toxcrusadr-- the *path* is supposedly 8' wide, not the spreader. And the path does seem to be... I didn't stop to measure it though : ) If that sounds funny though, I wonder if that's why I ran out of fertilizer sooner than I expected to... I'm not sure I'm up to all that calculating-- can I assume though that the higher the number, the more grains it puts out at once? The people at the store (who seem very knowledgeable, I mean) said that I want one bag to cover a quarter acre. Which I think is about the amount of grass we have, maybe a bit more. We have a tiny bit over a half acre total but that of course includes the house/pool/driveway/pavers out back etc. Regardless, that bag lasted for a bout 1/3 of my grass. I went back for 2 more bags and changed the setting on the spreader-- think from 8 to 6 and got some more range out of it. Still had to open the third bag though. Sigh. Maybe I should look for a highly rated spreader and buy that. This one was borrowed from my brother-in-law and I think I have found it online and if I'm right about which it is (the Scotts classic drop spreader), I see that it gets bad reviews, lots of them. Same reasons. I'm learning a lot of lessons lately, the hard way... Isn't that supposed to be the best way though? Or something. Oh and just FYI, that's only one of several bare patches. And there are plenty of weeds, trust me. It's hard to tell from this one picture but they are everywhere, all kinds. Some areas have less but some areas are also straight weeds so it all balances out, ha.

The testis a bit inconsistent in terms of pH versus ion concentrations, so I'm actually going to say that the test looks pretty good (I'm reading the ions not the roll-up numbers). I'd consider a Logan Labs test next time for a better read; I'm not directly familiar with VA Tech's testing processes.

A 6.1 pH in a soil that fizzes (free calcium/Magnesium carbonate). No anomaly that would produce that comes to mind. Don't bother with a AA test. It's not going to be beneficial this year. We'll assume that all the soil is 8.4 pH and you can retest next year with AA. I don't like making recommendations at the 3-6" level for turf but here goes: Everything in your soil is not only above minimum levels, but decently into sufficient and some even at optimal levels EXCEPT Phosphorous which is detrimentally deficient ( your turf probably did well the first couple of years because sod farms pound their turf with P and you used up the residual that was present). In fact. P is well below critical. Potassium (K) and Boron are also a bit low. but we only need to keep an eye on B and kick K up. It's Phosphorous though, big time. The clay is going to be a real PITA. Edited: Before we go forward: Are you willing/can you afford to aerate twice this year? Can you find/want to pay for Triple fertilizer (10-10-10, 12-12-12, etc) ? Can you find/want to pay for Triplesuper Phosphate ? Can you find/want to pay for Sulfate of Potash/Potassium Sulfate/Sop? Can you find/want to pay for Milorganite (5-4-0) ?

Nearly all labs that provide recommendations do, many will even give an option to specify for the particular crop to be grown (if they don't ask, find another lab). If they don't give recommendations, some don't ask, as all they are doing is testing for current existing nutrient values and it's up to you to decide what amendments/adjustments need to be made for your purposes. Doesn't mean they're a bad lab.