Comparison of local soil tests of compost or other soil.
The following spreadsheet is a comparison of the soil tests from three local sources of compost plus some additional tests.
| Source | Date | Type | P | K | Ca | Mg | Zn | Mn | Cu | Fe | B | pH | Buffer | Est-CEC | Acidity | Base Sat | Ca Sat | Mg Sat | K Sat | Organic(%) |
| VAPPSA | 2/9/2008 | N/A | 204 | 1257 | 4832 | 681 | 11.5 | 21.5 | 0.1 | 6.7 | 2.0 | 7.0 | N/A | 16.5 | N/A | 100.0 | 73.2 | 17.1 | 9.8 | 49.3 |
| Pen Hard | 7/2/2007 | Biocompost | 333 | 459 | 4942 | 822 | 52.5 | 125.8 | .02 | 61.0 | 6.4 | 6.7 | 6.46 | 16.3 | .2 | 99.8 | 75.5 | 20.7 | 3.6 | 37.9 |
| Pen Hard | 7/2/2007 | Organiccom | 200 | 895 | 5618 | 857 | 14.1 | 35.7 | 0.1 | 11.4 | 3.6 | 6.9 | 6.33 | 19.1 | 2.2 | 97.8 | 73.4 | 19.5 | 6.0 | 34.2 |
| Miracle Grow | 7/27/2007 | Potting Soil | 92 | 652 | 1650 | 676 | 2.7 | 0.1 | 43.6 | 0.3 | 5.2 | 5.82 | 5.82 | 11.2 | 30.8 | 69.2 | 36.8 | 24.9 | 7.5 | 71.0 |
| Local Farm | 7/3/2007 | Sandy Soil | 44 | 202 | 878 | 133 | 3.6 | 11.5 | 0.3 | 8.9 | 0.4 | 6.3 | 6.34 | 3.4 | 10.6 | 89.4 | 65.3 | 16.3 | 7.7 | 1.3 |
Notes:
In every sample, the Virginia Tech Soil Testing Lab indicated that Boron was needed (Red Column).
Note that a pH of 7.0 is neutral, neither acidic or alkaline. (Yellow Column).
VAPPSA = Virginia Peninsula Public Service Authority (York Town Facility)
Pen Hard = Peninsula Hardware Mulch (Toano Facility)
Miracle Grow = This was a fresh bag of Miracle Grow potting soil - unused.
Local Farm = Land in Middlesex County near Saluda that has been used for commercial agriculture for years. In every category, VT deemed the soil sufficient except for Boron (which, every other test also needed more.)
Please note that this was just one sample of one batch. Batch content might change from batch to batch.
