Overall, a very nice soil.

pH and cation exchange capacity are just about ideal.

OM is about average. Mulch mow your lawn and leaves.

Sulfur is a tad low, should be >7, but many regular lawn maintenance amendments (sulfur coated synthetic fertilizers, potassium sulfate, gypsum) will remedy that.

P is fine and a little more wont hurt, feel free to use starter fertilizer during seeding and mid-Fall.

Calcium and trace elements/micro nutrients are plenty sufficient.

Magnesium is high. High Mg can result in tight, hard soils that impede water, nutrient and root penetration. Values greater than 300ppm (600lbs/acre) is a threshold where it starts to be detrimental to growth. Fortunately, there is no sodium issue (Na is fine). Gypsum can be used to slowly help reduce Mg and increase the Ca:Mg ratio for better soil tilth/structure and turf health. Increased OM will help also. You can apply 20 lbs per k sq. ft. sometime before next year's soil test. 10 lbs. or less per application to avoid smothering the lawn.

Potassium is low. This should be brought up to at least 250 lbs per acre, but you don't want excessive amounts as it can exacerbate your tight soil (high Mg) issue. See if you can locate potassium sulfate- SOP (0-0-50).

Apply a starter, do your seeding, see if you can locate SOP and gypsum and check back.

Thanks yardtractor. Found SOP and gypsum online for when the time comes. I'll keep the thread updated when I seed, and as the new lawn progresses.

I hate to see anyone buy products that may be needed in bulk on-line unless there is local pick-up. Significant savings can be had by sourcing locally.

Try local nurseries or feed and seed stores (some will order it for you if they don't stock it), John Deere Landscapes/Lesco, Farm Co-op, and sod farms (some sell turf products on the side.)

The SOP is very important for turf/grass nutrition and although your levels aren't yet critically deficient, they are very close. K is an important enough amendment in the case of your soil that it should be sourced on-line if necessary. When buying K on-line, confirm that you are buying potassium sulfate and not potassium chloride.

Gypsum is another matter. In your case, it is not needed as a nutrient (Ca source). It is suggested as an aid in improving soil structure. That is a slow process (years - although incorporation can accelerate it) and large quantities are needed. Consequently, I would not purchase it on-line. If you can push a screwdriver down 3" or more or if your grass seems to grow well currently, don't bother with gypsum. What have you observed? Is your soil "tight"/hard? Shallow rooting? Does water tend to pool, then slowly percolate into the soil? Does the soil crack as it dries? Do clods not easily break up?

P is an important enough amendment in the case of your soil that it should be sourced on-line if necessary. When buying P on-line, confirm that you are buying potassium sulfate and not potassium chloride.

I think you mean K

Yes, I do. Corrected.

I am certainly open to buying at the local garden store or the big box in town, but the convenience of shopping or looking around online can't be beat. Next time i'm in the local store I'll be sure to comparison shop though. Thanks again for the advice. Should have some updated pics coming this week. It may be the weekend before I get to seed however, mid 90's the next two days before cooling off on Friday. Plus, I've got a mole problem I'm taking care of too. Got one over the weekend, but there is at least one more out there.

I finally have an update on my roller coaster renovation experience. After I sprayed the old lawn and cut it down the drainage issues in my lawn became a lot more apparent. I had several localized low spots from damage that was incurred when a large oak tree fell on my yard and house a couple springs ago. In addition to the scars from that, there was a mound in front of my living room window from a Japanese Maple that was also destroyed by the large Oak tree. This made it difficult for water to drain away from my house, and in fact I had cut a swale around the side of my house and directed water to the back yard instead. I decided if I was going to start over, and give my new lawn the absolute best chance at thriving that now was the best time to address these issues. So I met with an excavating/grading company that does some work for my dad and explained what I needed. Being familiar with the cons of tilling that are so often discussed here, I made it clear that I didn't need a whole lot of work, and a little harley raking or landscape raking with the skid steer should be able to shave off the high spot in my yard and the excess from this could be used to fill the low spots. Well after a wet couple days I was informed they would finally be getting to the grading work on my yard. Bad part was, because of my work location at the time I would not be able to be there for any of the work. So after a long day of anxiously waiting and worrying at work I finally pull up to my house, and am stunned by what I saw. The entire yard was drastically regraded. Topsoil was stripped in many locations and clay was left in its place. In addition, the re-grading was so severe it got into the roots of a silver maple, and many of them were left in my yard, some partially buried, and some even sticking straight out of the ground! To top it all off it was quite apparent that it was all done with a bucket and the harley rake was not used at all. Needless to say I was pretty pissed at this point, I just wanted to fix some minor issues and get it ready to seed, and now it felt like I was farther away from seeding than before. Without going into all the details of the phone call with the contractor the main takeaways were this: the guy I talked to didn't do the job himself one of his employees did, the yard had to be re-graded because it sloped toward the house, and the harley rake was being used elsewhere but was on it's way. It looked much better after it was harley raked, and I decided I was going to try and get it ready for seeding myself as opposed to having another contractor try and fix it. So I spent a few hours walking around my yard and picking up the tree roots that were left, and even had to use pruners on some that were pulled up by the harley rake. After that I did a few hours of handwork around my sidewalk and driveway retaining wall where the skid steer couldn't get close enough. Then I spread 4 yards of top soil over the area and incorporated it the best I could by running the Bluebird seeder over it a few times in both directions.

Here is a picture of the roots I collected from my yard. Also notice how he left the grade above the edge of retaining wall for my driveway. This worked out great after it rained 3 inches.

I wish I took more pictures of the before so you could see just how bad it was, but here is how I had it looking for the seeding.

And here it is all strawed and ready for water. I was pretty happy with how it turned out, but I'm saving final judgment until I see how it all comes in.

It's gonna be in the 90's here the rest of the week so I'm gonna keep a close eye on the watering schedule. Today was the first day, and I set the timer for 10 minutes every 4 hours starting at 6:30 am. Plan was to see how it looks when I get home today, and adjust accordingly.

The end product of your efforts look good.

Appreciate that. I'll post an update in a week or so when it starts to germinate.

what type of seed did you use?

I used the ss1000 tall fescue blend from seed superstore.

Its coming along pretty well. I'll post some more pics at the end of this week. I've got a portion of the yard up top that drains slow that I may have to reseed, and I got some dirty straw that is sprouting a bit, but other than that I'm pretty happy so far.

Looking for some advice on how to proceed with mowing and fertilizing the rest of the year. Seedlings are 2"+ right now. Mow at 3.5-4"? Is it a must to bag it? Ive got a craftsman push mower, but my bag frame broke so I threw it away.

I've read fertilizing should be done after a couple of mows. High nitrogen fert right?

Mowing can be done once you can walk and maneuver the mower over the new lawn without tearing up the new turf. Usually once the grass is 3+" tall, but with care. Most people bag to prevent the clippings from clumping and burying the new grass, If you can mulch without windrows, no need to bag. As an alternative, if there is windrowing, you can use a blower to distribute the clippings that have clumped.

A high N fertilizer is used as the last application-winterizer. For new turf and for your soil (additional P), use a starter fertilizer at bag rate.

I think I'll just have to experiment with the timing for the first mow. There isn't a great way to cut it without some turning unfortunately. Plus the hill makes it a little more challenging to not do damage.

As far as the starter goes should that go down after mowing? I put the first starter feeding down with the seed on 9/20 fyi.

It should go down after the second mow. Winterizer is optional around Thanksgiving (whether you winterize or not, apply SOP (3# of product/k) after T-day but before ground freeze) as the N won't make a lot of difference to new grass. Then you are done for this year. Next year, once the top inch or two of the ground is thawed, apply 2#/k of SOP. May 1 apply starter again. Drop 1# of N/k on Memorial Day and SOP (3#/k of product) two weeks after the Memorial Day N Feeding. Retest in August.

Here's a very interesting discussion I just found on winterizers and late season K. Worth listening to.

http://podbay.fm/show/1039214964/e/1412877600?autostart=1

Yes. Becky put me on to that study a couple of weeks ago. It's still a new study and not replicated yet. It also is limited in turf type, so hard to say how many types of grass will react similarly/adversely to the K as does the studied bentgrass and poa a. That's not to say that it wouldn't be wise to consider the late season K application timing for all grasses (with the exception of KBG as the author states it is probably an exception). Although anjones K levels are well below sufficiency levels and needs to be raised, that study is the reason I've advised that K be applied after T-day in his case.

As far as N winterizer timing and quantities, they report no harm other than they feel it is left unused and therefor overkill. Some past studies have shown increased root mass proportionate to N applications after September. Right now, I'd say that one is definitely ripe for further study, but no harm (other than environmental?) due to current practices of winterizition.

@yardtractor1

I agree with your conclusions. There's debate even among the turf scientists about the merits of winterization. Here's another really great episode on organic vs synthetic fertilizer(my favorite subject!) that touches on winterization towards the end.

http://www.turfnet.com/blog/4/entry-1053-frankly-speaking-with-dr-bruce-branham-organic-vs-synthetic-nitrogen-in-turf/

I love to see the progress you're making. You're doing all of the right things and there is some good info in the comments above. In regards to fertilization throughout the rest of the year I would suggest feeding your lawn before every major season such as spring, summer, fall. When we do this for our clients it strengthens the roots and improves the overall health of the landscape. This allows for quicker recovery after harsh weather that the seasons bring forth. Read about our techniques here.

So it's been 19 days since seed, and I've mowed the new grass twice and spread starter fert at bag rate. Hopefully I get a at least a couple more weeks of good weather to help establish before winter.

Here's an updated pic 27 days since seeding. The forecast over the next ten days looks good. Highs 65-75 and lows 45-55.

Looks pretty good, nice job.

Yep.

Thanks. I made a couple of silly mistakes, like using the seeder like a lawnmower and not overlapping the tire tracks, and I accidentally put some dirty straw down that sprouted a little bit. I'm happy with the results so far though. I got lucky and could not have had better weather.

Im going to try and track down some sop soon. From the above directions it sounds like I need to get it down before the ground freezes? Also, I put down starter at bag rate at seeding on 9/20 and then again after the second mow on 10/8. If I continue to have good weather for another couple weeks should I apply again?

No need for anymore starter. You can add any winterizer you can find like 30-0-9 once the grass acts like it doesn't need mowed. Let's skip the SOP this fall, put the recommended (above) amount down as soon as top 2+" of soil thaws next Spring (use a screw driver to test) and then again go with it next year at the rate and time given above.