I am trying to upgrade my food plot this spring/summer. I wanted to do the recommended process and have my soil tested, but I also wanted to compare results on what "hacks" you see on the Internet.
The first test was done using the soil ph tester you find at box stores that has two probes that stick into the ground. It read 8.5 ph which is alkaline.
The second test was done using vinegar and baking soda. I took so much soil and added a half-cup of vinegar to it in a glass bowl. No foaming. I took another sample and made it into mud and added baking soda. No foaming. Since neither sample foamed my soil was supposed to be neutral or a ph of 7.
The last test I got a bag from the local soil and water conservation office and sent it off to a test lab in Ft Wayne. It came back and said my soil has a ph of 6.0 which is acidic. It also recommended that I add 3,000 pounds of lime per acre, 50 pounds nitrogen, 120 pounds phosphate, and 75 pounds of potash (per acre).
This all goes to show that hacks and cheap gadgets don't really give accurate results.
My plan is to not add nitrogen since clover makes its own. I have read adding nitrogen just feeds the weeds. The issue is I don't have a good way to get 3,000 pounds of lime up to my food plot other than 50 pound bags. That would be 60 bags at $4.00 a bag at Rural King, and a whole lotta work since all I have is a little lawn broadcast spreader that has seen better days. But, if I don't put down the lime, the plants will not be able to use most of the fertilizer.
The first test was done using the soil ph tester you find at box stores that has two probes that stick into the ground. It read 8.5 ph which is alkaline.
The second test was done using vinegar and baking soda. I took so much soil and added a half-cup of vinegar to it in a glass bowl. No foaming. I took another sample and made it into mud and added baking soda. No foaming. Since neither sample foamed my soil was supposed to be neutral or a ph of 7.
The last test I got a bag from the local soil and water conservation office and sent it off to a test lab in Ft Wayne. It came back and said my soil has a ph of 6.0 which is acidic. It also recommended that I add 3,000 pounds of lime per acre, 50 pounds nitrogen, 120 pounds phosphate, and 75 pounds of potash (per acre).
This all goes to show that hacks and cheap gadgets don't really give accurate results.
My plan is to not add nitrogen since clover makes its own. I have read adding nitrogen just feeds the weeds. The issue is I don't have a good way to get 3,000 pounds of lime up to my food plot other than 50 pound bags. That would be 60 bags at $4.00 a bag at Rural King, and a whole lotta work since all I have is a little lawn broadcast spreader that has seen better days. But, if I don't put down the lime, the plants will not be able to use most of the fertilizer.
