The Rancho Soil Test Report

Reached in my mailbox and there it was (FINALLY) – soil test results for our new garden at The Orchards.  IMHO the report looks pretty good, especially to those of us used to fighting the black clay goo in Dallas.  My eyes went right to ‘Textural Class:  Sandy Loam”, and I said a little Thank-You-Prayer.

I see two very small concerns.  One is the pH of 7.6 – not quite acid enough.  Although this is a smidgen off for growing veggies, it shouldn’t cause concern.  As you can see, we are also a little short on nitrogen.  Adding compost to boost the nitrogen will slowly bring down the pH.  If 7.6 really bugs you, sprinkle in some sulfur.

Number two is the salinity test.  Too salty.  I guess this goes along with the story of cowboys who worked around the Brazos.  It is said each one carried a salt shaker so when they traveled on a long cattle drive they could always salt their water so it tasted like home.  ‘Conductivity’ is the key value here.  Values 0.00 to 0.75 is considered ‘Safe’ with anything over 3.0 pegged as unsafe.  Considering all the bio-diversity we have around us,  I’m pretty sure our veggies will be OK.