Excellent, This will be my first year trying to do some heavy production. Which I am sure will be nowhere near yours! But... having said that, I am considering doing about 1/4 acre (I have one full cleared) All straw bale gardening for 5 years. I will be able to build up a decent sized soil bed within 5 years, including my rabbit poop and hay compost. Maybe I should test every year before I start planting, or wait? Great information!!!!! I copied your pics so I could print, if that is ok.
I would test now for a base line. If you aren't way off on things, then go to every 3 years.
I put up as clear copies as I could so that they could be saved and used, so it's perfectly fine. I know Steve Solomon will not mind, he's said so many times.
Thanks! As you can see the reason I am bale gardening is due to our terrible soil... Since we have so much limestone, rocks and clay our actual soil is really alkaline. So rotting straw and mulch can be mixed with the clay for a reduced acidity. Add the neutral rabbit poop for volume. Yea i could get a pretty good mix going. I will do a test this fall, I think out extension does those things The University of AR is fairly awesome with this stuff!
Be aware if you use Extension tests you can NOT use this form for a mix. They also do NOT test for the micro-nutrients. Different labs use different methods and the results you are given could toxify your soil if you used them on the worksheet.
This worksheet is for Logan Labs tests only!
I'll check and see what hey offer and refer back to your post. Thanks! Once you start to go larger than a small garden, everything changes...