Be forewarned. Total newb here

[ReggieB]

Hello to all that have been doing this for awhile.

My question is based on a soil sample I sent to the MSU extension that recommends, in order,
option 1: manufactured 12-2-12 @ 30/1000
Option 2: manufactured 16-2-14 @ 22/1000
Option 3: organic 6-1-6 @ 60/1000

Organic meaning cow manure? Free
Manufactured ? Unknown
Or go with the straight bag of each
Nitrogen 3 to 4 lb/1000
Phosphorus 1 lb/1000
Potassium 5 lb/1000
Lime 48/1000

Ph is 6.2


Any other info you PROS need or would like to make a recommendation. Post it. Believe me I will provide it.

And no, this is NOT a victory garden. It's going to go on until they compost my wrinkled butt in the ground. Or sprinkle my ashes in the fire fit.

Thank you in advance

Reggie

 

[oneeye]

Synthetic fertilizer 12-2-12 @ 30/1000, means use a bag of 12-2-12 at 30 lbs per 1000 feet
Synthetic fertilizer 16-2-14 @ 22/1000, means use a bag of 16-2-14 at 22 lbs per 1000 feet
Organic 6-1-6 @ 60/1000 mix yourself a bag of organic blood, Bone Meal, Cottonseed Meal, and or Manure or whatever it takes to equal 6-1-6 and spread it at 60 lbs per 1000 feet. You could use a composted poultry mix fertilizer mixed with a little bone meal in it to make a a perfect 6-1-6

If you mix your own synthetic nitrogen, be sure to use ammonium nitrate instead of nitrate nitrogen because of pH value.
In order to buffer your pH you will need to add Lime 48/1000 meaning 50 lbs for every 1000 feet. I would use dolomite lime for the extra magnesium. That should raise your pH to 6.5 to 6.8 for the best pH in the garden. I hope that helped.

 

[karstopography]

Could he use Hardwood ash instead of lime? Wood ash raises Ph and adds Potassium.

 

[Meadowlark]

And no, this is NOT a victory garden. It's going to go on until they compost my wrinkled butt in the ground. Or sprinkle my ashes in the fire fit.
...

Excellent sentiments...and they match mine exactly.

May I congrat you for getting your soil tested and seeking ways to improve it. That is what's it all about in serious gardening, i.e. gardeners who want to be successful.

Oneeye ( with Karstopography ) very well laid out fertilizer options. Now, let me offer ways you can go to the next level and beyond....if you are so inclined.

You should immediately began a process of soil building with a program of cover crops and rotations. Always add more to your soil than you take out in produce. Cover crops are NOT only a winter thing....they are a 365 days a year thing depending on where you are located. Soil crop rotation which includes turning the cover back into the soil is the heart of taking your soil to the next level where production soars, weeds are minimized, and soil health is superb off the charts.

It takes time...time measured in years not weeks. Soil building never stops for those who wish to garden "until they compost my wrinkled butt". May I suggest you do a search on here for some of my past threads on the use of cover crops and rotation programs for soil building.

If you can not find them or have questions about them, please ask and I will repeat it. I'm more than happy to do so for a serious gardener.

The proof is in the pudding as they say. I just finished harvesting my own potato crop and onion crop. The potatoes produced well over 11 pounds of new potatoes per pound of seed potato totally 228 pounds of new potatoes in a single row about 85 ft long. Many of the spuds exceeded 1 pound. The onions produced 240 pounds of yellow and red sweet onions produced with many individual onions exceeding 2 pounds.

This is NOT bragging...it is simply to say that cover crops and rotations add an element , no pun intended, to your soil and if you want your gardening to go beyond common beginner levels, look into cover crops and rotations.

Here's next years potato crop location. Notice the deep greens indicating N2 fixation in the peas and beans. Those are legumes which will build that soil 24/7 all summer and joined with fall legumes of Elbon rye and small grains all until next February when I will again plant seed potatoes, "Lord willing and the Creeks don't rise"