Logan Lab Soil Test Results // Ref. "Could Red Fescue be my Problem?"
gle2011
8 years ago
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gle2011
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Logan Labs or Midwest Labs for soil test?
Comments (3)Logan Labs was picked by crowd sourcing. I believe morph was a part of that process where soil tests were sent to several labs to be checked, rechecked, and cross checked. Logan Labs and UMASS were distant winners in the test due to comprehensive testing at a low cost, proper testing procedures and chemistry, accuracy of results, test reliability, and retest repeatability. UMASS lost a close race due to inconsistent repeatability where they tested the same sample of soil and got marginally different answers. That's how I remember it. Can you add to that or clear things up Morph? The main problem with other labs is they don't provide a comprehensive test for all the micro nutrients, that Logan Labs and UMASS do for their most basic tests. If you want all the macros, micros, and organics tested at another lab, you'll have to pay for the basic plus micros plus organics. And then the cost goes up for several reasons and the repeatability goes down, because they're not doing their routine tests any more. They're doing something they haven't practiced a lot. Or it might be different people doing the test every time. Whatever, only two labs passed the high bar set by the lawn community....See MoreSoil test results from Logan Labs
Comments (23)1) Technically, after the third mow...which will be a while. That'll be too late for most pre-emergents to catch spring weeds. You could use Tupersan (Siduron) in spring when the forsythia bloom, however. It won't impact the grass, but it only lasts about a month and doesn't have an extremely wide umbrella of what it stops from sprouting. 2) March or April 2016 is great if you want. Done much later, any adjustments will generally have to wait for fall (I really dislike stressing summer lawns). 3) It depends on your locale. That's not completely unreasonable, but I would continue to look around to see if I can find it cheaper. See 4 and 5 below. 4) I paid $14.25 per 50 pounds this year...in eastern Pennsylvania, which is soybean and corn country (as in there's acres of soybean and corn within spitting distance of my house). I also use a grain mill way out in the boondocks, so prices tend to be a little cheaper just because of that. 5) Not necessarily. While corn once a year is a help in terms of a gentle fungus protection (and to diversify the microbes a bit), sticking with Milo isn't a problem if it's cheaper for you. My heavy hitter is soybean meal due to the low cost locally--it beats Milo's price by a mile. If it were the other way around, I'd use Milo instead. Rough app levels are as follows (#/K = pounds per thousand square feet because I'm lazy): Alfalfa: 10-20#/K (the limiter here is the growth hormones, not the nitrogen...this is a weak nitrogen feed, but a good addition in early September to encourage root growth). Corn: 10-65#/K. The lower end helps with fungal protection, the upper end actually provides a feeding for the lawn, and there's no problem using corn at this level--except for the expense, of course. 65#/K delivers about 1 pound of nitrogen. Cottonseed Meal: 15#/K. It's difficult to get up north, but the southerner's equivalent to soybean meal. Milorganite: 20#/K. This is higher than bag rate, but will provide 1#/K of N. This is also rich in iron and contains both fast and slow nitrogen, making it a great pick-me-up for the lawn in addition to feeding it over the long term. Oats, Rice Hulls, Most Other Random Grainy Stuff: 50#/K. Most grains will be around 2% nitrogen (about 14% protein) and are applied at 50#/K to feed at 1#/K of N. They can certainly be applied at lower rates to help organically condition a soil if you wish. Soybean Meal: 15#/K. My personal staple. This provides 1#/K of N....See MoreHelp with Logan labs soil test results.
Comments (9)Even if it's an acre, you can do it far cheaper yourself (if with a lot of work)... Your soil's actually in fairly good shape, although I do aim for perfection (you did, after all, pay for the test so I assume you want soil in the perfect groove). ME 5.1: Prob'ly a very sandy soil that doesn't hold a lot of resources. It'll drift pretty fast, so testing every other year once stabilized will be a good idea. pH 6.0: Textbook, a little low, but nothing severe and we'll fix this under calcium, magnesium, and (a little) potassium. OM 4.3%: Well into the Good range, although with your low ME soil, I'd always mulch mow, mow all fall leaves, steal neighbors' leaves who don't mulch them, and consider feeding organically. The higher this goes, the more water your soil will hold, and the higher the effective ME becomes. Sulfur 18: Optimal. Phosphorus 876: Extremely high. You don't need starter when you seed, and I'd avoid phosphorus sources as much as possible when feeding anything. This will support a tightly-packed annual garden easily, and that's saying something. Calcium 61.1%: A little low for a low-ME soil, and what's setting off your lower pH. Technically, it's just barely in the optimal range, but I'd raise this a bit. We use Encap, Mag-I-Cal, or Pennington Fast Lime to do this as these limes work faster, don't add elements I don't want or need to add, and tend to be cheaper per thousand square feet than supposedly "cheap" limes. Recommendations below. Magnesium 13.6%: It looks optimal, but your slightly low Ca levels are enhancing this. Still, let's ignore this for 2016, it certainly isn't a problem at this moment. Potassium 2.7%: Like magnesium, this is a little enhanced by lower Ca levels than I'd like to see. This is optional this year, but I'd do this if it were my soil. We use potassium sulfate (sulfate of potash) to fix this, which you can get from some garden or landscape stores, or they'll order it for you. Get the granular, it's easier to apply. Sodium 2.2%: Textbook, this is very high. However, your low ME soil won't hold much and total soil amounts are low. Calcium and potassium sulfate will dispel some of this, and one reason I don't want to put off the potassium application. Minor Elements: All are fine, except boron. Boron 0.21: This is borderline at the lowest level before deficiency. While not the most important element, I'll always work to move your lawn into the most optimal range on everything. Me? I'd fix this. We use Milorganite as a carrier and 20 Mule Team Borax as the boron source. You can purchase 20 Mules at the grocery store in the laundry section. In a wheelbarrow or the like, dump the Milo. Spraying very, very lightly with water (I use a spray bottle like the kind people use to damp their clothes when they iron) will help the boron stick. Add the recommended amount of 20 Mule Team Borax and stir, spraying occasionally to get the stuff to stick to the Milo. Then apply over the recommended area. So if going for bag rate Milorganite (1 bag per 2,500 square feet), you'd add 10 tablespoons of 20 Mule Team Borax. Recommendations: Now: Apply 3 pounds per thousand square feet of Encap, Mag-I-Cal, or Pennington Fast Lime. September 1: (Optional but Recommended) Apply 2 pounds of potassium sulfate per thousand square feet. September 15: Apply 4 tablespoons of 20 Mule Team Borax per thousand square feet. October 15: Apply 4 pounds per thousand square feet of Encap, Mag-I-Cal, or Pennington Fast Lime....See MoreLogan Labs soil test results.
Comments (7)Thank you Morpheuspa. I am very glad it sounds like I do not have any major issues. 1) On 9/1/16 I put down 18-24-12 starter fertilizer because I seeded but I will avoid that as you had suggested. I do/did plan however to use 28-8-16 on 10/1/16 and then 46-0-0 on 11/24/16. Is the phosphorus in 28-8-16 considered low enough to be used in my application? 2) I was wondering if you happened to look at the pictures of what happened to my lawn in this link: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/4136787/what-is-going-on-with-my-lawn. If you happened to have time to look, what do you think happened if all seems ok with soil? I recently put down 20lbs/1000sqft of cracked corn(no local cornmeal available) right after I grabbed samples of soil, just in case soil results came back negative and it was fungus. I was mowing high so I didn't realize how bad it was until I cut it down to 2" to reseed. It looks as if the lawn disintegrated. I was the grass-whisperer the first year the grass was established until it's first August/2016, and now I am the grass-destroyer. Most of the damage is in the shady areas, but some is in sunny areas as well. If I had to guess, it was either the heat or maybe I watered too much. It seems I ran into problems once I started to water an inch, but then again it could be a coincidence with the summer heat, i don't know. 3) Are there other ways to get dead grass and clippings to decompose without dethatching? I was under the impression that mulching your grass was good, but what for if it does not decompose and keeps building up and you have to remove it anyway? Dethatching just seems like a lot of work in addition to everything else with this lawn. If I have to, I have to though. What do you think? Thank you for advice....See Moregle2011
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