Software
Houzz Logo Print
jlt622

Soil test questions

10 years ago

I hate to take advantage of free advice ... but some of you are so darn good at making custom recommendations, I just can't help it. Below are my recent soil results for southern VA (Chester area). I use Virginia Green service so really i'm looking to know A) can you tell they are lacking some where from this and B) Anything I can do myself or is it all under control? Thanks again so much guys!

I posted the recent one and the year before to see if there's a trend or something.


THIS IS THE CURRENT ONE.



LAST YEAR


Comments (4)

  • 10 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    I'm not certain how accurate this test is (and they vary from extraordinarily accurate to absolutely horrible). Statistically, if it's the average, it's likely to be inaccurate--so a retest through Logan Labs would probably be a good idea if you want an accurate answer.

    That having been said, I'll read it as if it were accurate.

    Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC or ME) 6.6: Sandier soil, with some silt in there in all probability. It does drift kind of fast, so testing every other year once it stabilizes is a good idea.

    pH 6.3: Nominally at the low end of the optimal range, but there are some minor adjustments I'd like to take care of. In a sandy soil, the proper balancing pH varies, but I think you're going to be around 6.6-6.8.

    Organic Matter (OM) 2.7%: In the Fair range, but I'd prefer to see this Good (4%) to Excellent (6%+) in a soil this sandy. Always mulch mow (or have your service do it). Mow in every fall leaf. Consider organic feeding if your service has it at a reasonable price and it's actually organic rather than "kind of organic."

    Edit: I skipped Phosphorus!

    Phosphorus 32: Pretty much normal if they're using the Melich III test. None required or desired by these results, but I'm not sure how much to trust them in this case...

    Calcium 63%: Optimal is 60-70, but in sandier soils it rides more toward the top of the range. We use fast acting lime, either Encap, Mag-I-Cal, or Pennington Fast Lime, to change this. Recommendations below.

    Magnesium 22.7%: Very high, which can lead to a tight soil that cracks when dry and is hard to dig. We can't counter this directly, so we increase the calcium to compensate. In the liming, that's why I'm only using fast acting (calcium carbonate) lime without any magnesium in it...we don't dare make this problem worse. Cheap lime will make this problem even worse very quickly. Avoid all magnesium sources, which is pretty easy.

    Potassium 3.6%: Technically a touch on the low side, but nothing to worry about per this test. Ignore this for this year, but figure you'll need to add some K next year.

    Minor Elements: Not tested.

    Recommendations:

    April 1: Apply 3 pounds per thousand square feet of Encap, Mag-I-Cal, or Pennington Fast Lime.

    October 1: Apply 3 pounds per thousand square feet of Encap, Mag-I-Cal, or Pennington Fast Lime.

  • 10 years ago

    Excellent as always, thank you! The test is just the one provided free by Virginia Green, but as respected lawn companies go, they're pretty up there. So hopefully they use a trusted soil sample company. I do all my own mowing (because its 3 acres and I love riding the Deere on a nice day). I don't mulch as much as a should, so I'll work on that part.


    Being that its 80 degrees here today, and all climate experts have said there will NOT be another frost this season (and in fact should be 70s for a couple weeks) does that change your dates of applications ? We are about a month ahead of normal spring here it seems.

  • 10 years ago

    You don't have to mulch every single time if it's inconvenient for you, just most of the time if you can. That'll help recycle resources, plus increase the organic matter percentages over time.

    Yeah, spring is already well underway here in Pennsylvania as well! While I don't trust it enough to risk anything plant-wise, really you could accelerate the April first application to whenever you like in March.

    Even a moderate re-freeze won't harm a lime application, I just like to wait until I'm sure all the soil layers are unfrozen and that runoff of calcium is not going to happen. It's not toxic to wildlife or waterways, but it's a waste (and I dislike waste).

  • PRO
    10 years ago

    If you follow an organic approach to lawn care you can get an extra 1.5-2" of new organic matter every season.

    Morpheususpa is totally right. I think you should also bring some compost to increase the OM content and also increase the CEC

Sponsored
Peabody Landscape Group
Average rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars8 Reviews
Columbus' Reliable Landscape Design & Contracting