T Rodwell

I've been reading through that post recently. It's an immense contribution. I've been looking for lots of wood chips to add to increase humic matter in the fields. I'm worried though, because I read that adding chunks of organic material might tie up nitrogen and O2 in the soil that I need to grow crops in the spring. I'm going to try and compost most of them this winter. I have a huge compost pile that- while it has recently had several large animals added to it, has been cooking very hot for years and has eaten whole sheep, bones and all in about 3 months. I do need to add a LOT more carbon though.

I've attached my test results which seem completely extreme based on everything i've seen anywhere on the internet. There seems to be little research I can do that leads me to any conclusion other than mulch heavily and cover crop and wait a couple years to till. This land has been extremely over tilled and has no real microbial life or worms. Tons of weeds. Small unproductive plants. Hard packed red clay aside from the hoop houses. They have historically not cover cropped.

Thank you for your time and suggestions!

            PH  P       K    HM% W/V CEC Mn Zn     Cu     Sulfur
Top        6.6 165  164 0.36 1.03 12.3 361 267  128   83
Hoop 1  7.3  851  205 0.51 0.79 32.2 455 1461  273  364
Hoop 2  7.2  876  259 0.56 0.75 30.6 424 1510  272  191
Hoop 3  7.4  749  208 0.56 0.77 35.1  501 1333  245  738
Tomato  6.7  139  184 0.36 0.96 10.9 561 250  156  77
Home L  6.6  255  323 0.6 0.94  15.2 727 438  181  233
Home R  6.2  323  296 0.6 0.93 14.3 676 575  162  280
Turk         6.8 577  305 0.71 0.76 20.9 368 1148  306  164
Lower       6.7   106  94 0.46 0.92 12.9 1371 314 158 46

Hello there. I've been lurking off and on here for a few years. I just became responsible for a piece of land for which I have my first soil tests and the results are not good. There are several different gardens and hoop houses with the same problems more or less, though with varying intensity. The main issue seems to be phosphorous. My soil tests show an ideal of about 60ppm. All my gardens are 120 or above. One of my hoop houses is 876ish. Soil is slightly alkaline. Mostly red clay. Humus is .5% across the board. All nutrient levels are off the charts. I can post more detailed specs if desired.

This farm has been over populated and over worked with cows, pigs, sheep, chickens, and turkeys for years and years. My research shows phosphorous buildup is a result of all the manure. They also compost with manure and more than occasionally a dead cow or other livestock must be added. I'm trying to add more carbon to the pile moving forward. I've heard that acidity can be restored to the soil with sulfates but sulfur is already excessive everywhere I would want to lower the PH. I'm thinking of adding pine needle mulch to everything. Some say by the time they're brown there's very little acid in them but I assume the cover will only help with my lack of humus long term. I've also read that phosphorous reduces zinc and iron uptake efficiency so a foliar spray is recommended to supplement these.

My real question- What can I do long term to get rid of all this phosphorous?

How can I effectively lower PH without sulfates?

What's the best way to add to my humus in a way that doesn't put a field out of commission for a year to recover? I need to use all my space this spring but obviously some long term rehab is required.

Thank you all very much for your contributions specifically to my question and generally to the forum!