John D’or Prairie Soil Test
I tested some of the natural soil in the John D’or Prairie garden to check for pH and the three major plant nutrients—nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). Here’s what I found:
· Soil pH: 6.5 – The pH scale runs from 0 to 14, with 0 being very acidic and 14 being very alkaline. A reading of 6.5 just slightly acidic, meaning the soil is nearly neutral. That’s good news, because most plants do best in neutral soil. While some plants prefer slightly more acidic or alkaline conditions, we don’t need to adjust the pH since this level works well for most varieties.
· Nitrogen: Depleted – Nitrogen is often the biggest limiting factor in plant growth. That means without enough nitrogen, plants can’t grow properly—even if everything else is in place. To fix this, we’ll need to add nitrogen to the soil. One natural option is to spread about an inch of composted manure over the surface. Fertilizers like Miracle-Gro also supply nitrogen in a form that plants can readily absorb. There is a bottle of organic high nitrogen fertilizer in the greenhouse. I would recommend adding some of the fertilizer to a watering can to water your garden once a week. The recommended fertilizer to water ratio is on the back of the fertilizer bottle, and you can measure the quantity using the cap. Don’t use more fertilizer than recommended on the bottle, because excess nitrogen can “burn” or damage plants.
· Phosphorus: Deficient – Phosphorus is essential for strong roots, flowering, and fruit production. When it's lacking, plants might grow a lot of leaves but fail to produce flowers or fruits—especially crops like tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, broccoli, and cauliflower. To boost phosphorus levels, we can use compost, bone meal, rock phosphate, or fish meal. Bone meal and fish meal attract dogs and other animals, who often dig in and eat the bone or fish meal in the soil, so it might be better to avoid. Ther fertilizer in the greenhouse will also add phosphorous to the soil.
· Potassium: Adequate – Potassium plays a big role in disease resistance and overall plant health. Thankfully, our soil already has some of it. Compost and fertilizer also contribute potassium, so what we're adding for nitrogen should help maintain those levels, too. Composted plant material and food scraps, especially things like banana peels, potatoes, and eggshells all contribute more potassium than composted manure. The fertilizer in the greenhouse also has potassium, but I chose a fertilizer with a higher ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus or potassium because our soil is particularly deficient in nitrogen.