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Aug 19, 2016 6:09 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Chris Massengill
Upper East Tennessee, Bluff Ci (Zone 6b)
I had a soil test done that showed a massive amount of potassium in my soil.
What is the best way (Easiest) to rid the potassium out of the soil?
I am personally looking at raised beds in this area. either tilling in 30 cf of soil conditioner with perlite, or building the beds over top of the potassium affected soil.
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Aug 19, 2016 7:55 PM CST
Name: Rick Corey
Everett WA 98204 (Zone 8a)
Sunset Zone 5. Koppen Csb. Eco 2f
Frugal Gardener Garden Procrastinator I helped beta test the first seed swap Plant and/or Seed Trader Seed Starter Region: Pacific Northwest
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All I've been able to find is:

1.
Avoid adding to much in the first place, to avoid the problem. (Everyone says this.)

Several sites said or implied that adding too much manure can add excessive potassium. Maybe some people keep adding more manure to get plenty of N, even if the N is consumed every year. They KEEP adding more manure every year and the K accumulates more than the N.


2.
Wait for it to leach out. (Many sites say this, or just say "wait for it to get better".) Do you have plenty of rainfall? Drainage that carries water AWAY from your beds before it evaporates or is pulled into plants.

3.
Another site says not to trust soil tests (???) and also to be sure you took your samples from soil deeper than the top 3".
The part I agree with is that if the lab says your K is too high, but your plants are growing well, don't lie awake at night worrying. Just avoid adding more K!

4.
One site referred to the ration of Ca:K and suggested adding some Ca if you aren't already high in it.

5.
One site suggested growing some crops that aggressively suck up nutrients, like alfalfa. But then you would have to move the leaves and stems away from those beds! Feed it to livestock and then don't use their manure? Use it as mulch on beds that tolerate high K? Bale it and sell it?

I don't know, but expect that it does leach out over several years if you have sufficient rainfall and sufficient drainage.

The raised beds do sound like a good solution while waiting for leaching to occur. I hope you don't have to irrigate to get some leaching going!
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Aug 20, 2016 1:40 PM CST
Name: Sue
Ontario, Canada (Zone 4b)
Annuals Native Plants and Wildflowers Keeps Horses Dog Lover Daylilies Region: Canadian
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Are the plants showing any symptoms? Usually excess potassium interferes with other nutrients causing deficiency symptoms in those. If you did not get the soil test because of a problem with the plants then perhaps the answer is to just not add any more and then test again at a later date to see if it is lowering.
Avatar for Clmasse
Aug 20, 2016 7:29 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Chris Massengill
Upper East Tennessee, Bluff Ci (Zone 6b)
sooby said:Are the plants showing any symptoms? Usually excess potassium interferes with other nutrients causing deficiency symptoms in those. If you did not get the soil test because of a problem with the plants then perhaps the answer is to just not add any more and then test again at a later date to see if it is lowering.


this area was unknown to me. I decided to till the soil and reset cause of the plants heaving from the freeze thaw winter cycles. the plants did well into a late grow season then in the spring they emerged and grew until the first dry spell. the plant roots have burned away and foliage has shrunk back. developing roots are extremely tiny. There is lots of small broken rock in this area which I believe is releasing the potassium.
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