Soil Sampling

L

lough

Well-Known Member
When is the best time of year to take soil samples on grassland/silage ground, do you have to wait a certain time after fertiliser was spread on it
 
Would it matter if it only had straight up N or Urea?
Or if sheep have been on there?
 
nashmach said:
3 months after the last application whether it be slurry, bagged fertiliser or FYM is the general recommendation.
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It will likely be mid to late September at the earliest then before i will be able to sample it. This land was reseeded last September and got granlime and 10-10-20 at the time. It would never have got lime before and only half of it would have ever got fertilizer. Should I put the lime, P & K on as soon as possible without a test and do it later or should I wait and get the test done first
 
lough said:
It will likely be mid to late September at the earliest then before i will be able to sample it. This land was reseeded last September and got granlime and 10-10-20 at the time. It would never have got lime before and only half of it would have ever got fertilizer. Should I put the lime, P & K on as soon as possible without a test and do it later or should I wait and get the test done first
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If it was mine I'd go ahead without the sampling.

One thing I would seriously advise though is forget about the Granlime and get ground limestone. You need about 2t or 3t absolute max in one application. The easiest way to think about is Granlime gives a one year kick while the lime will give more permanent results.

Also, it has been clearly shown in tillage trials that the uptake of P and K is much more if lime levels are correct.
 
I don't know where I read it, but somewhere it said you shouldn't do soil sampling for at least a year after spreading lime.

Is that true? I've a bit of sampling to do myself in the next few weeks but wondering will I bother now.
 
I never heard that Nash. I'd usually be testing the soil on the tillage land most years to see how it's doing and what it needs in terms of P and K.
 
nashmach said:
I don't know where I read it, but somewhere it said you shouldn't do soil sampling for at least a year after spreading lime.

Is that true? I've a bit of sampling to do myself in the next few weeks but wondering will I bother now.
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It depends.
Once the lime was incorperated it should be OK to test very shortly afterwards, on grassland or direct drilled ground 12 months should be more than enough.
Test away.
 
I only soil tested half the farm two weeks ago. Never heard anything about not testing after lime. Granted the only ground that got lime this year was the beet ground and didn't soil test that as it wasn't pulled so will test them fields and the grassland next year.
 
gone said:
It depends.
Once the lime was incorperated it should be OK to test very shortly afterwards, on grassland or direct drilled ground 12 months should be more than enough.
Test away.
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Some of this only got lime the Tuesday of the ploughing match :blushing:

I'm a lot more interested in the P and K levels on that block so would be thinking of working away anyway and disregard the lime results.

I was wondering was it an urban myth :laugh:
 
nashmach said:
Some of this only got lime the Tuesday of the ploughing match :blushing:

I'm a lot more interested in the P and K levels on that block so would be thinking of working away anyway and disregard the lime results.

I was wondering was it an urban myth :laugh:
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Not an urban myth, P or Lime in the last few months can give false readings, espesically if they haven't been worked in.
 
I've just been out and taken soil samples from all the fields that will have spuds in next year, they are all stubble fields (at our place )
Was told by the gaffer to avoid taking a sample from any where near where the lime was tipped in big whites as this would naff up the sample in that field, ( lime was tipped in that filed but spread in adjacent fields, )
TBH our agronomist recommends taking sample at his time of year as little or no fert will be "left" in the ground and said ground is going in to winter shut down,,

As a matter of interest do people use the classic w shape to take samples ?? I start in 1 corner and go diagonal accros the field,,
 
Big Vern said:
I've just been out and taken soil samples from all the fields that will have spuds in next year, they are all stubble fields (at our place )
Was told by the gaffer to avoid taking a sample from any where near where the lime was tipped in big whites as this would naff up the sample in that field, ( lime was tipped in that filed but spread in adjacent fields, )
TBH our agronomist recommends taking sample at his time of year as little or no fert will be "left" in the ground and said ground is going in to winter shut down,,

As a matter of interest do people use the classic w shape to take samples ?? I start in 1 corner and go diagonal accros the field,,
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Yep, I do a W pattern too. Avoiding headlands or anywhere doubling occurs.
Usually pace the same distance between samples too.
Was taking care yesterday as I realized that pacing in a W pattern could place you in the same place in relation to tram lines each time - thus sampling where certain things like P or K could be over or under dosed depending on how they spread.
 
I do find it puzzling that despite all these claims about how technology is taking farming forward and how very very clever the latest app is,soil samples still need sending to the lab for analysis. If the lads with the laptops were half as bright as they tell us they surely would have found an answer by now.
 
Toastfighter said:
I do find it puzzling that despite all these claims about how technology is taking farming forward and how very very clever the latest app is,soil samples still need sending to the lab for analysis. If the lads with the laptops were half as bright as they tell us they surely would have found an answer by now.
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There is such a tool, similar to the NIR for feed testing, nearly certain its at market in the US
 
Given the residual N, P and K in the ground following the drought and poor takeup for spring cereals so should any soil sampling be delayed for a good while longer?
 
I’d imagine you’d be fine to work away now.

We’ve had a lot of rain in November and it must be six months now since you last applied?
 
I have a field that I improved and reseeded last June, I put on lime at the same time as it never got lime before.
It never got any fertiliser for the previous ten years and some of it would have never got fertiliser until last year.
Can I test it now for P & K or will the lime affect the results.
 
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