The Annual Leaf and Soil Analysis

When we were having "bad luck" with our cherry blocks, we decided to take the luck out of it and add science. Every fall for the past couple of years, Bill and I review results of leaf and soil analyses that we have done on each of the blocks we're farming. We have Northwest Wholesale do the leaf tests and Wilbur Ellis do the soil tests. The leaf results are easy to interpret and plan for. The soil results are more complicated. We usually have a two hour meeting with Gary Johnson, Wilbur Ellis' soil scientist, to have him explain the results and recommendations. Last year's results showed we were very low in zinc and nitrogen in most of our cherry blocks. Even though we had been applying maintenance amounts in the fall and spring, the test results showed we were deficient. This was exciting news because we hoped it would explain why we were having so much difficulty with our cherries. We then increased our nitrogen and zinc applications last fall and spring and thankfully saw healthier trees and double the cherry production this summer.
I put together an Excel chart showing the results for this year to compare the leaf and soil results. Both types of samples show our cherry trees and soils look healthier and better balanced than last year. Nitrogen and zinc levels are good, however several blocks were low in calcium and one was low in magnesium. Bill is using this information to plan the last sprays that will go on the cherries and blueberries tomorrow. Since we're still picking apples and we may be for quite awhile, he's not planning any sprays for apples.
He's also planning ground applied nutrients that we'll order in bulk to apply when we finish apple harvest. We've gotten conflicting information about release rates of different organic fertilizers such as DPW (dried poultry waste) and feathermeal. This is no longer an issue since we now know about Oregon State University's organic fertilizer calculator at http://smallfarms.oregonstate.edu/calculator.
An interesting suggestion by Gary, our soils expert, was that we could apply bat guano to our apple blocks in the spring because they're low in phosphate. That, of course, made me think of Billy and Bettina in Mexico. I wonder how they're doing and if they have lots of friends?