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Soil Test Results - Front Lawn (LoganLabs)

8 years ago

I had this performed before I do some major (needed) improvements of my front lawn.

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Comments (11)

User
8 years ago
It doesn't get much better than that.
G
Original Author
8 years ago
Are my values any good? Do I need to adjust anything?
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Help with Logan labs soil test results.
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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.
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Logan Labs soil test results.
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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.
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Logan Labs soil test results
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Comments (9)
Refreshing. You're no math or lawn novice. I see you selected to amend potassium to the 4" depth AND accounted for the potassium in the starter. Allow me to throw a curve ball at you. Nearly all fertilizer mixes use potassium chloride as the potassium source. Rather than the 0.5lbs of actual potassium in each lb of SOP, potassium chloride contains 0.6 lbs of potassium per lb of product. A slight adjustment. When making my recommendations, I was leaning more towards a sugar sand with the TEC inflated by clay contamination during sampling. Although application of phosphorous at a rate of 1.25 to 1.3 or so is not detrimental to the grass, the preferred method when applying any amendment is smaller applications over extended time particularly as TEC increases. Your description of the top 4-6" of soil gives me confidence of the accuracy of the 9+ TEC and let's take that into account. Although there is likely some inflation due to the presence of free calcium. Phosphorous: First, I would adjust the the amount for a depth of 4" for consistency as you did for the potassium. 2/3 of 4.75, 3.2, and 4 would be no problem. Second, Let's spread the applications out a bit. Phosphorous is an incredibly slow mover into the soil. Let's give it some increased time, and employ slightly reduced application rates. What is your current nitrogen fertilization regiment? Thirdly, Rather than 18-24-6, a 24-25-X will be more convenient for application purposes. That way you can apply close to 1 lb of N while reducing the P application to 1 lb. per thousand square feet. Potassium: Potassium, although no speed demon, moves down much faster than phosphorous. Generally, I recommend no more than 3lbs of product per application in 3 applications spread out over a season with emphasis on early spring and mid to late fall if well before ground freeze (not a problem for you). I like to separate by 6-8 weeks. Because potassium sulfate and chloride are salts, a reduced rate (1 or 2lbs) should be made during the heat months. Also as chemical N fertilizers are also a salt, try to separate N and K applications by a couple of weeks. This wont create a toxic situation, but the salt presence will increase plant stress and require more attention to watering. Keep in mind that amendments don't got feet and can only move down into the soil on the water train. Amendments should be watered in, followed by weekly water apps. Your atrazine treatment should be no problem. Trace elements: I'm not a fan of playing with these. Unless the turf is actually showing signs of deficiency- malformed plants, leaf streaks etc., there are enough trace elements to satisfy the needs of the grass. It is extremely rare, almost unheard of, that the soil is detrimentally short for the needs of grass. Many of the trace elements cannot successfully be surfaced applied as they almost immediately get tied up upon hitting the soil. Most require foliar application every couple of weeks. Over application can be detrimental, even toxic and very very seldom can anyone see any change for the better. Ending my "vent", (no offense intended to you) most of the trace element amendments can be found on the internet in soluble sulfate form. There used to be/is a site that caters to lawns. Before purchasing, verify that there are instructions for turf application rates. As to your Boron question. To raise Boron by 1 ppm in a 4" depth, 0.43 oz of boron would be applied over 1000 sq feet.. That would require about 3.8 oz of Twenty Mule Team Borax. As you may have guessed, I'm very conservative with these applications. I wouldn't try to make more than a 0.5ppm change in any one season, and I'd divide it into two applications and retest before attempting the next year adjustment. So I wouldn't apply more than one ounce of TMT Borax at a time. Sorry, I have no idea how many tablespoons that is, nor how much Boron would be in 4 tbls. I like to use weight, not volume. We can firm up the P and K rates and timing once you post your current/desired seasonal N regiment.
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Logan lab soil test result
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Comments (22)
Mercy? Seriously, Becky? BTW, this situation is pretty beyond anyone's level. @rcranf1 The only good news is that you have fairly decent iron levels. With a CEC of 2.5 (I saw the pics and you certainly have a beach sand soil) you have no soil storage to speak of for nutrients. No buffer, no space for reserves for a little insurance. Even if we could adjust all the nutrients perfectly, you'd be lucky to reach the bare minimum levels for a "not performing poorly" lawn and it would be back out of whack within a year if not a few months. We're talking minimums, not sufficiency levels. in ppm: Min S = 7, you : 7 in pounds per acre: Min P2O5 = 107, you: 73 (FYI sufficient is 112 to 232) Min Ca = 700, you: 719 (by the skin of your teeth) Min Mg = 100, you: 84 Min K = 80, you: 35 When you add to raise one (Ca, Mg, K, H, etc), you inevitably lower another. Although micros are seldom an issue for turf grasses as long as they are present in some amount, your Mn and B are so low that they may be deficient enough to create issues. There are so many conundrums here. Sand doesn't hold water, so you're going to need to water daily, watering is going to exacerbate nutrient leaching out of the soil. To increase CEC of the existing soil, you can add OM, but a thick layer of raw OM material on the surface is going to hold moisture and create a breeding ground (just like thatch) for disease and fescue is pretty susceptible to disease. You could till in OM, but that can be tricky. You could bring in a quality top soil, but that can be expensive and quality is a gamble. You could spoon feed the primary nutrients on a continuing basis, but that takes a lot of effort and the only way to perfect it is to take a saturated paste test prior to each application for maybe two years and that's effort and expense. I'm sorry, but the simplest I have for your current conditions with fescue would be: May 1, June 1 and September 1: apply Milo then 1# of Urea Late November. or Apply 1# of slow release synthetic June 1, September 1 and 1# Urea late November and 1# of Triple Superphosphate April 1, May 1, June 1 and October 1. In either case apply 1# of SOP (potassium sulfate) May 1, June 1, August 1 and September 1. Then test again next year the day before the June 1 apps. If this were me, I'd walk the neighborhood (looks like newer construction) and ask those people who have a nice lawn what they had done to get it. Added top soil? What type of grass. How they fertilize. How they water? Who they hired or bought from. In other words I'd collect all the information I could get my hands on to help me make a plan I can live with and afford.
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User
8 years ago
Most people would be ecstatic if they could get their soil to your values. Is it perfect? No. Mg, boron and S could be raised a hair, but you'd be crazy to mess with it.
G
Original Author
8 years ago
Awesome. I did nothing to my front lawn this year, except weed kill with Trimec (spot spray).

While my values might look good, the pictures tell a different story. Planting pure midnight KGB last year in August only gave me 40% total germination. 60% of my yard is long bare spots, or large, dead areas. It's pretty dismal.
User
8 years ago
How does the KBG that survived look? Where do you live? Details of what was done in prep of planting, planting and fertilization and watering since August until now would help. Pictures too.
User
8 years ago
It is a very nice initial test! The full read is below.

ME 13.8: Probably silt with some sand and possibly a little clay. It's a nice soil, holds plenty of resources, and will easily support anything you want to throw at it.

pH 6.6: On the nose. Although on the nose does vary from 6.2 to 6.8, you're at a good balance point for your soil.

OM 5.7%: In the Good range, so no special effort needs to be made. Certainly I'd mulch mow, mow all fall leaves, and that kind of stuff, but wouldn't add anything to the regimen specifically.

Sulfur 8: While technically a tad trim, it's not a problem. Most methods of raising this are ineffective anyway.

Phosphorus 205: The target is 200, so this is perfect.

Calcium 72%: A touch high, but not a problem in any sense. Grasses (and most plants) don't care about a little extra calcium.

Magnesium 11%: Perfect.

Potassium 5%: On the high side, but that's a good thing. I'm a fan of having a little extra K.

Minor Elements: Boron could use a minor kick, but it's so marginal I'm calling this optional.

Boron 0.56: A tad trim, the target is 0.70. 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 5 tablespoons of 20 Mule Team Borax.

Recommendations:

May 15 (optional): Apply 2 tablespoons of 20 Mule Team Borax per thousand square feet.
G
Original Author
8 years ago
Last August I applied a weed/grass killer to my front lawn. I let it set for about 2 weeks. Then I mowed it on lowest setting, bagged the clippings, etc. I did not do a soil test before. Then I planted via broadcast spreader midnight kentucky bluegrass at an estimated rate of 3lbs per 1ksqft. (2ksqft total)

Watered it just about every day, however, the heat was still too brutal in my zipcode (25401) - The ground would be dry after 5 minutes of 15 minutes of timed watering.
G
Original Author
8 years ago
Post planting - I used a lesco starter fert (20-10-10?) (slow release).
User
8 years ago
Did the bare areas initially sprout or did the seed never germinate? The most likely culprit is improper watering technique for germination and the seedlings. Seed MUST be kept moist for germination, and subsequent survival of the seedling. (3-5 light daily waterings of around 10 min each for germination, then 2-3 longer daily watering for seedlings 1+", then daily longer watering for adolescent plants 2+", then water once every couple days for more mature plants 3+".) KBG can commonly take 21 to 28 days to sprout. That's alot of patience. Don't loose hope. You'll need to overseeed (not unusual with KBG) maybe more than once. You can improve the outcome by covering the seed with no peat moss that is no more than 1/4" thick. It helps retain moisture and gives a visual (light brown) when water is needed and when sufficient water is present (dark brown). Slit seeding will also dramatically improve success rates, but it is a significant cost and labor investment.
G
Original Author
8 years ago
They were growing - I watered every day for a good bit via timers. I'm going the slit seeding route in <2 weeks. I bought a mix of 4 way KGB and 2 way Ryegrass in the meantime for my front. I also ordered a bag of stuff from hancock seed for the rest of my lawn.

My plan is to slit seed at a little higher rate for the front and the rest of my property.
G
Original Author
8 years ago
Ordered this for the front to use with the seed slicer:

http://www.naturesfinestseed.com/grass-seed/kentucky-bluegrass/blue-ribbon-blend

Ordered this for the rest of my property:

https://hancockseed.com/hancocks-northeast-midwest-lawn-seed-mix-25-lb-bag-1039.html

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