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Organic Lawn Care

Percent Organic Matter

15 years ago

I just had a soil test done on my lawn and the % organic matter came back as 2.5. Does anybody know what is ideal? Also the pH is low. Can I apply a liquid calcium to help raise it?

Help!!!!

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Comments (3)

billhill
15 years ago
Congratulations Mr. Peach on getting a soil test. 2.5 % organic matter is pretty good. 5 % is said to be ideal. Lime is the usual product used to raise the pH. IÂm no expert on soil analysis but Andi is. He will be along soon to help you out. Could you possibly scan youÂre test results and post them here, or just post the numbers, Usually soil tests give recommendations. Did yours?
Bill Hill

Here is a link that might be useful: Soil Management part 1
andy10917
15 years ago
Mr. Peach:

A 2.5 reading for Soil Organic Matter (SOM) is on the low side of medium for unamended soil. Soil tends to run from 1% in very sandy soils to 5% or so for older grassland. But (and it's a big but) there is a lot of variability of results due to the method used to do the analysis. You may want to find out what method was used for your test and post it here - it would definitely affect my response.

About the Lime (its one of my favorite subjects) - Lime is way more complicated than the big-box stores would have you believe. There are Limes that are very-low in their Magnesium content and Limes that are very-high in that regard. I've come to believe that the Calcium/Magnesium ration has WAY more impact on overall soil/lawn health than anything other than the Nitrogen level. Post you Calcium reading, your Magnesium reading and the pH and I'll make a recommendation or two.

Read the article that Bill linked and you'll understand my answers a bit more...
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Andrew, Absolutely go out and purchase some good quality soil to fill those beds, in addition to any organic matter you can scrounge up. As was previously stated, the mineral component is the skeleton of the soil. While organic matter is important for buffer capacity, water holding, nutrition, structure, etc., it is still just a part of the whole soil system. You've got to remember that the organic fraction is continually lost through mineralization. When the majority of your soil is organic matter, this results in significant loss of soil volume annually. Thus, you must add significant amounts of organic matter annually. Filling your beds with good, purchased soil will provide a near permanent skeleton for your soil, to which you can add organic matter till your heart's content. Another advantage to filling with purchased mineral soil is faster heating in the spring. Compared to organic matter, the mineral component has a higher heat conductivity that permits faster warming in the spring. Warmer soil earlier will allow earlier planting. You may also be able to find good silt loam depending upon your location in PA. If you're lucky enough to find it, silt loam provides the greatest plant available water holding capacity of nearly all soil textural classes (maybe all I forget off-hand.) Be extremely picky with what you buy and check it out for yourself. Whatever you buy, you'll be stuck gardening in it unless you dig it out and replace it. Further, check out what you're buying before the fact. My sister bought "screened" soil with clumps of clay in it. Use the 'feel method' for determining soil texture to see for yourself what the texture is like. It takes some practice to calibrate your fingers, but becomes a handy skill once you get the hang of it. Good luck, and update us on how you're doing. Here is a link that might be useful: Soil Texture by Feel
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About 92 percent mineral soil and about 8 percent organic matter does not mean exactly, that is a rough ratio to shoot for. Most soil scientists would say that 5 percent OM is adequate, but I have found over the years that plants simply grow better when the OM is in the 8 percent range. In addition to a soil test from a reputable lab that tells you what the soils pH and major nutrient levels are34 maybe these simple soil tests will be of some help, 1) Soil test for organic matter. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. For example, a good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. 2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drainsÃ¢ÂÂ too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer your soil will smell. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy.
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Michael is so right about preparing the whole bed. On the house pad where my primary rose garden in located, I have what amounts to glacier slurry/subsoil. The house pad was cut out of a slope created by glacier runoff eons ago. Once the decorative rock the previous owners used for the back of the house was scraped off, I was left with soil that was mostly rock with clay and silt between the tightly compacted rock. My huge novice mistake was to dig rose holes instead of preparing the whole bed. I created a gardening nightmare. I cannot buy soil or mulch up here, but I could buy bags of compost. I mixed a lot of compost with the native soil and screened out a lot of the rock from the native soil that I mixed with the compost when I planted my first roses. As the compost decomposed, the roses sank! How much they sank depended on how much organic material I mixed in with the native soil. I have since found that all of those rocks do not decompose and allow for good drainage in clay soil. I don't screen them out any more. In fact, I add rocks to my back fill instead of organic material and mound the soil in the planting hole UP so that when the rose sinks due to the OM around the root mass decomposing, it settles at the level that I want for the rose. Over the years, I've applied all of my organic materials on top of the soil. I have perfect drainage due to the rocks and the clay between the rocks held moisture quite well. I found that it is much easier to correct the nutrients values than to try to correct drainage. Putting the OM on top has actually improved my soil. Until the extreme drought, I had plenty of earth worms and the soil gradually became more friable. It is not fertile, yet. None of my roses died and except those that are not suited to my climate, all of them have done quite well. I do think that had I prepared whole beds properly with as much OM as possible and allowed it to set until the OM decomposed, I would have had an easier time of it in the long run. Kate ... I have so much rock in my soil, I can walk on it when it is fully saturated. Common sense would tell one that this is not the soil environment to grow healthy roses. The good news is that the roses don't know that. They just want to grow. Smiles, Lyn
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Kimmsr
15 years ago
Optimal levels on organic matter in soils would be in the 6 to 8 percent range and the optimal soil pH range would be in the 6.2 to 6.8 range, where most all nutrients are available, although some plants prefer a lower pH.
Calcium, no matter which you use, takes time to work, liquid wil be no faster than pelleted. Some simple soil tests you can do that will help you understand your soil more are,
1) Structure. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. A good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top.

2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up.

3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart.

4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer you soil will smell.

5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy.
The 4 inch level in the Jar Test makes the math a lot easier, with other levels there are conversion factors to use.

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