Thank you for your latest question.

On May 15, 2024 you submitted the following question:

“I had a soil test done on my vegetable garden last fall. Photo of results attached. They are 4 x 8 raised garden beds. I am not sure of what type of fertilizer to get to correct the problem and when to apply it. Thank you”

On May 16, 2024, your question was answered as follows:

“Hi,

The easiest thing to do to add nitrogen is scatter blood meal on your raised beds. The nitrogen level in blood meal (first number on the bag) is generally 12-0-0. That will give your veggies the nitrogen they need. Scatter the blood meal by hand and dig it into the top six inches of soil.

You will find 0-0-60 potash fertilizers in garden centers. (Finding the exact proportion of a fertilizer with 0-0-40 is going to be very difficult, I didn't find any online.) The fertilizer will be dry. Scatter that by hand and mix it into the soil as you did the blood meal.

You don't need to worry about burning plants by digging blood meal into the soil but plants can be burned with too much potash (potassium).

This sheet from Cornell University will help with the potash/potassium question. Note your soil test said potash is low. Cornell recommends applying five ounces of the 0-0-60 product to a 100-square-foot area.

https://ccetompkins.org/resources/getting-the-most-out-of-your-vegetable-garden-soil-test-report

I hope this helps! Good luck.”

Perhaps you never saw this answer, which prompted your latest question?  Your latest question has now been assigned to me.  I will look it over this evening and see if anything needs to be added to the answer originally given to you.

Thanks for using our forum.

Thanks for the soil report and your patience in our attempts to resolve things.

Overall, your soil looks quite good. A coarse soil texture reflects a high presence of sand. This is very typical for Anoka County. A coarse soil will have poor water retention. This means that watering your vegetable garden during the 2024 growing season will be an ongoing event. However, the organic matter is 6.6%. This will improve water retention, somewhat compensating for the coarse soil texture. I suspect that over the years, you have added compost of some type to your garden on an annual basis. This is good. I further suspect that the added compost might have included freshly fallen leaves. As this compost decomposed, it added phosphate to your soil. This is reflected in the very high levels of phosphorous shown on your report. You could certainly forego compost addition in 2024 without any adverse effects in your garden. This would bring down the soil phosphorous level.

In the previous answer to your question, addition to your garden of blood meal was suggested. This was an excellent recommendation. In each pound of blood meal there is 0.12 pounds of nitrogen. This is very close to the report’s recommendation of applying 0.15 pounds of nitrogen per 100 square feet. In short, if you add 1 pound of blood meal to every 100 square feet of garden at this time (late May 2024), you will satisfy the report’s recommendation. After distributing the blood meal, be sure to water it in. The nitrogen in blood meal will be slowly released during the 2024 growing season.

In most garden centers, you will find something called Muriate of Potash. Its formulation is 0-0-60. In each pound of Muriate of Potash will be 0.6 pounds of potassium. The report recommended that 0.4 pounds of potassium be added for every 100 square feet of garden. The Master Gardener who initially answered your question suggested that five ounces of a 0-0-60 product be added to every 100 square foot area. This is approximately equal to 0.3 pounds of Muriate of Potash. This 0.3 pounds would contain close to 0.2 pounds of potassium. However as the previous Master Gardener correctly pointed out, too much potash added at any one time can “burn” the soil. This is very true. So with respect to potash addition, here is my suggestion. At this time (late May 2024), add 0.3 pounds of Muriate of Potash to every 100 square feet of your garden. Then towards fall 2024, incorporate another 0.3 pounds of Muriate of Potash into every 100 square feet of your garden. After these two applications, the report’s potash recommendation will be satisfied.

Good luck and please get back to us if you have further questions. Thanks again for consulting us.

Thanks for getting back to us.

Do your tilling first.  Add the blood meal.  Then rake things in.  Same for the potash.

Good luck.  Thanks for asking

Thanks for your last response.

I would suggest that you repeat both the blood meal and potash treatments this fall (2024). Do this as soon as possible. Use the same dosage levels as suggested to you last May. Water them in well. Given the current level of organic matter in your raised beds, you could skip adding any compost in the 2025 growing season. Blood meal could be added in early spring 2025, again at the dosage level you did in 2024. You could skip potash addition next spring. Make a note to repeat your soil test in early spring 2026 to check on how things look in comparison to the 2023 soil test results.

Good luck with your gardens in the 2025 season. Please let us know if you have any further questions.