K deficient, greensand.

I just did a soil test of my veggy garden soil and find it to be potassium deficient in one area. Even though I have been dumping wood ash on the soil and in the compost I use, plus adding seaweed to my compost. I didnt even get a reading for potassium. Im wondering the best way to correct this and when should I do it. The part of my garden I tested is the patch I intend to plant my Garlic very soon. I was looking at greensand as the easiest option and Im wondering if UBC garden shop carries this item.

 

It is possible, if you are using a home soil-test kit, that the reading is not accurate. They are notoriously unreliable. While we are often advised by experts to have a proper soil test done at a special lab, that can be problematic when the soil varies dramatically from one part of the garden to another and when soil-testing labs are few and far between. Here is one of many websites that discusses soil-test kits: Fertilizer Nonsense #4: Soil Tests - Are they needed?

 

Thank You Margot. I am a little supicious because plants I grew in that area this year did not exhibit classic potassium deficiency.

 

Read this discussion about determining the potassium status of soil from the Researchgate:
What is the reliable method for determining the potassium...

 

All due respect but this will make most everyday gardeners' eyes glaze over.

 

Very short summary: even soil scientists have serious trouble with determining the potassium status of soil . There is no reliable and precise analyze method (even at laboratory analyses level, not to mention home gardener's testing kits) to find out, how much there is readily available (for plants, not for reactant of the tester) potassium in the soil, that works in every soil type. Because of that plants often don't respond as expected to the potassium fertilizer dose that is calculated based on lab analyses.

 

Look around for a farm supply house/elevator for Jersey Greensand or Menefee Humate.