Knowledgebase
soil amendments #900459
Asked May 07, 2025, 1:10 PM EDT
Cass County Michigan
Expert Response
Brian - in looking at your soil test results I see the recommended fertilizer ratio is 3:3:2 which is a general guideline for you to follow. You could apply a 12:12:12 fertilizer and that would be sufficient to provide Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium. After you select a fertilizer, come back to the MSU soil test site and enter the product numbers into the Fertilizer Calculator (found under Tools) and the site will calculate how much of that product to apply in one year of 1,000 sq. ft. Remember to pro-rate if your beds are less or more than that area.
You could apply calcium sulfate (gypsum) to lower the magnesium level in the soil but unless you see signs of interveinal chlorosis (yellowing between veins), you might want to hold off on that. The plants will take up magnesium from the soil through the roots so that should reduce the level over time.
Vegetables can grow in a pH range from 6.0 to 7.0 so a 6.6 pH is a good level. Adding lime to the soil would increase the pH but that is not necessary since your soil is almost neutral.
So overall, your soil is healthy and adding a general fertilizer per the recommendations is all that is needed. Good job starting with a soil test to better understand the health of your soil. Hope that helps.