Help with Logan labs soil test results.

7 years ago

Hello,

I just got my results back from Logan labs and in need some advice. I live in southern NH, and I have a lawn full of weeds mainly clover (front) and moss in the back of the house. We only had one lime application added this spring.

I had a quote from a landscaper company for 2500 to strip the lawn and reseed it. I can't believe how crazy expensive it is!

I am planning to overseed this fall and thought Soil test would be a good idea. So, gents and ladies; please help me.

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User

7 years ago

Piece of cake. You can do it yourself for about $250 and a couple hours of work, including elite seed instead of whatever junk seed the landscaping company was going to spread.

I'm sure Morpheus will be around to give you feedback on the soil test. I'm no expert but it looks pretty dang good to me.

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Comments (9)

User
7 years ago
How large is the lawn?
anna loeb
Original Author
7 years ago
Hi J4c11, the lawn is about 5000sq.ft.
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Soil test results from Logan Labs
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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.
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Need some help with Logan Labs soil test results
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Overall, this isn't a bad test at all. There are some things that require fixing, some that should be adjusted, and many that are just fine. It's good you used the starter on her lawn; she needed it! I'll account for the usage in my calculations and recommendations, assuming you went at bag rate (1 pound of P2O5 equivalent). Sample Depth 3: Four is the normal sampling depth, but that's no big deal. I'll adjust your answers to match a 4" horizon. Exchange Capacity 7.5: Silty sand, probably. The soil holds a tolerable level of resources and testing every other year will be sufficient to make sure nothing's going awry once it's adjusted. pH 6.4: Right where it should be, which is because most of the resources that generate pH are right where they should be. I'll want to adjust a few of them a little bit, but will do so in a relatively pH neutral manner. Organic Matter 4.8%: Nicely in the Good range. Certainly mulch mow, mow all fall leaves, and feed organically if you want, but this is not an emergency. The EC of the soil is high enough that there's no reason to specifically work on organic matter to raise the EC. Sulfur 11: A nice answer, with plenty of margin for adding sulfate-based chemistry to adjust things. I don't need much margin. Phosphorus 77 (103 adjusted): Low, and definitely impacting lawn quality. Target here will be 200. To adjust this, we use starter fertilizer, and my recommendations are below. Calcium 64.6%: Right in optimal range, although with a lower EC soil I'd like to adjust this a tiny bit (that 50 pound [67 pound adjusted] shortage is minor, but...) For this, we use gypsum, which is available at many big box stores, landscape shops, and garden stores. Get the pelletized, it's much easier to handle, if available (and it usually is). My goal here is to nudge the calcium levels closer to 70%. Magnesium 15.4%: Perfect. No magnesium is required or desired. Potassium 5.0%: Perfect (the previous test was wrong on this, I think). No potassium is required or desired, and this is absolutely optimal. Sodium 1.0%: Perfect. Sodium does nothing for a lawn, so very low levels are desirable. The gypsum might reduce this a tiny bit and, if so, great. If not, no problem. Minor Elements: Boron is deficient. The rest are fine, although if you wish to use Milorganite (high iron), that would probably improve the lawn color a little bit over time. Boron <0.2: Deficient. 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 12.5 tablespoons of 20 Mule Team Borax. Recommendations: Seeding Time: Starter fertilizer at bag rate (you already did this). October 15: Starter fertilizer at bag rate. November 1: Apply 5 tablespoons (not a misprint) of 20 Mule Team Borax per thousand square feet. April 1, 2016: Apply 5 to 10 pounds of gypsum per thousand square feet (I'd prefer 7, actually, but anything in that range is just fine). Memorial Day 2016: Starter fertilizer at bag rate. Labor Day 2016: Starter fertilizer at bag rate.
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The soil pH for citrus trees (Oranges) is in the 6.0 to 7.0 range, slightly acidic to neutral and at a soil pH of 6.9 yours is there, but the amount of organic matter in the soil is a bit low at 4.4 percent. Phosphorus (P) is quite high while Potassium (K) is about right as is Calcium and Magnesium. How well does the soil this tree is planted in drain? What does this soil smell like? What kind of life (earthworms, etc.) is in that soil? How well does the soil retain moisture? Perhaps these simple soil tests may help, 1) Soil test for organic material. 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 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 your soil will smell, to a point. Too much organic matter can be bad as well. 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. My experience is that Logan Labs does not offer much help beyond the basic soil test but you might take it to your local office of the University of California Cooperative Extension Service where they may be of more help. kimmq is kimmsr
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Logan Labs Soil Test Results & Recommendations Help
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Comments (1)
I really don't like their recommendations for a number of reasons. One, sulfur doesn't work. Surface applied, you'll lose three quarters to outgassing to the atmosphere as sulfur dioxide (smog), so thanks for the air pollution. :-) They also recommend some rather difficult or expensive sources (11-52-0, for example). I have monoammonium phosphate on hand. You almost certainly don't. And so on. The zinc and copper aren't necessary, both levels are perfectly reasonable in your soil. In the below, I've assumed you have a northern lawn. If that's incorrect, this will still work, but southern lawns would benefit from a slightly different schedule. ME 22.9: This is a little overinflated by your excess calcium, which results in an ME that's somewhat high. I'm using a standard of 15 for soil applications as it's safe to do so. pH 7.6: Kind of high, but get used to it. There's not terribly much you can do about it (as mentioned, surface applied sulfur does not work very well). Fortunately, lawns are extremely tolerant of a pH in this range, although color will suffer a bit. OM 5.5%: In the Good range, so no specific work needs to be done here. Sulfur 13: Well within normal range. Phosphorus 147: While a bit low, it's nothing extreme and unlikely to be causing much in the way of visible problems. Still, with your pH, I'd really prefer this to be in the 260 range (higher pH levels inhibit phosphorus release). We use good old-fashioned starter fertilizer to do this--just get the cheapest as they all work the same. Recommendations below. Calcium 80.8%: High, but not a problem, and almost impossible to dispel. Certainly avoid any calcium sources. Magnesium 12.9%: On paper, a tad low. In reality, it's just fine--your very high Ca levels are masking some of the Mg in your soil. Your plants have no trouble getting all the magnesium they need, and then some. Don't add more. Potassium 1.8%: This is short on paper, and looks shorter in the soil than it really is. It should be enhanced, but not quite to the levels their recommendations listed. We use potassium sulfate (sulfate of potash) for this, which some garden stores and landscape places carry--or they'll order it for you. Recommendations below. Minor Elements: Fine, but I do mention iron and boron below. Iron 110: Just fine and not a problem, but it won't produce the best color at a pH of 7.6. Whenever you like, you can apply Milorganite at the bag rate to very slowly raise this. Boron 0.55: A tad low. This won't be an issue, but I would like to correct it. 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 7.5 tablespoons of 20 Mule Team Borax. Recommendations: May 10: Apply 3 pounds of potassium sulfate per thousand square feet. Memorial Day: Feed the lawn with starter fertilizer at the bag rate. June 15: Apply 3 tablespoons per thousand square feet (not a misprint!) of 20 Mule Team Borax. Labor Day: Feed the lawn with starter fertilizer at the bag rate. October 1: Feed the lawn with starter fertilizer at the bag rate. October 15: Apply 2 pounds of potassium sulfate per thousand square feet.
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User
7 years ago
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.
anna loeb thanked User
User
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Woah, that was prompt.

Want drama, go to ATY. Want fast quality help, this is the place to be.

GardenWeb Lawn. All help, no drama ®. (most of the time haha)
anna loeb thanked User
User
7 years ago
>> All help, no drama ®

Wait.
anna loeb
Original Author
7 years ago
I am honestly very impressed with such thorough explanation and advice! thank you so much J4c11 and morpheuspa, hopefully next year my lawn will be less embarassing.
User
7 years ago
Wait.

You know something I don't? We're not about to get a third recently departed ATY moderator are we? :-)
User
7 years ago
>>You know something I don't? We're not about to get a third recently departed ATY moderator are we? :-)

If we do, I'm outta here. :-)

Help with Logan labs soil test results.

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