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cterrell16

Soil test. Whats needed now

14 years ago

I've got 5000 sqft of clay soil in northeast ga. My current situation is my 419 is yellowing. I've followed the Bermuda bible. From what I can tell I need alot of lime to get the ph right. Report says my ph is 5. What should I do.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lab report for 419 soil

Comments (7)

  • 14 years ago

    Yup, you need lime, calcitic not dolomitic. I would try to get Cal Turf Pro, as it works faster than regular calcitic. At that pH nitrogen isn't as available as it should be when the pH is around 6.5. For fertilizing I would use enough starter to provide .5 lb of nitrogen since you are deficient in potassium, and the other half I would use a slow release form of nitrogen. Your iron is not bad, but your Boron is low. Boron is tricky, too much is poison. In order to get your levels correct, you need to use a spread sheet, but if you use very low amounts, you can fudge it a bit. Let me know if you want to add boron.

  • 14 years ago

    What type of spread sheet are you referring to.

    Also, what would boron help.

    Lastly I was looking at some liquid ph adjustment of some sort. Like Potassium bicarbonate.

  • 14 years ago

    There are many factors that need to be considered when adding boron to your lawn, it's not like nitrogen where you just dump on a pound per thousand and call it a day. CEC, base saturations, and current boron levels all have to be taken into account since too much boron is toxic to plants. A spreadsheet specific to these values is usually used to determine the correct amount to be added. Boron is an essential micronutrient that is involved in many cellular processes. A good analogy would be vitamins in humans. The amount of vitamins we need is tiny, but if you are deficient in them, the effects will be very noticeable.

    I am not very familiar with pH adjustment via liquids, but from what I have read it is not a simple matter of just putting it in a hose end sprayer. There are many factors that need to be addressed, and for the average homeowner it's not recommended. Liming is much easier, cheaper, and it supplies calcium, which you are deficient in as well.

  • 14 years ago

    Ok. I will start with the calcitic lime today. I'm guessing I should put down 400 pounds to my 5000 sqft today and then apply that again a month later. Does that sound correct or too much at Once.

    And yes please let me know about the boron addition. Thanks

  • 14 years ago

    Way too much. Dolomitic can be put down at 40 lbs. per thousand, calcitic is much less, 9-10 lbs. per thousand. Cal Turf Pro is a bit more at 12 lbs. per thousand. Always check the bag label when applying amendments. Most soil test places give incorrect lime amounts for lawn use since they are usually for crops and the lime is usually incorporated into the soil, not broadcast on top. I will get back to you on the boron amounts and application method.

  • 14 years ago

    I went with 45 pounds of calcitic like and 10 # of Epsom salts to get my levels up. I'll do it again in about 90 days.

  • 14 years ago

    cterrell16, sounds like you're getting into the groove. How's it feel?

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