Edit- I am reading up on some recent posts with very similar readings.

What do you plan on growing in that soil besides the trees?

A soil pH of 8.0 is too high for most all plants which like a soil pH in the 6.0 to 7.0 range so an application of sulfur may be of some help. Who ever did the soil test should have listed some options for correcting problems.

The high CEC, a good CEC is in the upper teens to low twenties, indicates a soil high in clay (typical of Ohio) and the amount of organic matter (3.7 %) is quite low. Soil organic matter level should be about 6 to 8 percent and that can help with the CEC, lowering it. CEC, Cation Exchange Capacity, is a measure of how the soil holds onto nutrients and moisture and high numbers indicate the soil (clay) will hold onto them too tightly so the plants do not have access to them.

kimmq is kimmsr

I have many perennial beds... but for those I double dig in compost, leaf mold and
aged manure before planting anything. Those beds are doing just fine, so I assume the amendments bring the Ph down a bit. I then continually use leaf mulch to continually buffer it.

I am just really wondering about any correction I could make for the lawn itself. It's seems to do okay for the most part, but if amending it will make it better...

Are the phosphorus and potassium levels worth attempting to adjust for a lawn or not?

Thanks K

Adequate amounts of organic matter in soils will act as a buffer and may at times change the soils pH .

There is a range that is used for soil nutrients and it does somewhat depend on if you have a "light" soil (sandy?) or "heavy" soil (clay?). Phosphorus (P) has a range of 25 to 85 ppm, Potash (K) has a range of 200 to 400 ppm, Calcium (Ca.) has a range of 1500 to 4000 ppm, and Magnesium (Mg.) a range of 300 to 800 ppm with the lower numbers for a "heavy" soil and the higher numbers for "light" soils. From that the levels of P and K are low, as is the amount of organic matter, and could stand to be brought up some. Soil test labs do not often test for Nitrogen since it is very temperature sensitive but long term studies indicate turf grasses need about 2 pounds of Nitrogen per 1,000 square feet per year for optimal growth. Mulch mowing, putting the grass clippings back into the turf can supply up to 1/2 of that Nitrogen. Any nutrients added to soils that grow turf grasses need to be balanced and meet the needs of that turf so any excess is not washed out of the soil and contribute to the pollution of our water, as many of the commercial, synthetic, fertilizers do.

Adding material that would increase the soils organic matter most likely would also bring the nutrient levels up to what the turf grasses need.

kimmq is kimmsr

the question is not a bad question. It deserves better answers. Not saying my opinion is any good, but I know bad answers when I read them.

If you are satisfied with the lawn, I'd say, no, it doesn't merit any attempt to change nutrient levels. If you'd like to try, try some bone meal or composted manure (P) and greensand or kelp meal (K).

(note) let ensue the dogmatic discussion proving me to be wrong as to why nothing is indeed the best thing to add...or otherwise, trying to do anything but answer the question asked.

CEC. There is no such thing as a CEC that is too high. And a soil that has a high CEC does not hold tightly onto nutrients...if it did, it would read as having a low CEC. It would be unable to exchange the cations, which is the very definition of what CEC is all about.

"There is a range that is used for soil nutrients and it does somewhat depend on if you have a "light" soil (sandy?) or "heavy" soil (clay?). Phosphorus (P) has a range of 25 to 85 ppm, Potash (K) has a range of 200 to 400 ppm, Calcium (Ca.) has a range of 1500 to 4000 ppm, and Magnesium (Mg.) a range of 300 to 800 ppm with the lower numbers for a "heavy" soil and the higher numbers for "light" soils"

I won't even try. I've tried for two days to come up with a context to have the above portion make sense, and I cannot provide that context. From what I can make of it, it's complete gibberish. or presented entirely without context.

thanks for the info. Do they even sell bone meal, green sand in bulk? I only see the smaller bags for general gardening.

To add the organic matter, I will start poaching bagged leaves in the fall from the older neighborhoods (my neighborhood doesn't have old trees)... and then just mulch mow them into the lawn.

There is a locally owned garden supply store down the road that does sell many of those garden products in bulk but you will not find them in any chain store.

kimmq is kimmsr