Off the charts Magnesium

Hi all,
My soil report has been interpreted for me, and I had some suggestions for improving my soil from Natural direct. But we could not figure out why the Magnesium was way high off the charts really high..
I do not lime, as my soil is alkaline enough, but I do water with softened water, could that be the culprit? I use epsoma fertilizer, and mulched for the 1st time this year. I did scrape away the mulch and went 6 in. down to get the soil samples, could the mulch(wood cedar) do it.
Any suggestions what would do this??/
Jill

I would say it is probably the water softener -- more importantly you should ask youself if the water softener is harming YOU as well. There are links between excessively softened water & hypertension /heart disease.

In the mean time, plant magnesium-loving plants like roses.

Is Epsoma made of Epsom salts? That is also high in Mg....

Epsom salts are magnesium sulfate. Magnesium is often used to bind up excess nitrogen in the soil. Are you seeing signs of nitrogen deficiency in your plants?

Hi- My nitrogen is good, I did not use any epsom salts on the soil. I am now bypassing the water softener when I water them, hoping to see improvement. What are the signs of nitrogen --------deficiency? Some of my plants have light green leaves, I thought it was chlorosis so gave them a shot of Iron, and they look better. But could the excess mag be tying up the nutrients in the soil? the report showed I had plenty of organic matter.
Espoma is the name of an organic fertilizer company. I have used a lot of their products but may switch to something else now.
Thanks all,
Jill

Chlorosis *can* be a nitrogen deficiency - I forget the actual mechanics behind it, but there are a number of things that can cause it. Overwatering can cause it, pH can cause it... here's a link that quickly explains some different factors.

http://www.rainbowscivance.com/chlorosis/index.asp

But when you gave it your iron fertilizer, it's hard to say what exactly changed with it. Epsoma might be great stuff - just so you can figure it out, I'd recommend only changing one thing at a time, so you can measure the effects.

HTH!

Thank you for the link, my ph is the factor of the chlorosis I think.. having 7.1 it is not in the ideal range for iron uptake, according to what you sent. Perhaps adding some sulphur will correct this? I know adding sulphur is short term, how often do you think it should be applied?
Thank you, Jill

Gosh Jill, I don't know - I don't use additives in my soil, only compost. If your mulch has broken down, you could consider turning it in your beds, along with any compost you have or can get. I don't know if we're talking about a perennial bed or vegetables or what - a veggie garden would be easiest to deal with- you could turn under all the plants after they've finished for the season.

I'm surprised that your soil is really that alkaline - your sample didn't have any of your tap water in it, did it?

I think compost is the great pH leveler. I would try that first. Then retest your soil next year.

I added granulated sulphur to my garden bed after the mineral mix I had added brought the pH up too much (~8). The sulfur takes awhile to break down, so I started using vinaegar water to weekly to bring the pH back down to the high sixes. I used 2-4 tablespoons of vinaegar to a two gallon watering can and watered each section well.
The plants greened up after that, but it's been a struggle to keep the pH down as the calcium lime breaks down. Live and learn. *sigh*