simple answer to a balanced redox is still good soil life. Life breeds life.

ph is the logarithmic scale of free hydrogen ions, which determines calcium availability, amongst other things. with high ph calcium cant dissolve readily. high ph tolerant plants either have lower calcium requirement or the plant has additional mechanism for dissolving calcium at root hairs. high soil organic matter is not necessary and problematic in many ways. it's touted as a silver bullet for every veggies growing problem--which it isnt--but only by organic ideologists. 3-5% soil organic matter is sufficient, according to agriculture science. most fertilizer packaging states that low/inadequate levels of nutrients can be result of prolonged compost applications.

Interesting people treat soil pH as if it is static and immediately proceed to things like lime (if too acidic)) or other chemical additives based solely on readout from a soil pH test and an apparent deficiency. Acidic hydrogen is highly soluble, amenable, adjustable, variable and bufferable. Plant roots and soil microbes manipulate pH, presumably according to their needs. Similarly, nutrient deficiencies can be the consequence of improper pH, which can be transient. This soil is mainly 7.2 to 7.8, so it isn't far from ideal for most crops. Is this soil pH so tightly buffered that adding a bit of organic debris (coffee grinds?) as one anyway tends to do won't pull it below 7.0?

I have been toying with the idea of testing my homemade copost. I worry that it is lacking in phosphorus. I feel that is good in nitrogen as I use lots of nitrogen rich ingredientssuch a manure from my chickens.

pH is a symptom more than an end point. It is related to base saturation and the presence of H on the exchange sites. If you fertilize with more N based products and avoid K and Ca heavy materials it will start to lower the pH. Avoid gypsum, stick with healthy annual S applications. S is a critical nutrient in plant N uptake. What your tests show is very typical for long term organic farms, with a history of compost or manure applications. If possible, growing high N cover crops as a primary nutrient source and limiting compost applications, that will help get things back where micro nutrients are available. Most of your micros are locked up at high pH. Let your crops mine some of the K and Ca.

"... And to keep an ion"

Why no discussion about nitrogen?

Some sulphur as a nutrient info with references, via chat-gpt so needs to be accuracy checked: Plants use sulfur primarily for the synthesis of two important amino acids, cysteine and methionine. These amino acids are essential building blocks for proteins and enzymes in the plant, so sulfur is crucial for plant growth and development. Sulfur also plays a role in the production of vitamins, pigments, and certain secondary metabolites in plants. A deficiency in sulfur in the soil can lead to various problems for plants, including stunted growth, yellowing of leaves (chlorosis), and reduced yields. Some crops are particularly sensitive to sulfur deficiencies, and their growth and productivity can be severely affected if they don't get enough sulfur. Here are some examples of vegetables that are known to be sensitive to sulfur deficiencies: Brassicas: Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and other members of the brassica family are particularly sensitive to sulfur deficiencies. Without enough sulfur, these crops may develop yellow or pale green leaves, and their growth and yields can be significantly reduced. Onions and garlic: Sulfur is important for the development of the characteristic flavor and pungency of onions and garlic. Without enough sulfur, these crops may be less flavorful and have lower yields. Legumes: Soybeans, peas, and other legumes rely on sulfur for the synthesis of proteins, and a deficiency in sulfur can lead to reduced growth and yields. To address sulfur deficiencies in the soil, farmers and gardeners can use various sulfur-containing fertilizers, such as ammonium sulfate, gypsum, or elemental sulfur. They can also add organic matter to the soil, as this can help to release sulfur from soil organic matter. References: Cakmak, I., & Yazici, A. (2010). Magnesium and sulfur deficiencies and their management in crops. In Marschner's Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants (pp. 135-157). Academic Press. Hawkesford, M. J. (2012). Sulfur metabolism in plants: responses to abiotic and biotic stress. In Sulfur metabolism in higher plants-molecular, ecophysiological and nutritional aspects (pp. 3-25). Springer. Scherer, H. W. (2001). Sulfur in crop production-invited paper. European Journal of Agronomy, 14(2), 81-111.

Hi, this playlist may be helpful for you. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/r6uCg6lp05evo5c.html It's collection of knowledge around nutriments. (Best I know.)

I don't know what's going on with the lighting in this video, but your sun spots are really popping off on your face. Please start wearing sunscreen on your face if you don't already

This video is truly saddening, because I thought that you, of all people would know and understand the environmental impact of leaching nutrients. If using rotted cowmanure, the recommned amount for growing potatoes would be 200L/200kg pr 100m2. So, when youtube personalities like Charles Dowding recommned an annual "sprinkle" of 3 inches of rotted cowmanure, that equates to no less and 3000 liters/3 tons = 1500% the recommended amount. The excess nutrients will leach into the soil, and end up in local lakes and streams where they will cause hawoc. I simply dont understand why nobody questions any of this? What Charles is preaching is complete and utter madness. The farmers of europe are doing everything they can to minimize leaching, to protect our waterways and oceans. But all that hard work could easily be ruined if no-dig becomes mainsteam. I love your videos, I truley do, but when the numbers are telling you that you are using way too much fertilizer, you need to listen. I have no voice in this matter, but you do. Plz use it. Best regards, Anders.

I tend to agree with Perkins and Dowding when it comes to soil tests. They seem unnecessary and might even give you misrepresented results. Soil is not stagnant. The only warranted soil test in my opinion is one testing for contaminants before setting up a garden.