Soil Testing

[ken smith]

Sarraceniac is right. The leeks are for the show bench. As they are grown in a polytunnel and do not get washed out with winter rains it is important to test for a build up of salts. Could Edwardo82 explain why he finds the sabotage of exhibition veg amusing. He cannot be a serious gardener.

[Jeanied]

I read Edwardo's post as being 'very amusing' with a strong tone of sarcasm there, Ken.

[sarraceniac]

Sarraceniac is right. The leeks are for the show bench. As they are grown in a polytunnel and do not get washed out with winter rains it is important to test for a build up of salts. Could Edwardo82 explain why he finds the sabotage of exhibition veg amusing. He cannot be a serious gardener.

I didn't read any nastiness in Edwardo's comment Ken. I just think that people in the south don't understand that competition growing is far more serious up here than down there. He probably doesn't know that a serious competition grower would, if not kill, at least commit GBH to protect their crops. After all, many years of blood sweat and sometimes tears goes into it. In the South of the country competitions are usually just village shows or W.I. events where people just think, 'My carrots are pretty big this year. I think I'll put them in the village fete.' As I said, it is a different world for gardeners in the North.

[Snadger]

I used to show leeks many moons ago but got out of it because it was becoming big business and in my view TOO proffesional.

When you have leek shows where the prizes can be many thousands of £££'s and the top prizes are sought after, there is a possibility of leek slashing and other underhand tricks to increase a rogue's placings.

Selling raffle tickets every week was also a put me off, to be honest

For some reason the big shows seem to be on the demise now (along with the demise of the pits) so hopefully the underhand growers will fade away.

Good luck with your leeks Ken, but if salts are a problem would it not be possible to roll back the polythene or even take the polytunnel down for the winter period to allow the winter rains to purge the salts?

I am lucky to have access to professional soil testing apparatus which tests Ph and NPK and recommends a fertiliser regime but I rarely use it. As far as I know, you can't test for salts build up though which is a visual thing and will usually be on the soil surface.

Most leek growers turn the soil out of their leek trenches for winter, so hopefully salts build up won't be an issue.

I personally believe if you have a good 'strain' of leek they would still come good even if grown on a slag heap!

I still like to think I am a serious gardener, being almost self sufficient in veg.............but I purposely don't grow show specimens.

[sarraceniac]

Selling raffle tickets every week was also a put me off, to be honest.

How else are they going to raise the prize money Snadge?

A couple of serious comments ('cos this thread seems to have gone very serious). Firstly, in the 'good old days' companies would advertise by sponsoring this sort of competition. Advertising on telly or Google etc. is far more cost effective in this day and age. So the big prizes are dying out. I think even the glossy magazines, like GYO for example, would not consider it cost effective to sponsor one for thousands.

Secondly, a good soil testing company can test for any chemical you want testing for. That includes salts, acids and bases.

[Snadger]

How else are they going to raise the prize money Snadge?

A couple of serious comments ('cos this thread seems to have gone very serious). Firstly, in the 'good old days' companies would advertise by sponsoring this sort of competition. Advertising on telly or Google etc. is far more cost effective in this day and age. So the big prizes are dying out. I think even the glossy magazines, like GYO for example, would not consider it cost effective to sponsor one for thousands.

Secondly, a good soil testing company can test for any chemical you want testing for. That includes salts, acids and bases.

When I was showing, and to make the show more interesting, the prizes were usually household gadgets, chairs, tables televisions etc all layed out in the judging area to make a display. These were sponsored to a certain extent by a local shop.You had the option of a voucher but the voucher was never worth what the prize cost so you would see leek growers carrying out three piece suite's they'd won on there back.

Mine is a professional gardeners soil testing kit (costing about £350) and only tests Ph & NPK and gives you an idea of how much of each of the three main nutrients you need to add per annum to give a satisfactory result for your chosen crop. I suppose if you were prepared to pay for it any chemical can be tested for though!

[ken smith]

Thanks for all comments. As the polytunnel is 24ft.x12ft. and the cover is screwed on with lats it would not be feasable to remove it for the winter as it would not go back on right. Lancrop Labs. was the firm I was looking for and a conductivity test for salts is only about £5.A new cover would cost in excess of £50 and would take a couple of hours to replace.

[Snadger]

Thanks for all comments. As the polytunnel is 24ft.x12ft. and the cover is screwed on with lats it would not be feasable to remove it for the winter as it would not go back on right. Lancrop Labs. was the firm I was looking for and a conductivity test for salts is only about £5.A new cover would cost in excess of £50 and would take a couple of hours to replace.

One thing that puzzles me Ken is, what can you add to alleviate salt build up? Or what can you do about it?

[sarraceniac]

Glad you found your testing company Ken. You certainly gave us hours of thought and discussion. It's great to have serious debate.

[ken smith]

Hi Snadger, If the salt content of my leek trench is too high the only means of reduction is to flood the soil. This would happen naturally on an open trench during the winter. I will use a sprinkler for the time required. It is no good flooding the soil regardless of conductivity because if it is not needed I will end up washing nutrients out of the soil and so reducing fertility. I try to stick with organic feeds under cover to reduce the risk of salts build up.