High sodium and sulfur on test results...

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
Hey everyone, I had my soil tested again and everything looked pretty good except for the Na and S... I am not really sure how I got this much Na in the soil? I have a strong, strong feeling that my problem is coming from the peat moss... I was reading about what to do about my Na problem, sulfur is not really a problem unless it affects the Ph too much. Sodium builds up in soils that are not well draining and they suggest using gypsum, but I already have a high amount of S, so I think that adding a little bit of calcium and a lot of aeration would help in my situation. After I mix, I would have to water it profusely. I think that this could be fixed by how I prepare the Peat. Next time, I will add aeration to the peat before I let it age and sit in the rain!

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NaturalFarmer

Well-Known Member
Sodium doesn't look all that bad to me. A few full flushes of water should drop it down some. Compost or manure in your mix?

Testing for microbes seems like a total waste of $ to me.

If you want microbes give them what they want and need. CNPS.
1000lbs Carbon, 98 lbs N, 18 lbs P, 14 lbs S (108:8:1:1) .
A solvita test can read the potential but understanding can do the same along with a soil test.
I find the idea of people paying good money to have people look at their soil under a microscope to be snakeoil considering how diverse the soil is a mm from the root hair vs and inch away. Someone is making money though I'm sure of it.

Back to your test

I have found that too much sulfur gives bad flavor to buds (too little makes for bland taste though) so I would hold off adding more gypsum until your plants eat some of it.

anything above 3 cups of gypsum to 40 gallons of my soil mix will start to give me a bad aftertaste of sulfur when smoked. (I don't know what that comes out to in PPM though but Im fairly sure you are under it now)
 
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Dmannn

Well-Known Member
I would add Dry organic matter. You could go with Dolomite lime but it may not work in time. You could use WASHED expanded clay or WASHED Perlite for drainage. Do you use lawn clippings from chemical treated lawns?
 

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
Sodium doesn't look all that bad to me. A few full flushes of water should drop it down some. Compost or manure in your mix?

Testing for microbes seems like a total waste of $ to me.

If you want microbes give them what they want and need. CNPS.
1000lbs Carbon, 98 lbs N, 18 lbs P, 14 lbs S (108:8:1:1) .
A solvita test can read the potential but understanding can do the same along with a soil test.
I find the idea of people paying good money to have people look at their soil under a microscope to be snakeoil considering how diverse the soil is a mm from the root hair vs and inch away. Someone is making money though I'm sure of it.

Back to your test

I have found that too much sulfur gives bad flavor to buds (too little makes for bland taste though) so I would hold off adding more gypsum until your plants eat some of it.

anything above 3 cups of gypsum to 40 gallons of my soil mix will start to give me a bad aftertaste of sulfur when smoked. (I don't know what that comes out to in PPM though but Im fairly sure you are under it now)
I agree about flushing it. I added a lot more perlite to it and started soaking it. The article that I read suggest about 48'' of water, that is a lot! It makes sense though, I think that I will start soaking the peat a lot more often and give it a longer amount of time. I saw some old posts where people let their peat sit in the rain for a couple of months before they even mess with it. I think that was a wise choice. By the way, I forgot to list what I used.

Glacial rock dust
Basalt
Oyster Shell Flour
Dolomite
Fish meal
Alfalfa meal
Kelp meal
Neem/Karanja meal
Barley seeds that I ground in a food processor

I am working on my worm bin and it should be done soon. I don't have any compost in my mix right now, but getting the Ph above 6 really helps with micro population. I imagine that it was the sulfur that giving me Ph problems.
 

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
So I'm curious, does the "target area" they provide on their bar graph represent well for cannabis? Or is this more of a generic area for most plants (lawns, fruit trees, tomatoes, etc)?

Looks like they provide the results in ppm as well. Do we know what concentration cannabis prefers?
It is for a basic vegetable garden, they have options for what you are growing. Like ornamental flowers usually like a low Ph. I think that one of big differences is that cannabis likes more potassium. That is what they talked about on this Podcast. This is the creator/owner of the test kit...

https://www.kisorganics.com/pages/cannabis-cultivation-and-science-podcast-episode-17
 

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
Do you see the Laboratory Submission card? They said on the podcast that the Veggie Garden best represents what we are after. It's a nice podcast because they talk about cannabis growing!
 

SoCal Calyx

Active Member
Damn Stang, that podcast was excellent, thanks for sharing. I think I need to listen to it again to really pull it all together. One thing maybe you can clarify, it sounds like the Unibest soil test gives the results of the soluble nutrients available, but not necessarily the total nutrients available. For that you need a different type of test (Mehlich III possibly). Does this sound correct?

I took a look at the other podcasts on that site, there's some heavy hitter guests! A goldmine of info that will keep me busy for awhile.
 

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
Damn Stang, that podcast was excellent, thanks for sharing. I think I need to listen to it again to really pull it all together. One thing maybe you can clarify, it sounds like the Unibest soil test gives the results of the soluble nutrients available, but not necessarily the total nutrients available. For that you need a different type of test (Mehlich III possibly). Does this sound correct?

I took a look at the other podcasts on that site, there's some heavy hitter guests! A goldmine of info that will keep me busy for awhile.
Mehlich 3 tests are more complicated and you really have to do some research to understand the test results. However, if you get both tests done, you would have a complete map of your soil. Mehlich 3=How much is there, Soil Savvy=What is available. The Mehlich 3 test would show your organic matter and CEC #...
 

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
Anyone have a good idea on how to raise micro nutrients without affecting the N-P-K? I have not used castings yet because they are not finished, but I could always buy a little for now... I used all of the different rock dusts and kelp to help with Micros, but it is still low. Again, this(Soil Savvy) test is solubility test. So, if there is anything locking it out, it would make it show up low... This is where the Mehlich 3 test would be handy... I read this from an article, but I am not high in iron or the others...

High levels of iron, copper or zinc in the soil might also hinder the uptake of manganese.
http://www.aqua-rebell.com/aquatic-plants/manganese.html
 
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