Yep, it's entirely possible you got a flawed reading last year, with the better (but not what I'd call stellar) soil that came with the sod. I reproduced last year's recommendations below with some modifications. If it isn't inconvenient for you, do this again. It won't hurt, but might not help--we won't know until 2017. I stepped up the amount of calcium considerably and cut the boron. We'll ride that for a year. Don't bother to top dress. Peat moss contains no nutrients, cow manure contains far too much nitrogen. :-) Just keep tossing the organics around, it's easier, cheaper, and will do the same job. I didn't include most things like cracked corn below as they can be dropped whenever you wish, even on the same day something else goes if you want! Recommendations for 2016: May 1: Apply any starter fertilizer at bag rate. Apply 1 pound of potassium sulfate per thousand square feet. May 15: Apply Encap or Mag-I-Cal calcitic lime at 4 pounds per thousand square feet. June 1: Apply 1 pound Epsom salt per thousand square feet. Apply Milorganite at the bag rate. June 15: Apply 1 pound of potassium sulfate per thousand square feet. July 1: Apply Milorganite at the bag rate. August 1: Apply 1 pound of potassium sulfate per thousand square feet.. Apply Milorganite at the bag rate. September 1: Apply any starter fertilizer at half the bag rate. October 1: Apply 1 pound of potassium sulfate per thousand square feet. October 15: Apply Encap or Mag-I-Cal calcitic lime at 3 pounds per thousand square feet. November 1: Apply 1 pound Epsom salt per thousand square feet. November 15: Apply 1 pound of potassium sulfate per thousand square feet.

...I view this yard as a good way to learn. I haven't changed my position, but against my better judgment, I'm willing to guess if you are. A drop in pH from 8 to 7.1 and a 30% increase in calcium is not what one would expect. Normally for a high pH soil, an ammonium acetate test is recommended for accurate Ca numbers and an accurate TEC estimate. But the error is considered so small that it is not recommended if pH is 7.2 or below. (see the Quit It" thread for an explanation). So which is it here? Is there a substantial amount of free calcium (read as unbound Ca) that is not present as calcium carbonate (which is also present here) or as gypsum (16ppm Sulfur is a fair amount, but, I don't believe it is enough to account for all the calcium that would need be tied up as gypsum)? pH: It's not unusually for fairly large discrepancies in pH to occur in acidic soils depending on a number of factors, but primarily occurs when testing is done at different times of the year. Although I suppose possible, large swings are not as common in calcareous soils. So pH 7.1 to 8.0. Raising pH is doable, lowering pH is not usually realistic. So other than informing us how available nutrients might be, you're pretty much stuck with a high/higher pH whatever it might really be. TEC: 107 and 166. Possibly in a highly organic soil (bog) but not in a mineral soil. There is a test for determining (measuring) TEC rather than estimating it, but it's $50 or so. A particle analysis might help in narrowing it down to a range, but they aren't cheap either. Pick a number. Really doesn't matter on a calcareous soil, not going move things around anyway. So no BCSR analysis. Only use here would be in determining how fast things will move through the soil. So where are we so far? pH is somwhere above 7, and based on the likely TEC, nothing can be done about lowering it. TEC is totally unknown and with the amount of calcium in the soil, BCSR (saturation ratios/%) is totally useless. What you can do is look at the sufficiency levels and do your best to supply the grass with at least the bare minimums. Compare your two tests and consider what you applied between them and come up with a plan. Post it and I'll help you adjust it to avoid any over (or under) applications. Hint: Where did all that phosphorous you applied go? Maybe dchall can help with that and adjust sources and timing. PH: 6.0-6.9 pH has a strong influence on the availability of nutrients and the health/population of microorganisms. Most common target for turf soil is slightly above the middle 6.6 to 6.8. TEC/CEC: Reflects the capacity of the soil to hold cation elements (most importantly, plant nutrients) in reserve. For the most part, it is what it is although adding organic matter can eventually raise it very slightly (putting lipstick on a pig). Organic matter: 3% to 10% Source of nutrients (dust to dust), important for soil structure and moisture retention. Most common target is 5-6%. The ranges for the following have been tailored to reflect the units reported in the LL Soil Test. The ranges encompass the amounts consider sufficient for a healthy, aesthetically pleasing turf. Values below the minimum have been found to be deficient and make for unhealthy turf that exhibits observable plant issues from unattractive appearance to malformed leaves and roots. Starting at the midpoint, the closer the value is to the low end of the range, the more likely an addition of a nutrient will have a positive (observable) affect on the turf. The closer a value is to the high end of the range from the midpoint, the less likely an addition of a nutrient is to make any improvement. A value above the high end is considered excessive and at some point may/can/will have a detrimental affect on the turf: Phosphorus: (range 116-260 lbs/ac of P205) Most common target is 200 lbs. Sulfur: (range 9 to 40ppm although no known max value has been found detrimental) Most common target is 15-40 ppm. The following are cations and capable of attaching/holding to a TEC site. In addition to considering the sufficiency ranges, the saturation ratios and percentages should also be considered to avoid imbalances and avoid adverse interactions that are detrimental to the turf: Calcium: (700+ lbs/ac to unknown) Ca/Mg ratio range: can vary greatly without detriment to plant health. Recommended ratio range is 5:1 to 10:1. Ca Saturation: (60-85%) To be considered in conjunction with Mg saturation percentages, Ca:Mg ratios and sufficiency level values. Magnesium: (range 100-600 lbs/ac) Mg Saturation: (6-20%) To be considered in conjunction with Ca and recommended Ca:Mg ratios, saturation percentages and sufficiency level values. Potassium: (range 100-440 lbs/ac) Common target is 220 to 360 lbs/ac K Saturation: (2-7%) To be considered in conjunction with Potassium (K) recommended sufficiency level values. most common target 4-5%. Sodium and Sodium Saturation: Not considered a nutrient but some sodium is likely beneficial to the turf. (Range 0.5-3.0%) less than 110 ppm and less than 5% of base saturation, otherwise very poor soil structure is likely. I usually don't address micronutrients as they are almost never deficient as to cause issues with turf and the chance for misapplication is high. However, as you have already addressed Boron and Copper, the common optimum range for Boron is 0.5 to 1.5 ppm, and Copper is 0.5 to 2.0.

Where do you live? What kind of grass do you have? 80 degrees is not warm enough to cause a problem. What is your watering schedule? How often and for how long do you water? Top dressing with compost was the best advice available from the 1930s to the early 2000s. Now it is recognized by a growing number of people as the slowest and most expensive way to improve the lawn. Compost is a pile of depleted organic matter. If you want active organic matter, use a real organic fertilizer. Many people use Milorganite for several reasons. I like alfalfa pellets, soybean meal, corn meal, or corn gluten meal as raw organic fertilizer products available everywhere at your local feed store. Not all of those products will be available but one of them will be (alfalfa pellets are also rabbit chow). In my area the cost of compost delivered is about $75 per 1,000 square feet. Organic fertilizer is more like $5 per 1,000. Apply at a rate of 15 pounds per 1,000 square feet. You can use is safely as often as you can afford (every day or every month or every year). Here is a picture showing how organic fertilizer works. Mrmumbles posted that picture many years ago. He applied alfalfa pellets in mid May and took the picture in mid June. You can see the improved density, color, and growth. This picture has convinced lots of people to at least try organic fertilizer. Unless you live in a brick producing area, the topsoil your contractor used was unlikely to be clay. It might have been poor soil, but not clay. Only a soil test will tell. The best soil test lab in the US is Logan Labs in Ohio. Their $25 test will tell us and you all you need. Post the results here and get a good review of it. You might test both areas if you think the soil quality is considerably different from one to the other. In the mean time, spray your soil with 3 ounces of shampoo per 1,000 square feet. Use any clear shampoo - no additives like conditioners. Follow that with 1/2 to 1 inch of water and give it 3 weeks to take effect. After that when you water deeply or it rains, the soil should be noticeably softer to walk on. Do the fork or screwdriver test before and after to judge the effect. Test it several times. I did the test this weekend and got different results just a few inches apart. Once it is sprayed it should be soft when moist and very firm when dry between waterings. Adding new soil will not necessarily help. One problem with new soil is that it changes your drainage. You don't want to create a dam effect where the rainwater backs up into your house or basement. Water should drain away from the house for at least 10 feet. Another problem with new soil is that it will not be perfect, either. It will need the same $25 soil test to see what's wrong with it.

You can actually do in situ composting by feeding with organics instead. Hence the five times a year for me. Many only do it once or twice and stick with synthetics otherwise. And this year I was lazy and fed in May, September, and now will do so around October first. The winterizer will be synthetic. I was busy. Count on approximately ten percent of your mass sticking around as "compost" when all is said and done; the other 90% is lost immediately as it decays off, but releases nitrogen that the lawn can use. Or gardens, I feed those organically as well. Although it does vary by what you use, it's a good general guide.