Soil pH
Target 6.2 – 7.0 pH
7.0pH
pH sets what roots can absorb - in range, nutrients are easiest for plants to reach.
Sulfur is the limiting factor
Low, Optimal and High are read against the target on each card: the band this soil is scored in for what you are growing.
pH sets what roots can absorb - in range, nutrients are easiest for plants to reach.
Organic matter feeds soil life and holds water and nutrients. At 0.23% there is little here to hold either, so your plan carries a carbon amendment to start building it.
A calculated value, not a direct measurement - it is summed from your measured cations. It reflects soil texture more than management, so a low number is not a fault to correct. At very high or very low pH the calculation can read higher than the soil actually behaves.
Your soil reads 2.3 ppm available nitrogen. 50% of it is credited against the requirement and subtracted from what you apply.
Available nitrogen (nitrate + ammonium) on the day the sample was pulled. It moves fast, so what your plants need is set by the crop's annual requirement, not by this one reading.
Mehlich-3 extraction - fuels flowering and root growth.
Potassium drives fruiting, water regulation, and overall hardiness.
Soil holds nutrients the way a sponge holds water. This bar shows which nutrients are filling that space in your soil.
This is just information; there's nothing to act on here. Anything that needs fixing is already in your suggestions.
"Other" is small amounts of minerals like iron. Hydrogen goes up when soil is acidic, and it is zero when pH is above 7.
Calcium builds cell walls and keeps soil structure open. A bigger soil holds more calcium, so this target is set from your soil's CEC of 3.56: calcium filling 60 to 75% of it, which is 427 to 534 ppm. The target says whether the reading is normal for your soil; it is not an amount to apply.
Magnesium sits at the center of chlorophyll - it keeps leaves green.
Sulfur supports protein building and works alongside nitrogen.
Iron builds chlorophyll. Most soils hold plenty; pH decides how much of it the plant can reach.
Manganese runs photosynthesis and root growth. Like iron, it is less available as pH rises.
Copper is needed in traces for enzymes and stem strength. Too much is as bad as too little.
Zinc drives early growth and leaf size. High phosphorus can tie it up at the root.
Boron sets flowers and fruit. The gap between enough and too much is small.
Well below the level that affects soil structure is where you want this. Softened-water runoff and deicing salt are the usual culprits when it climbs.
5 suggestions, written from these readings.
pH 7.0. Target 6.2 to 7.0. Nothing to correct: at this pH the nutrients in your soil are available to roots, which is the whole job pH does. Keep an eye on it at your next test rather than treating it. pH decides what your roots can actually take up, so this is the one to keep an eye on even when it is fine.
That works out to 26.2 lbs of urea for 5,000 sq ft across the year, split over the feedings on your plan's calendar.
You're at 3 ppm and want at least 7. Gypsum is the easy way to add it: pH-neutral, and it brings calcium along with it.