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Soil Test - PA Lawn

11 years ago

Hi All,

I had a soil test done on my parents lawn and I was hoping to get some corrective actions from the brain trust here. Location is NE PA and the lawn is about 7k sqft.

Thanks in advance, I appreciate it!

Comments (8)

  • 11 years ago

    Let me guess. Lawn quality is tolerable at best, and more likely poor in many patches?

    Sample Depth 6: No problem, I'll adjust what's required to 4.

    EC 4.4: Mostly sand with a bit of silt. The soil has limited ability to hold resources and will drift pretty fast. For the average home lawn, I'd recommend testing and correction every 3 years at worst to maintain a decent lawn.

    OM 4.1%: At the lower end of Good. With an EC this low, I'd like to see this go up, but that's tough in sandy soils. Still, always mulch mow, mow all fall leaves, consider feeding organically, steal neighbors' leaves in the dark of night (post Hallowe'en, your parents can get great deals on ninja costumes)...

    pH 5.4: Rather low. We'll fix this under calcium, magnesium, and potassium below.

    Sulfur 13: A great answer, with plenty of margin to play with.

    Phosphorus 149 (99 adjusted): Moderately low, our target is 200. We use starter fertilizer to raise this, and just get the cheapest. They're all in the same ballpark. Recommendations below.

    Calcium 42.8%: Very low. The target is 60-70%, with closer to 70% being wise in a low EC, sandier soil. I'm turning down the shortage to 295 pounds per acre. We use Encap, Mag-I-Cal, or Pennington Fast Lime to correct this. Other limes will contain elements I don't want to add (at least not in this manner), work too slowly, and require far more mass.

    Magnesium 11.8%: This number is a little inflated because calcium is so short, the soil actually shows a minor shortage that should be corrected (at least in part). Target for a low EC soil with sufficient calcium will be 10-12%. We use Epsom salt to correct this, available at most drugstores in the First Aid or bath sections (scented is OK to use).

    Potassium 2.9%: The soil shows a moderate shortage, and this number will drop when the calcium hits. I'm turning the shortage down to 68 pounds per acre, however. My target is a little higher than normally recommended, around 4-7% in a low EC soil. We use potassium sulfate to correct this, available at many landscape stores or garden shops--or they can order it for you. It's also available online.

    Sodium 3.6%: It looks a bit high, but the actual pounds per acre is reasonable. The calcium should kick out a little sodium (not a vast amount, but I'll take it). It's not a problem for most plants.

    Minor Elements: While copper and zinc are high, they're fine and there's not much we can do about the excess anyway. Manganese is very high, but that's a non-issue. Iron is OK for a standard lawn, but I do mention it below. Boron is deficient.

    Boron <0.2: Deficient. 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.

    Iron 120: Not deficient in the slightest, but the rising pH will probably pale out the color a bit. If it bothers you, use Milorganite at bag rate whenever you like to green the grass and slowly raise the iron levels over time.

    Recommendations:

    Now: Apply Encap, Mag-I-Cal, or Pennington Fast Lime at 6 pounds per thousand square feet.

    April 1, 2016: Apply Encap, Mag-I-Cal, or Pennington Fast Lime at 6 pounds per thousand square feet.

    April 15: Apply 5 tablespoons of 20 Mule Team Borax in Milorganite carrier per thousand square feet. That 5 tbsp isn't a misprint, nor is it wise to risk exceeding that!

    May 1: Apply 2 pounds of potassium sulfate per thousand square feet.

    May 15: Apply 2 pounds per thousand square feet of Epsom salt.

    Memorial Day: Apply starter fertilizer at bag rate.

    Labor Day: Apply starter fertilizer at bag rate.

    September 15: Apply 2 pounds of potassium sulfate per thousand square feet.

    October 1: Apply starter fertilizer at bag rate.

  • 11 years ago

    Thank You sir - you are pretty spot on! Their lawns is very decent its just getting some patchy bare spots and not looking as good as possible. I am surprised about the sandy/silt diagnosis though.....I really would have thought clay.

    He also needs weed control help and i was thinking about getting and applying dimension for him. Would that interact poorly with any recommendation above?

  • 11 years ago

    The soil probably acts tight and hard due to the low levels of calcium (but tolerable levels of magnesium) which will throw the soil balance off. It should lighten with the use of the calcium and additional organic material. Shampoo is, of course, always on the table!

    Dimension won't interact with any of the above, so fire away. Similarly, if Weed B Gon or something like that is required, it's not a problem.

    Additional feeding of the lawn won't be needed next year as the starter will cover it beautifully, although I'd still winterize at the right time. However, if they want to use an organic in addition to the starter, that's great.

  • 11 years ago

    Sounds good. Last question, would grubex have any interaction if i apply it in the June time frame?

  • 11 years ago

    None at all, so fire at will. Modern versions of Grub X should be applied in May, however, as it takes some time to build up in the plant.

  • 11 years ago

    great i'll bag of bugs my house and my dad's and i'll grubex in the may window

  • 11 years ago

    Really, it should be just fine. Weed seeds blow or get carried around so easily anyway that what you get from a load of leaves shouldn't matter.

    Not that I'd use leaves from a lawn I know is infested, or has a ton of P. annua, but otherwise it isn't a problem.

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