I know next to nutthin 'bout reading soil tests but a couple of advisories. Depending on who did the testing, some labs give recommendations for lime for agricultural purposes where they expect the lime to be mixed into the soil rather than spread on top. Keep in mind that grass does best in soil that is at a PH of 6.5ish or so.and that it is much easier to increase PH than it is to reduce it. So if you add to much lime... Second thing to keep in mind is that you do not want to add more than one pound of N per month at a time to an existing lawn. Also too much N in a seed bed is not beneficial to seedlings and can kill germenating seeds Thirdly, N and P leach pretty quickly, so adding more than the plant can use before they leach out is both a waste of money and bad for the enviorment. Maybe there are some soil test readers here, If not, I'd suggest you re-do the test with Logan Labs and pay for them to make recommendations. Just my two cents.

Thanks for all the advice, everyone. fertilizersalesman: from the map here: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpwes/environmental/soilrating.htm I'm in the middle of the "Piedmont Upland" area. I'm probably less than 10 miles to the border with the Coastal Plain area. I'll have to make a closer inspection of my soil this weekend. I think the top layer (less than 3 or 4 inches) likely is silt, but I'm certain that there's a reasonable amount of clay under the top layer. Perhaps the 1:1 clay is an explanation which fits with both my observations and the results of the soil test. idaho_gardener: when you say adding humic and fulvic acid, do you mean that these can be separate things to add? I was under the impression that those are components of humus, so that by adding lots of organic material (which eventually breaks down into humus) you increase the amount of those things in the soil, albeit indirectly. Maybe you're suggesting a different approach? As for cover crops, that's definitely something I'd consider. I don't have much experience with that, but from what I read, buckwheat might makes sense to plant this summer. If you've got more information, that'd be great. I'll definitely be adding lots of organic matter. Right now, I've got more leaf mulch than I can probably reasonably use at one time -- it'd probably be over a foot deep if spread out across the garden-- plus lots of (and probably an increasing amount) of grass clippings. At any rate, its been very helpful to hear everyone's input! Thanks, Paul

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) ?

According to my calculations, you are short about 2 lb/k of P2O5 (phosphorus) and 4 lb/k of K2O (potassium). Probably the easiest way to get that 4 lb/k of potassium is to use a balanced NPK fertilizer, like 10-10-10 or 20-20-20. It would also give you 4 lb/k of nitrogen and 4 lb/k of phosphorus. You don't need that much phosphorus but it won't harm anything (except possibly the mycorrhizae). You want to avoid nitrogen in the summer. So if you went with the balanced fertilizer, you would be applying probably 3 applications, one a month for mid August, September, October. The 4th could be next year. Divide the NPK number into 100 to get the application rate (example, for 10-10-10, divide 10 into 100 to get 10 lb/k rate). An alternative is to find SOP, potassium sulfate, 0-0-50. You could apply that once a month, even in the summer, at 2 lb/k for four months. That would take care of the potassium. Two applications of starter fertilizer in the fall would take care of the phosphorus. Since you're planning to overseed, it would make sense to use this plan, as you could do an application of starter fertilizer at seeding and another a month later. Milorganite could substitute for the second application of starter in the fall. Use bag rate for starter or 25 lb/k of Milorganite at 5-4-0 to get 1 lb/k of phosphorus. As for nitrogen, the balanced fertilizer plan would give you 4 lb/k, which is more than you need for the year considering that you have already applied nitrogen this spring. If you use the alternative plan (which I think is better), you would get almost a lb/k with each application of starter fertilizer (1.25 with Milorganite at 25 lb/k) and then you could do a winterizer application of a quick release nitrogen in late fall after the grass has stopped growing but before the ground freezes. That would get you off to a good start next spring, when you could hold off on fertilizer until around Memorial Day. Your organic matter is low. It's good to leave clippings on the lawn when you mow. This fall mulch mow any leaves in your neighborhood that you can gather. If this is new construction, there may not be many trees but do what you can. The compost you're planning will help. Mulch mowing leaves is like making your own compost for the lawn --and you don't have to spread it! Water in your applications. Milorganite does not need to be watered in. Phosphorus tends to get tied with quickly with calcium in alkaline soil. It's there, just not available to the grass. Using organic forms of phosphorus, like Milorganite, enables a slow release of phosphorus. If you test next year and phosphorus is low, it's probably because of the alkaline soil. It's still there, just unavailable. Such is life for alkaline soil.