Logan Lab Results for 2016
Adam R
6 years ago
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reeljake
6 years agoAdam R
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Soil 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 MoreLogan Lab Results - with Logan Recommendations
Comments (6)Mind you, I always think Logan's evaluations are a little too aggressive for the average lawn, but I completely agree with them on what to add (I just differ on how much and how quickly this should be added). Let's rewrite this for stuff you can get at the Home Depot (or whatever your local big box store is there). At least as far as the P goes. For K, I'd contact a local landscape or smaller garden shop and see if they'll order potassium sulfate (0-0-50) for you. It's the gentlest way of adding potassium, but even so we're not going to push it. They're really not kidding about the gypsum due to the sodium discussed below. Also, they didn't mention iron and should have. Sodium 3.2%/3.8%: This is incredibly high and going to be toxic to sodium-sensitive plants. Fortunately, most grasses are comparatively sodium tolerant, but this is cutting into your lawn quality. Given your high EC and the pounds per acre total (200 range), fairly large amounts of gypsum will be needed to dispel this. Gypsum turns bound sodium ions into sodium sulfate, a salt that washes away easily, and re-binds calcium to the soil. On average, this will tend to lower your pH a little bit. Iron 80-ish: With your pH and grass type, this isn't deficient but isn't going to produce very good color. Whenever you like, regardless of anything else going down, you can apply Milorganite at bag rate to slowly raise your iron and gently feed the lawn (organically, which won't over-amplify your starter or nitrogen applications). While this'll slowly raise your organic matter percentage, you don't really need much help in that department. Your OM levels are fine, but higher is always better within reason. Recommendations: July 1: Starter fertilizer at bag rate on both tested areas. 10 pounds per thousand square feet of gypsum in both areas. July 15: Potassium sulfate at 2 pounds per thousand on both tested areas. August 1: Starter fertilizer at bag rate on both tested areas. 10 pounds per thousand square feet of gypsum in both areas. August 15: Potassium sulfate at 2 pounds per thousand on both tested areas. September 1: Starter fertilizer at bag rate on Outside Lawn only (nitrogen fert on the rest). September 15: Potassium sulfate at 2 pounds per thousand on both tested areas. October 1: 10 pounds per thousand square feet of gypsum in both areas. October 15: Potassium sulfate at 2 pounds per thousand on Center Lawn only. April 15, 2016: Potassium sulfate at 2 pounds per thousand on Center Lawn only. May 15, 2016: Potassium sulfate at 2 pounds per thousand on Center Lawn only....See MoreSpring 2016 Logan Lab Results - Need Fertilizer Plan Help
Comments (3)Sorry for the delay, I've been a bit busy! California, Santa Ana, Bermuda grass. Got it. Nitrogen (under Other): I ignore these as they change hour by hour, by moisture level in the soil, temperature, and so on. In the future, don't bother with this test. Exchange Capacity 13: Most likely a fairly dense silt soil, which is great to have. This is a near-optimal EC as far as I'm concerned and only requires retesting about every 3 years once balanced. Organic Matter 2.4%: Fair. I wouldn't mind seeing this go up, so mulch mow, mow any fall leaves (if you get those there), and maybe feed organically if you wish. pH 7.5: A little high, but no barrier to a fantastic lawn. More below under Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium and Potassium. Sulfur 20: Normal! Phosphorous 97: Somewhat low. The target here would be 240 or so. We raise this using any starter fertilizer (get the cheapest, they're all pretty much the same). Recommendations below. Calcium 69.1%: On the high edge of normal, but normal (high Ca wouldn't do any harm anyway). None required or desired, and this is helping to set off your high pH. Magnesium 20.4%: Extremely high. Although still fine, for a soil with an EC of 13 would only require about 11-12% Mg. Excess Mg raises soil pH, and tightens soils and makes them hard to dig and rock-like when dry. I'd avoid anything that lists magnesium in it for quite some time to come! Potassium 3.2%: This is a touch trim, but nothing severe, and I'm going to ignore it this year. Excess K isn't a problem and doesn't raise pH that much, but I'd still rather avoid it. Sodium 3.4%: A little high. Sodium sharply raises pH, and serves no useful purpose. Excess Na is toxic. We could dispel it...at the cost of adding even more calcium, so I'm inclined to let it ride this year. I'd definitely advise against using softened water on the lawn, but sodium is frequently from salt spray or natural in the soil. Perhaps you could tell us about conditions? Minor elements: Boron is a touch low but nothing to worry about. Most others are OK, although all tend to be sky high (your copper levels might be a slight problem, but there's nothing we can really do about it, so...) Definitely avoid feed with micronutrients. You don't need them! Iron, however, is a bit low at 101. It's not severe, but may result in lighter colors in the lawn. You can always use Milorganite to feed the lawn and add iron (slowly). Recommendations April 1: Apply starter fertilizer at bag rate. May 1: Apply starter fertilizer at bag rate. September 1: Apply starter fertilizer at bag rate. October 1: Apply starter fertilizer at bag rate....See More2016 Logan Labs Results, year 2
Comments (9)I'm glad it improved visually! Probably what happened was that your grass absorbed the majority of the nutrients before (or as or after) they hit the soil, leaving the soil in roughly the same place. The Pennington Fast Acting was the right response, but could you tell me how many pounds per thousand square feet that worked out to be? I'd need to include it, but you can use the numbers below to adjust the calcium levels and simply add (or defer) the amount required. We've been through a lot of the basics, so I'll skip those and only note changes where they're either interesting, significant, or otherwise amusing. pH 5.1: This actually isn't significantly different than 2015 and we really do want this to rise a lot yet. OM 2.1%: Rising 0.2 is within sampling differences, but I'm pleased to see it. Continue to mulch mow, mow all your fall leaves, and so on! Phosphorus 91: No significant difference. Again, we use starter to raise this and my recommendations are below. Calcium 40.8%: No significant change. This is one case where I do a split recommendation as I'd also like to lift your magnesium and I'm willing to accept a slow, but easier, change. We'll mostly be using the Pennington you're used to, but also pick up some good old, very cheap, dolomitic limestone (usually in a bag that costs $5 for 40 pounds, marked "Dolomitic Limestone" and available anywhere). There's some variance in magnesium levels, but that's not terribly significant here as I'm only nudging things. Magnesium 5.1%: Lower than I like. I chose dolomitic to make the application easier and the release slower--next year or the year after, when calcium comes up, we'll make a final adjustment more quickly and at a more accurately calculated rate. Right now, the dolomitic is fine and won't overshoot. Potassium 3.9%: Perfect! None required. Minor Elements: Iron and boron again. Iron: Like last year, keep going with the Milorganite when you can. It'll improve your lawn color. Boron <0.2: Deficient. While grasses aren't particularly sensitive to that, it should be improved--and really will subtly improve lawn quality. 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: Now-ish to June 1: Apply 5 tablespoons of 20 Mule Team Borax per thousand square feet. June 1: Feed with starter at the bag rate. June 15: Apply 7 pounds of Pennington Fast Lime per thousand square feet (adjust for what you added previously). Apply around 15 pounds of dolomitic limestone per thousand square feet--anything from around 12 to around 18 pounds is fine. July 1: Feed with starter at the bag rate. September 1: Feed with starter at the bag rate. October 1: Feed with starter at the bag rate. October 15: Apply 9 pounds of Pennington Fast Lime per thousand square feet (adjust for what you added previously if you still need to here)....See Morereeljake
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