How large is the lawn?

Hi J4c11, the lawn is about 5000sq.ft.

Even if it's an acre, you can do it far cheaper yourself (if with a lot of work)...

Your soil's actually in fairly good shape, although I do aim for perfection (you did, after all, pay for the test so I assume you want soil in the perfect groove).

ME 5.1: Prob'ly a very sandy soil that doesn't hold a lot of resources. It'll drift pretty fast, so testing every other year once stabilized will be a good idea.

pH 6.0: Textbook, a little low, but nothing severe and we'll fix this under calcium, magnesium, and (a little) potassium.

OM 4.3%: Well into the Good range, although with your low ME soil, I'd always mulch mow, mow all fall leaves, steal neighbors' leaves who don't mulch them, and consider feeding organically. The higher this goes, the more water your soil will hold, and the higher the effective ME becomes.

Sulfur 18: Optimal.

Phosphorus 876: Extremely high. You don't need starter when you seed, and I'd avoid phosphorus sources as much as possible when feeding anything. This will support a tightly-packed annual garden easily, and that's saying something.

Calcium 61.1%: A little low for a low-ME soil, and what's setting off your lower pH. Technically, it's just barely in the optimal range, but I'd raise this a bit. We use Encap, Mag-I-Cal, or Pennington Fast Lime to do this as these limes work faster, don't add elements I don't want or need to add, and tend to be cheaper per thousand square feet than supposedly "cheap" limes. Recommendations below.

Magnesium 13.6%: It looks optimal, but your slightly low Ca levels are enhancing this. Still, let's ignore this for 2016, it certainly isn't a problem at this moment.

Potassium 2.7%: Like magnesium, this is a little enhanced by lower Ca levels than I'd like to see. This is optional this year, but I'd do this if it were my soil. We use potassium sulfate (sulfate of potash) to fix this, which you can get from some garden or landscape stores, or they'll order it for you. Get the granular, it's easier to apply.

Sodium 2.2%: Textbook, this is very high. However, your low ME soil won't hold much and total soil amounts are low. Calcium and potassium sulfate will dispel some of this, and one reason I don't want to put off the potassium application.

Minor Elements: All are fine, except boron.

Boron 0.21: This is borderline at the lowest level before deficiency. While not the most important element, I'll always work to move your lawn into the most optimal range on everything. Me? I'd fix this. 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 10 tablespoons of 20 Mule Team Borax.

Recommendations:

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

September 1: (Optional but Recommended) Apply 2 pounds of potassium sulfate per thousand square feet.

September 15: Apply 4 tablespoons of 20 Mule Team Borax per thousand square feet.

October 15: Apply 4 pounds per thousand square feet of Encap, Mag-I-Cal, or Pennington Fast Lime.

Woah, that was prompt.

Want drama, go to ATY. Want fast quality help, this is the place to be.

GardenWeb Lawn. All help, no drama ®. (most of the time haha)

>> All help, no drama ®

Wait.

I am honestly very impressed with such thorough explanation and advice! thank you so much J4c11 and morpheuspa, hopefully next year my lawn will be less embarassing.

Wait.

You know something I don't? We're not about to get a third recently departed ATY moderator are we? :-)

>>You know something I don't? We're not about to get a third recently departed ATY moderator are we? :-)

If we do, I'm outta here. :-)