Re: soil test
Doug,
CEC stands for Cation Exchange Capacity. It is a measure of the capacity of
a soil to hold exchangeable (key word) cations. Cations would include
Hydrogen,Calcium,Magnesium,Potassium and sodium. Typically CEC is dependent
on the percent of clay and organic matter contained in the soil. In my
growing area we have extremely heavy clay soil. Similar to Larry & Gerry!
Prior to ever amending my patch I had a soil test taken which indicated I
had a CEC of 28%. This is pretty good. With the addition of compost to the
clay it improved the CEC even further to a level of 39.7%. As a general rule
of thumb on a sliding scale, sandy soils for example typically have a low
CEC vs. clay soil with a very high CEC.Percent Cation Saturation is the
maximum amount or % a given soil will retain within the soil structure or
colloid. Typically it is not economical to saturate your soil to a 100%
saturation level. Agronomist recommend a balanced saturation rate 65-75%
calcium,10-15%magnesium and from 2-5%potassium. Hope this helps!
Chris
>Hello:
>What does CEC stand for on the soil test?
>Doug
>
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