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Soil test, Grapvine TX

11 years ago

I feel like a kid in a candy store!

I have 2500sq ft of Bermuda that I keep at 3/4". Follow the Bermuda bible but add Milorgranite 3 times a year at 1.5x bag rate, spring, mid summer and early fall. I shampoo/ molasses in spring.

Thanks for the help!


Comments (7)

  • 11 years ago

    This is one of the most unusual tests I've ever seen. Has this soil been worked with before?

    Simply put, the Recommendations area is almost blank. There essentially aren't any. Everything is so close to optimal there's no sense in fiddling with it except for boron, and that's optional.

    You can safely avoid application of anything except nitrogen this year. You don't require (and don't want) to raise your phosphorus or potassium levels. Calcium is a little high, but fine. Magnesium is on the nose. Your OM levels are good. Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

    I did mention iron, but it's a slow process and not critical.

    So...

    Boron: This one is optional as you're close to perfect. We use Milorganite as a carrier and 20 Mule Team Borax as the boron source. 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 5 tablespoons of 20 Mule Team Borax.

    Iron 172: Not deficient and a perfectly nice number, but it may not produce the best color in your lawn that the lawn can be made to show. Whenever you like, you can apply Milorganite at bag rate to slowly raise your iron over the course of years. It's not critical that you do so as the grass does not require the iron, it's simply going to enhance your grass color.

    Recommendations:

    Now, or any time during the summer: Apply 2 tablespoons per thousand square feet of 20 Mule Team Borax.

  • 11 years ago

    Really? Funny I feel disappointed as I was expecting my Morpheuspa plan for the rest of the year!

    I left out that I put down new sod 3 years ago and I scrapped off several inches of the old soil and added new top soil from Alpine in Southlake TX.

    So I will continue with what I am doing but I have a question, What does Boron do for the soil/grass?

    Thanks for the input!

  • 11 years ago

    This IS a Morpheus plan! Avoid everything but nitrogen (and the boron if you want, and the iron if you want, but your normal use of Milo will be fine for that). Your soil is naturally rather well-balanced.

    Boron's an oddball in that very little is required (optimal levels are 0.7 PPM, or 700 parts per billion). But it's critical for the development of cells in the plant, and without it meristem cells don't fully develop into specialized cells in the stems and leaves. These cells elongate, but aren't very good at their jobs. That's a problem mostly when boron is deficient, which yours isn't.

    Boron also finds a use in some of the steps of photosynthesis (these days there are more than a hundred). Without it, the plant can sidestep and still photosynthesize, but the process isn't as efficient.


  • 11 years ago

    That's what it does in the right amount. If you overdose a little you sterilize the soil.


    How would you characterize your soil? Easy or hard to work with? Easy or hard to dig? Soft or hard when moist? Any issues with the lawn?

  • 11 years ago

    I thought my soil was a hard clay. When I had it scraped, it was pretty hard and there was some material that looked just like clay. but then I had about 2 inches of topsoil brought in. I have a couple of places where after winter the Bermuda takes longer to come back/green up. After reading this board I drove a screw driver into those spots and I found rocks not far below the surface.

    I have some kids that play soccer in my front yard and there are a couple of spots that wear out pretty fast. I thought this was due to compaction.

    For the most part I have been following the bermuda bible and trying to throw some organics in as well.

  • 11 years ago

    With an EC of 18.2, it could include clay. A jar test would tell you for sure, but isn't really necessary. Amounts of material and adjustments shoot for the EC, not the soil composition.

  • 11 years ago

    If the kids are playing on wet soil then you could be getting compaction. Compaction is caused by forcing the soil particles closer together while the soil is wet. When it is dry you can't push the particles together. When it is moist they slip together and push the air out. Soil can become hard without being compacted, though. That's the most common situation. It's caused by not feeding and watering the soil microbes properly.


    It would be interesting to see a test of the soil that got scraped away. Usually I don't advocate removing and replacing soil with soil. Often as not you get your neighbor's poor soil in return for yours. In your case you WON the soil lottery.