greetings, i hope someone may be able to help me out. i am a senior and have lived off the fruits of my garden my entire life! bountiful harvest my entire life. downsized in retirement 3 years at new farm and with new veggie garden site. i do know how to build/replace/etc. basics of veggie garden so the following problem baffled me:
1st year with veggies (after previous year working/adding organic mater/green manure/etc.) was good esp for first year.
2nd year not so great in terms of production but plants looked ok other than root veggies that seemed stunted
3rd year (this year) was a disaster re production. i had a soil test done through U of G and it came back with sulfur through the roof (over 200).
obiously the untreated well water is an issue. i am able to irrigate in a different manner but what i wish to know is HOW QUICKLY DOES SULFUR LEACH OUT OF SOIL I.E. WHEN MAY I PLAN TO USE THIS SITE EFFECIENTLY IN THE FUTURE? I have very few options re alternative sites for a veggie garden. thank you for any insight. my research has not enlightened me much.
Hi Marney. Sulphur will leach quickly. I am not sure it is the cause of your poor production. UofG is not my favourite lab. Did you have them test the micro nutrients like Zn, B, Cu, Mn and Fe? I would suggest A&L labs in London. If you get a test from them I would be happy to take a look at it. If you want me to take a look at the UofG test I would be happy to start there. Ken Laing kmlaing@orchardhillfarm.ca