Phosphorus Deficiency

[Vanman]

I had my soil tested and found out I needed 100 lbs of lime per 1000 square feet and 3 lbs of Super Phosphorus per 1000 square feet. It also said my potassium level was high. What improvement should I see this year after correcting this imbalance?

[bower]

Well I don't know what you've been getting, but I would expect more fruit from the phosphorus, and less BER from the lime, if you had some in the past due to calcium deficiencies.

If your potassium has been high that's always nice for tomatoes, makes for sturdy plants and sweet fruit. The only problem is, if you pH is out of balance (needing lime) it can affect the plant's ability to access the potassium it needs. So the balancing of your nutrients should help with that too.

[Cole_Robbie]

The higher your organic matter percentage, the more forgiving the soil will be in regard to both nutrient levels and ph.

[Pleepleus]

I think you will see an uptick in general overall health of the plants. The most benefit coming from getting the pH corrected so all those nutrients can be used. I would expect better yield of higher quality fruits.

[Vanman]

I have had very little BER, almost none. Hopefully I will see an improvement in yield and flavor.

[mama_lor]

What is you pH? Seems an odd combination. Lime raises pH while superphosphate (calcium monophosphate) will lower it. Btw, P and Ca will eventually make an unusable, unsolvable calcium phosphate when both are present in the soil in high quantities (well, it can be eroded in small amounts in the acidic root zone, and there will always be some free of course).

Adding high amounts of P is known as a useless longterm endeavor, always add fractionally. Potassium high is good. Just watch for Mg deficiency, easy to see, and apply topically if needed, but generally the soil tests for some reason are way too conservative with K requirements, you need high amounts for intensive crops.