We add fertilizer to the fields shortly before planting, enough time for the granules to break down into the soil and be available for the garlic when they need it next year. A follow up soil test will be done next year in March to make sure what we are adding now is just what the fields needed for a balanced nutrient content.
This was the first time I have ordered a soil test, and the company used was suggested by the garlic supplier. Indeed I was very happy with the lab results and it was all explained by one of the knowledgeable employees at the lab company.
Here we see the copper being mixed in, 4.8 pounds was needed for an acre based on my soil test results. We mix into a few barrels so it can all be stirred up well. We just use a shovel to mix it all up, and when we are applying the fertilizer it gets mixed up as well when it bounces around and spreads it.
Besides the copper we have lots of phosphorous, potassium, zinc and manganese.
We use an old measuring cup to divide what is needed for each bucket. We will then mix it and pour it into my fertilizer spreader I showed off in a recent post I made previously. Its crazy seeing what copper powder looks like, its so blue.
We wear masks and gloves while doing this, and when spreading it as well as it can be quite dusty. Right after application of the dry fertilizer we follow up with the tractor and till it into the soil. Otherwise a good wind could blow all that surface fertilizer away, so by tilling it and hoping for a good rain to push it in the ground is what is really needed.
The soil report I ordered provides lots of good information about the dirt I am growing with. Including how well it drains, how active the bacteria is in the soil, and levels for many minerals commonly found in soil. I spoke with the lab and we went over the results of my soil sample. He said the soil is in pretty good shape, it drains well and already has a organic matter content of 3.9% so those wood chips seem to be helping. Looking forward to adding more loads of wood chips to the field and raising the organic matter content even higher.. the farm I ordered the garlic from is around 5% after many years of adding wood chips. So I hope to get to that level if not higher eventually. Right now I have around 20 trailer loads of wood chips mixed in an acre for reference.
The soil PH is on the alkaline side, adding lots of agricultural lime is probably due to this. But probably not too much as we did not register for excess lime in the test results. But it did raise the PH of the soil from the looks of it. We would like to keep the soil as alkaline as possible to suppress weed growth. But we may need to add sulfur next year if we are having nutrient lockout issues due to high PH.
High levels of ammonium were found in the soil as well. Due to this the lab did not recommend I add nitrogen right now. As the ammonium may break down into natural forms of nitrogen by next year when the garlic needs it. So testing again in March will tell us if we have sufficient nitrogen.
They provide a fertilizer suggestion based on what I am growing, and what the results of the soil test were. With this information we were able to get exactly what we needed to have a healthy garlic crop feed wise.
Now I till the soil again to really get it all mixed in nicely. Wait for a good rain and wait for my garlic to arrive. We have already tested out our garlic planter and looking forward to getting them in the ground hopefully by next week. That will give the soil around a week and a half to absorb the fertilizer before we plant the garlic.