?? That takes me to another thread which ends in May of 2015 that I see.

I guess it would help if I actually posted the new results. That is what I get for trying to do too many things at once!

Thanks Morph, really appreciate you taking the time to share your knowledge and recommendations with all of us on the forum!

I did pretty well in following your recommendations last year and only missed the last Epsom salt application I believe. I'm using a Scotts turfbuilder edgeguard mini for my spreader and I'm not fully confident that I used the correct bag rate dispersion's as most bag recommendations don't include the mini's specific settings, so I'm not sure that they match up 100% with the other spreader type settings. I'll do more research on that to ensure I'm in line with the bag rate recommendations.

I did get a late start this year on my lawn care program, and that included weed prevention. It stayed colder longer here than it did last year and was difficult to judge the timing for pre-emergent. Along with being busy, I waited too long and had a lot more weeds pop up than I wanted. Not putting down any pre-emergent last fall before it got cold probably also contributed. I have since put down an application of Celcius WG and Lesco pre-emergent 0-0-7, along with a lot of hand pulling and have it back under control.

I always mulch mow after the first mow of the year. I only have one tree in my yard (red maple out front) so I get very few leaves. I applied 2 applications of Milorganite last year. I will continue with the Milorganite this year along with your recommendation on the Borax mix. I'd like to incorporate as much organic as possible into my lawn care program. I shampooed my lawn twice last year and was pleased with the results and will continue again this year. I used Encap last year per your recommendations, and will continue with that again this year as well.

Other than pre/post emergent for weeds, the only thing I've done so far this year to my lawn was to apply an application of starter fertilizer at bag rate a couple of weeks ago right after I took this years soil sample. So I will start there and work in your recommendations. Thanks again for sharing your tips and wisdom!

- Chad

Raise the soil pH to 6.3 to 6.6 with dolomitic lime (that will supply both Ca and Mg as well as raise the pH)

Phosphorus is low. It should be about 30 ppm. Put about 2 lb P2O5 per 1000ft2 each year to bring up the P level. The source is not too important - even rock phosphate will be effective in this low pH soil.

Potassium is low. You should apply about 2 lbs K2O per 1000 ft2.

Nitrogen - 1/2 to 1 lb per 1000 ft2 each month of the growing season.

No boron - you won't see a response...

Thanks azdoctor, appreciate the feedback.

- Chad

I'm no expert, but what I have read suggests that boron ~0.15 is deficiency that will demonstrate visibly FUBAR results in your grass, levels ~1.0 will demonstrate toxicity. Varying places say a happy place is 0.5 - 0.7. Your lab results have you at 0.2 ppm. That's really close to having a problem that you really don't want to have. No you may not see a change by adding boron, but isn't that the point? You want to ensure that your soil does not shift into sever deficiency cause more problems.

Just so, Hawksster. One is unlikely to see too much in the way of issues with low boron, but the grass just isn't performing as well as it could. Boron is used in the photosynthetic process and meristem (plant stem cell) development into adult cells.

Lacking it, cells don't differentiate well, and don't perform their jobs as well as they could because of it. Photosynthesis is also impacted to some extent. The plant can side-step the boron in the photosynthetic process--at the cost of efficiency and energy.

I don't see any reason or need to put a plant at a disadvantage from the get-go, and my recommended amounts won't cause problems or set off a high-boron zone of soil at the surface.

Is it the most important element? No, not by a long shot. But I'll always work to put your soil into the perfect groove on every element and give your grass every advantage I can. If you asked me what could be cut to save time or money, boron would be on that list in pretty much every case.

I could mention that initially, but I already have to type and jigsaw together enough data. Please don't make me make these even longer analysis by prioritizing everything. :-)

The phosphorus...well, Logan is not using the same test here and the optimal target number differs. The strong extraction here is also catching some lightly bound but transformable P, so the 20-30 standard does not apply.

There are other criticisms, but been there, done that.

My recent soil test says I'm below 0.2 for Boron, so very deficient. No FUBAR results here, grass is green and healthy looking. I read somewhere that dicots are far more sensitive to boron deficiencies than monocots. Having said that, I plan on applying boron as recommended, it costs pennies and if it increases the overall health of the plant by 1% I'm happy with that, every little bit counts.

Tru dat. Grasses (and other monocots) are unlikely to have too much of an issue...but, er, why would we want to put the plant at any potential disadvantage?

Heck, you should see the balancing act in my soil. All things considered, I keep my boron in the 0.6 range, plus or minus very little. I'm even more finicky on elements that seriously matter...but I'm definitely on the hobbyist end of the spectrum.

Morpheus, I understand. I have a background as educator & healthcare worker. I have seen 1000's upon 1000's of human lab results. Having to explain the results & corrective actions to students, patients, families, etc. can be very exhausting. But we do it because we have a passion for it. It's just a kick in the pants when after all your hard work someone comes along and attempts discredit you to those students/patients/etc. Having had to go back to those people & not only re-explain everything again and provide extra levels of supportive data can lead to a loss of sanity...and I get paid to do the job.

What you do here for free is a service to the community. I don't know that I could do it. Well, I know I can't because I find myself typing up responses to people then deleting them because the rage & frustration jumps out of the screen when I reread it.

tl;dr

lol my original response was: "@#$% that guy, add the boron and everything else suggested. He always comes in AFTER the fact & provides input" - but that just seemed rude.

I think azdoctor just has a different perspective on things, he's not necessarily wrong. When you're running a business taking care of people's lawns or a farmer with hundreds of acres, it becomes a cost vs benefit type thing, and time is money. We can tinker with our lawns at will on our free time, but if you had to pay someone to come apply the borax for you, then you'd look at it differently. Also, if someone charged you $80 labor to apply something to your lawn and it made no noticeable difference, you'd also look at it differently.

I just wanted to see him go ruffle Andy Jong-Il's feathers a little bit :-)

And, honey, you will ruffle Andy's feathers exactly once. I never do it/did it, but I've seen it happen.

Like I said, I could prioritize things, but those priorities will change depending on the soil. Quite frankly, I'm not going to do that. This eats up enough of my time already and, by the end of April, if I never see another soil test it will be far too soon.

I'm also trying to get the soil into a groove where you get the maximum amount of time before needing to re-test and re-apply materials again, as well as the longest amount of time spent in the perfect groove where the grass (and your gardens if you ask me to) are completely content and growing optimally.

As a hobbyist, I see absolutely no reason to stress a plant by making it fight for resources. This is why my flower gardens start in March and are covered in blossoms through October (sometimes even into November). If you weren't the same sort of person...you probably wouldn't be here. And those that are not that type of person are usually pretty up front about it.

Folks can always ask for a "correct the worst of it" read from me if they want.

@Hawksster: "lol my original response was: "@#$% that guy, add the boron and everything else suggested. He always comes in AFTER the fact & provides input" - but that just seemed rude."

Been there, done that. I'd never treat a student that way, but there are times. I'd still give him a D for not including any specific amounts and not having any consideration for interacting elements.

Fun fact: the best question I ever got in class was, "If the OK button isn't there, I shouldn't hit it, right?" I simply smiled, said, "Correct!" and moved on while reflecting on how incredibly Zen that question was.

Soil test interpretation is not magic. You can do it yourself - you do not need an oracle. Read:

http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/yard-garden/soils/soil-test-interpretations-and-fertilizer-management/#ph-modification

http://www.nebraskaturfgrass.com/turfiNfo/simplifying_soil_test.pdf

http://www.bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/mf2311.pdf

There are two commonly used methods for extracting boron. One used hot water; the other is a saturated paste extraction (soil is wetted to saturation and the liquid is separated by vacuum filtration). Most interpretation tables are for hot water extracted boron. With hot water extractable boron, 'medium' range is 0.5 to 1.0 ppm. For saturated past boron, 0.1 ppm is often used as a target.

Most labs show what method they use; Logan Labs does not list a method for boron. If they are using saturated paste and people use hot water standards to interpret the tests, the recommendation will almost always be to add boron.

They have a phone number, call and ask.

I did.

I used to work around a munch of borons, and I can attest that too high a concentration is highly toxic.

Yawn.

Azdoctor,

How much lime do you recommend he apply to raise his pH 6.3 to 6.6 and why pH 6.6 and not 6.8?