Soil Test Help

I paid for a soil test for my new property of over 20 acres. The land was used for grazing and all of the trees were pushed into piles and burned for decades. The land is really degraded, and I am trying to reforest it with native trees. Everything grows poorly, even the grass and weeds.

I have the results uploaded. The vendor was telling me to fertilize each acre with 300 lbs of this and 270 pounds of that twice a season. Things like feather meal and blood meal. I'm not rich so that's not possible. They would only give me organic options and no conventional. What would your recommendations be to fix this soil per acre so I can get plants established?

The land is kind of between central and west texas. Over 20 inches of rain per year.

I'm not an expert, so take my comments as you will.

I wouldn't worry too much about the pH, It's a little high but plants will probably grow fine. I grow trees with a pH of 5, so it may not be optimum but they still will grow. The main nutrients seem a bit unbalanced; Nitrogen wasn't mentioned, but Phosphorus was low and Potassium high.

I'd be interested in the soil texture too - sand/clay etc. and whether it has been compacted. That seems likely to me if horses have been on the ground. Maybe a deep mole plough on contour (or keyline) then sow a deep rooted bulky cover crop that suits your area. Include a perennial nitrogen fixer that will carry on feeding the soil in the future. Leave planting the trees till later. I wish I had done something like this with my treefield to improve the compacted soil before planting trees - it's much more difficult to do afterwards!.

If you were to add an amendment I'd suggest seaweed meal - that would have trace elements across the spectrum, but if you kickstart your soil life by getting something growing, that alone may improve matters.

Good luck!

I didn't even realize, until you pointed it out, that they didn't list nitrogen. No wonder that company is shutting down this year. The soil is made up of clay and sand, mostly. It has a lot of limestone, too. It is very compacted. They ran cattle on it for a long time until it was split up into smaller ranchettes.

One test for 20 acres? Nope. That's a no go. If you did 20 tests at one acre grids you'd only spend about $250 for Midwest Labs (https://midwestlabs.com/agriculture) S3M test. It sounds like you'll be spending a lot on nutrients, and fixing things, so that $250 will likely pay for itself several times over by getting good information and avoiding wasting money on things where it is not needed.

Billy Blankenship wrote:I didn't even realize, until you pointed it out, that they didn't list nitrogen. No wonder that company is shutting down this year. The soil is made up of clay and sand, mostly. It has a lot of limestone, too. It is very compacted. They ran cattle on it for a long time until it was split up into smaller ranchettes.

Most soil tests don't measure nitrogen since it is so variable and changes so much throughout the season.

It could be worse. I have seen and worked with much worse soil than what was tested. I’d agree with John Wolfram more test sites would be worth it. What was tested show the opposite problems to our local soils, which is not surprising in your more arid climate.

Where I am, we have mostly acidic soils with excess Magnesium and deficient in Calcium. So I use oyster shell (no Mag). I would look for an organic source of phosphorus and magnesium that has minimal calcium, and it could include sulfur given your soil test. According to John Kempf, whose podcast I’d recommend,(https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/regenerative-agriculture-podcast/id1372359995) foliar applications can be many times as efficient as those on the soil. I generally incorporate any organic nutrients I need into compost teas for foliar application, and compost extracts for soil drenches.

Nigel Palmer’s book A Regenerative Grower’s Guide to Garden Amendments is a good resource: https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/the-regenerative-growers-guide-to-garden-amendments/?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD-HT7QoeRSUNkUX5t2mLAfcBJE5W&gclid=Cj0KCQiAq-u9BhCjARIsANLj-s2vMEoVXJycB-P6VxmKaEyWWTMfc9tujQ4xZM1fNMIfef_gZAXR02EaAhWREALw_wcB

Matt Powers is also doing some innovative soil work in the Austin, TX area. He is easy to find on the internet and his books and videos are very digestible for beginners as well as having new info for experienced people to learn.

From my experience working with mostly difficult soils on 25acres, seedlings (rather than rootstock) and intensive plantings akin to syntropic agroforestry have worked best.

Thanks for all of your info so far. Yes, I did only do 1 soil test so far in the area I planted my first Miyawaki forest. I am focusing on that area first to see if what I am doing works. I will only do about an acre per season since that is all I can afford. I have upland areas and lowland areas so figured the soil would be different for each site. I did start growing my own seedlings. I was spending too much money and having low success with grafted trees. I am also building half-moon bunds to capture and hold water since the soil is a bit hydrophobic.

This year I am trying out a lot of different Acacia species native to the region since they are normally first to invade a site and they fix nitrogen. I have some native oaks that I will plant between them so the Acacias will hopefully provide shade to them while they are small.

CEC seems to be different to what I am familiar with - on my soil test the CEC is broken up into pie charts of current CEC and ideal CEC, so there are different percentages for each thing (hydrogen, sodium, calcium, magnesium, potassium) rather than just one overall percentage.

I agree with Nancy about subsoiling/deep ripping being a good idea. Daikon and other deep rooting plants will help too.

You could consider feeding animals hay on the land - their manure and the waste hay will help to add organic matter. This could also add to the compaction issues though.

Do you have any growing season pictures of what does grow there?  

That is an interesting soil test for sure.  No amount of synthetics is going to change that mineral composition.  But biological activity will affect availability of the things you need.  Does your land grow thistles now?  What else is being farmed in the area?  

My brain goes straight to high pH cover crops, and that means whatever is growing on the plains and to the west:  Yellow sweet clover, chicory, ragweed, flax, barley, rape, hairy vetch, alfalfa, black eyed susan, bee balm.  I'd be looking to grow whatever will grow there, including thistles.  I have actually promoted the growth of thistles to unlock their soil healing benefits.  Once your soil begins to heal, natural plants will return.  It just takes some time and a little rain.  

Whatever you can get to grow there, do not plow or rip the soil in anyway.  Try to get to a healthy blanket of crop residue and keep planting through it and pressing it flat until you've got a nice organic material quilt on the soil.  It will hold moisture and get to hosting a whole world of biological activity.  

Terry Frankes wrote:Do you have any growing season pictures of what does grow there?  

I have uploaded a picture for you. From a distance, the land looks like it grows native grasses really well. But, close up you can see how patchy it is. Just a bunch of barren spots that grow nothing and are being baked in the sun all day. It is like this all over. Minus the lowland area. That area has no problems growing grasses over 5 feet tall, but that only makes up a small portion of the property.

This area is actually doing better than most of the land. I chopped some lower branches off of some trees/shrubs out there in 2023 that regrow their limbs, and threw them out in this pasture for some ground cover. You can see some dead branches laying down on the right side of the picture.

I looked up some native thistle. I will keep my eye out for it this year to see if I see any growing.

So you have over grazed ranchland with calcareous soil and a semiarid climate. The patchy native grasses and bushes that are doing well probably benefit from the fertility pockets from cattle manure and urine.

Usually high calcium soil samples need certain tests to get a more accurate readings, but it still doesn't change the diagnosis of the lack certain macro and micro nutrients. I would want to double check the Zn level as it could be the most limiting factor besides P. And you don't have to do a full test, usually university extension office can do the DTPA test for Fe/Cu/Mn/Zn at the same time for a few dollars. Zinc is important in many aspects of plant physiology including auxin production and soil microbes need it too. If it's true deficiency (really low in soil, not due to being locked up or competition, aka induced deficiency), supplementing zinc fertilizer will make a big difference.

May Lotito wrote:So you have over grazed ranchland with calcareous soil and a semiarid climate. The patchy native grasses and bushes that are doing well probably benefit from the fertility pockets from cattle manure and urine.

---That makes sense. Some areas grow really well, and then most of it is just bare ground where nothing grows. This is one of the better areas. That is why I chose this spot as my first places to start trying to grow something. This is where the soil samples came from.---

Usually high calcium soil samples need certain tests to get a more accurate readings, but it still doesn't change the diagnosis of the lack certain macro and micro nutrients. I would want to double check the Zn level as it could be the most limiting factor besides P. And you don't have to do a full test, usually university extension office can do the DTPA test for Fe/Cu/Mn/Zn at the same time for a few dollars. Zinc is important in many aspects of plant physiology including auxin production and soil microbes need it too. If it's true deficiency (really low in soil, not due to being locked up or competition, aka induced deficiency), supplementing zinc fertilizer will make a big difference.

---I will get some more soil samples done. I was trying out a company that someone recommended. I will do what you are recommending this year for testing. I found a product and I'm wondering if this will work. If anyone has used it to provide micronutrients. I am uploading a picture of it.---

This product is granular to be broadcasted, I doubt it will work as intended on alkaline soil. Fe, zinc and Mn wiĺl quickly be immobilized on the surface and can't get down to the root zone. Usually foliar spray is more effective and cost efficient.
If you are encouraging native plants, pay attention to visual signs that indicate deficiency. Concentrate available resources on a smaller area first for growing healthy native plants: biomass, manure, micronutrient spray etc. That brings to abundant robust seeds to spread to bigger area. I collect wildflower seeds from the wild and I can see a clear corelation of local soil fertility and the seed quality.

First get the ph right, use wood ash preferably hardwood, no more than 20 lb per 1k sq feet per year (5x200), plants are limited in nutrient uptake by ph, wood ash is virtually immediate instead of the seasonal pendulum of lime, and gets the micro nutrients back at the same time. layer on manure and turn under deep, next compost on the order of at least 1lb per sq foot, 5 would be optimum, progress in manageable blocks year over year. get a copy of "The nature and Properties of Soils" by Brady. I got mine 50 yrs ago and still reference it yearly. Don't look at the whole 20 acres, look at the 1st 1/4 and take your first step

Scott Leonard wrote:First get the ph right, use wood ash preferably hardwood,

As the soil test indicates that the soil may be rather alkaline I'm not sure that would be the right approach here. Good for me where my soil is acidic though as wood ash generally is supposed to raise the pH.

I like May's suggestion of trying a smaller area - incremental small changes are a permaculture principle. You could try different things in different areas and extend what seems to work best for you. This is a long term project and wounds don't heal overnight.

When i look st a soil test, i look at two numbers first, then i kinda look at the rest.

The first two things i look at are pH and CEC.  We're going to have to talk about that CEC.

pH is mildly high.  Find a chart of availibility of nutrients by pH range, and you'll see why people freak out when pH approaches 7.

I'd become familiar with the symptoms of chlorosis.  

CEC doesn't really exist on a range of low or high.  It's a measure of chemical activity.  Every mineral, every nutrient, binds and releases with other minerals, water, plant roots based on molecular bonds.  A high CEC reading means those minerals are tied more tightly to the soil.

Good news?  Leaching is unlikely to be a problem.  Anything added, ie, fertilizer, will be captured in the soil and will stick around.  The bad news?  It may be hard for plants to get the soil to release those nutrients for the plants to use.

If i got a soil test that gave a CEC in the 60s, i'd get a new test.  From someone who uses a different lab.  That is how rare i've seen numbers over 40.  My first reaction is to see if a mistake was made.

If that number is accurate, throw your assumptions out the window.

The rest of the numbers are kinda there.  Maybe a bit on the low side of optimum, but presence is more important.  Plants are highly adaptable.  Our desire to achieve optimum is much more of a sliding scale.

Sorry real world farm stuff intervened

I'm willing to bet the high ph/high calcium/potassium  readings are reflective of the slash and burn regimen and I'd ask what the underlying geology is. Here in humid/temperate acidification is the norm over bed rock and sedimentary schists.

get to the bottom of the furrow and retest, 4 spots on a quarter acre, average the results yourself.  The manure and organic matter will swing the ph down and unlock the high CEC but it will take some time

To summarize, your test shows high pH (alkaline soil), low organic matter, low phosphorus, low magnesium, low sulfur, and low zinc. I don't see nitrogen, but under your circumstances, I would assume that it was also low. I would probably try a cover crop or some sort of chop and drop plant first. Cover crops can fix nutrients, reduce erosion, etc. I might look into a winter-kill selection of cover crops if I didn't want to till. I would reach out to my extension agent for some technical advice. There may also be grants/loans for reforesting the land that they could help you with. If nothing else, they are a helpful resource for free advice.

Resource: https://www.sare.org/publications/managing-cover-crops-profitably/building-soil-fertility/

Hi Billy,

I work with soil and do soil tests for growers. I would suggest you take a step back and start with the outcome you want to achieve.

Getting one soil test for 20 acres tells you nothing because the soil sample could vary wildly for each quarter of an acre.

You said you wanted to reforest this area with native trees.

You need to get a plan in place before you start the process.

From how you described the land and showed a picture I would give an educated guess that you have degraded and compacted soil realistic it’s not soil
It's just compacted dirt not living soil.

Ok, let us get a plan in place.

1 - Trying to do twenty acres at one time is overwhelming and you will eventually walk away from the project

You have 20 acres of land. You need to break this into workable chunks that are manageable – quarter acre – half an acre?
This is for you to decide. How much time and help do you have?

2 – What native trees are going to be planted and how many will be needed for each piece of land?
Where will you be getting the trees from and what will the cost be?

3 – Do you have access to water and how to care for the young trees for a couple of months until they are established?

4 – What tools and equipment will be needed? I would think you are going to need at least a walk-behind tractor.

5 – What else is required? Seed, tree sapling, fertiliser, etc.

6 – Plan the layout or the planting of the trees.

7 – Do a detailed costing of equipment, Seeds, saplings, and most importantly your time commitment.

8 – Decide if you will be proceeding with the project.

If you do proceed let's plan the steps needed to implement the reforesting of the land with native trees.

You are dealing with dirt that needs to be brought back to living soil at present you have very little biology in the soil.

1 – Disturb the land and till up the compacted dirt. We need to allow air and water to penetrate the soil.
Here you will need the walk-behind tractor.

2 – Mark out clearly where the trees are going to be planted

2 – I would suggest growing a cover crop to help with the above and to have some biomass going forward.  Fertilise the area for the cover crop to start growing in.
You will have to do some research on what seeds to use depending on the season. Some deep-rooted plants to break up the hard compacted soil etc.
Try and get at least six or more different types of seed.

3 – You could start planting out the saplings, this would entail digging the required hole and adding some fertiliser but remember native trees need very little, and make sure
you have done your homework on how much and what they require.  It may be a good idea to provide some protection to the saplings – a tree guard

4 – Over the next three months or so you will be caring for the cover crop and saplings.

5 – Once the cover crop is ready you can do a chop and drop to get the soil covered and provide some biomass.

Then rinse and repeat for each piece of land. Obviously you can have this work overlapping each other when you are tending to the cover crops and saplings.

Read the List of Bryant RedHawk's Epic Soil Series Threads but remember you are dealing with native trees so consider their requirements.

As you can see I have not mentioned the soil test as it’s not necessary yet as you need to get some life into the soil.

Hope this is of some help.

Cheers
Anthony

Thank you for the recent suggestions. For some reason I wasn't receiving emails showing that I was still receiving replies. The problem I have with getting organic matter is the really high winds in the area. I have put down wood chips near plants and the wind takes them away. It is almost always blowing at 15+ mph, but the place easily gets 50+ mph winds every year. It is hard to keep organic matter on the ground if it isn't entire limbs. The limbs from these shrubs last for decades on the ground, so breaking down will be slow going. I think a cover crop would have the same problem. As soon as it dies and becomes detached eventually, it will be gone with the wind. Would burying the organic matter be an option?

I think the wind being so high is because of lack of trees. Very few properties out there are left natural with trees. 90%+ of land owners in the area have cleared the trees for cattle and farming. There is not much left to help provide windbreaks.