• Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
permaculture forums growies critters building homesteading energy monies kitchen purity ungarbage community wilderness fiber arts art permaculture artisans regional education skip experiences global resources cider press projects digital market permies.com pie forums private forums all forums
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
master stewards:
  • Carla Burke
  • John F Dean
  • Timothy Norton
  • Nancy Reading
  • r ranson
  • Jay Angler
  • Pearl Sutton
stewards:
  • paul wheaton
  • Tereza Okava
  • Andrés Bernal
master gardeners:
  • Christopher Weeks
gardeners:
  • Jeremy VanGelder
  • M Ljin
  • Matt McSpadden

Ntrogen-when to restest soil?

 
gardener
Posts: 601
Location: Suffolk County, Long Island NY, Zone: 7b (new 2023 map)
299
6
forest garden foraging food preservation cooking writing seed ungarbage
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
    My new beds were low on nitrogen and phosphate.  I added organic blood meal and bone meal; then I read in these forums about dilute urine.  Before I enlist my husband and son (easier for them!), shouldn't I retest to see what the level are now?  How quickly does it take for blood and bone meal to take effect?  Can I use the dilute urine for a quick boost on top of the slower acting (I assume) blood and bone meal?
    I tried to research this in books and online.  I found a lot about what to use and how to use it, but nothing about timing for retesting.  Permies beats Google anytime.
   
 
pollinator
Posts: 867
221
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Nitrogen, in general, is highly mobile in the soil. Rain/irrigation washes it deeper, plants cycle it up, and soil biology is constantly circulating it. If your plants are growing well and aren't either growing long and leggy with flimsy stems or turning excessively dark green and suffering from fungal pressures then your nitrogen levels are not too high and adding dilute urine probably won't hurt.

Phosphorous is much much less mobile and on a large scale people tend to test their P levels every 3 or so years.
 
Susan Mené
gardener
Posts: 601
Location: Suffolk County, Long Island NY, Zone: 7b (new 2023 map)
299
6
forest garden foraging food preservation cooking writing seed ungarbage
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Huh. My broccoli seedling's leaves were turning purple, which caused me to test my soil;  do I just assume the N level has risen to a sufficient level?

Wait a minute....I think I get it. if the plants look good, don't sweat it?

 
What are your superhero powers? Go ahead and try them on this tiny ad:
Learn Permaculture through a little hard work
https://wheaton-labs.com/bootcamp
reply
    Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic