How long to wait for soil testing

[Goodlife]

The place I purchased in the spring was in winter wheat. I know he sprayed some ag chemicals on (not sure what thogh). Since it was thrashed it has been sitting fallow over the summer (almost 4 months now). Can I start doing soil tests now or would they still not be true due to chemical residue? Would I be better off waiting till spring at this point?

It has a lot of weeds (weeds sure do better in drought than grass in a thrashed wheat field) but the grass is starting to come in pretty nicely underneath. Fescue, Bluestem, Crabgrass, a little Johnson grass. some clover, and two other grasses I have not id'd yet. I am hoping to avoid as many petro-chemicals as possible. However I want to check the soil sample first as I want to be realistic and if the soil is desparate for something to get my pasture going I don't want to beat my head trying to grow grass where it won't grow properly. I am hoping to put on some lime, no till drill in some fescue and clover (maybe a little KY Blue) and mow it next year. It is hard to be patient but I am waiting to put cattle on till the pasture is in good shape.

 

[BC]

A soil test will tell you about the nutrient availability in your soil and what you need to apply to get certain levels of production. What pesticides have been used in the past will not affect the results. If you need lime, it takes a couple of months for it to go to work after you apply it - so now is a good time to get your test done.

 

[James T]

Just to add to BC's good advice, you might want to do some quick research on how to take the soil samples properly if you don't already know. One of the nearby co-ops might have a soil sampling device you can borrow. The current weed situation is irrelevant to the soil test. The exception is that the test might tell the soil is so poor that only weeds prosper. Keep in mind that when you send in the samples to be tested, let them know what you want to grow and they will tell you what needs to be added to make it happen.

 

[1982vett]

Don't know about your part of the world...but around here if the land has been farmed and good crops taken...it will grow grass just fine for a few years without much of anything added.

 

[Goodlife]

Thanks. Grass is growing pretty well along with the weeds. My concern about taking the samples now is wondering if the fertilizers put on early in the year would cause false readings. How long for typical chems (potash or nitrogen etc...) to be gone from soil to get accurate readings?

I have been doing some reading regarding how to take samples. There does seem to be an art to it. Good advice.

It is tempting to just let it go and simply mow as the grass doesn't look bad if you look past the weeds. I think sime mowing will fix that. But I had it in my mind getting soil tested to know how healthy it is made sense even if I do let it grow.

 

[bse]

local co-op just came out and took samples for me glad i did it, in the past i would see some broom sage know i needed lime just put on 2 tons to the acre and go on. had the tests done on 15 fields 1/2 needed nothing the worst field only needed 1 ton per acre so a big savings. And it shows what my fertilize will be in the spring she said that number will not change over the winter so after being behind the times for yrs i see how a simple test will save me money.

 

[1wlimo]

a lot of soil testing is done in the fall so that planning re the spring can be done.

 

[tysonlee]

It is a pain to haul them to the feed mill and weigh them there, so I want to purchase one.
Anyone have any recommendations or black list they care to share?
Thanks!

 

[gizmom]

You didn't say how much acreage but if it is a large parcel you might want to look into grid testing. They come in and test in a grid pattern the entire site. Then feed the information into the computer and spread it using GPS the program distributes the proper amount of fertilizers in the right areas.

We saved enough just in lime cost to pay for the testing. When we would do our soil test the traditional way we would take numerous samples and adjust the lime application as best as we could but we would only take three or four samples a field the grid system samples every two acres. The information you get from this method on the condition of your land is amazing. We used this method for the first time this year and based on the positive results will continue.

Gizmom

 

[gberry]

You didn't say how much acreage but if it is a large parcel you might want to look into grid testing. They come in and test in a grid pattern the entire site. Then feed the information into the computer and spread it using GPS the program distributes the proper amount of fertilizers in the right areas.

We saved enough just in lime cost to pay for the testing. When we would do our soil test the traditional way we would take numerous samples and adjust the lime application as best as we could but we would only take three or four samples a field the grid system samples every two acres. The information you get from this method on the condition of your land is amazing. We used this method for the first time this year and based on the positive results will continue.

Gizmom

Who did your testing?

 

[gizmom]

gberry

Brandon Godwin out of Jay Fl. did the grid testing for us. I wasn't to sure at first but like I said we saved enough just on lime to pay for the testing and then saved on the fertilizer. I can feel comfortable recommending this as a cost saving at least in the long run.

Gizmom