My Spring 2010 Soil Test Results

[Drinyth]

I just got my soil test results back from UMass this afternoon and wanted to share the results. So without further ado here they are (numbers in parenthesis are from my soil test in summer/fall 2009):

Boron: 0.8 (0.8)
Manganese: 1.3 (3.0, wha? Not sure what happened there.)
Zinc: 1.2 (0.3)
Copper: 0.3 (0.3)
Iron: 1.1 (0.7)
Sulfur: 51.9 (82.3)
Soil pH: 7.3 (7.8 - Yay! Although I'm not sure what changed that?)
Buffer pH: 7.3 (7.4)
Nitrogen: 22 (22)
Organic Matter: 9.0% (8.2%)
Phosphorus: 18 (7 - I dropped a considerable amount of starter while renovating last year)
Potassium: 183 (153)
Calcium: 4411 (4885)
Magnesium: 696 (714)
CEC: 26.1 (29.0)
Percent Base Saturation: K=1.7, Mg=20.3, Ca=78.2 (K=1.3, Mg=19.1, Ca=79.7)
Extractable Alu: 9 (12)

Any immediate thoughts? Comments? I did adjustments on micros last fall, but I clearly still have some deficiencies - my Manganese went down somehow over the winter, but my Zinc went up... copper was left unchanged.

Iron levels increased ever so slightly, maybe due to dropping MO last year? pH got better which I'm happy with although am not sure what I did to improve that? OM increased as well. I did start with organics last year, but I wouldn't have expected such a jump. Maybe all that decaying old mulch from my old lawn gave it a temporary boost?

In any case, I still have left over copper, manganese, and zinc if you are willing to help me continue to adjust my micros, Andy? Any other comments/suggestions are welcome as well!

[andy10917]

Organic Matter: 9.0% (8.2%)

I am laughing out loud - God bless you, son. You're going to be the first ever double-digit OM. In the LQC, no less.

[Drinyth]

Organic Matter: 9.0% (8.2%)

I am laughing out loud - God bless you, son. You're going to be the first ever double-digit OM. In the LQC, no less.

I'll give it my best shot! My soil is deficient in a couple micronutrient levels and borderline deficient in a few others... and I'll likely never see a soil pH under 7.0. But dammit hopefully that OM helps compensate a little where the soil is lacking.

For those that want to see the report in its original form (a little easier to read, especially when you're used to the UMass layout), here it is as an image:

[andy10917]

Well, your Lawn should do nicely this Spring - I'm actually surprised (pleasantly) by the progress.

Boron: 0.8 (0.8)
Manganese: 1.3 (3.0, wha? Not sure what happened there.)
Zinc: 1.2 (0.3)
Copper: 0.3 (0.3)
Iron: 1.1 (0.7)

Below are per 1,000 sq ft

Half a tablespoon of the Twenty Mule Team Borax, if you want. You're OK, just not optimal.
3 tablespoons Manganese Sulfate
1 tablespoon Zinc Sulfate
1 tablespoon Copper Sulfate
Iron: Hammer it if you can, foliar is OK too

Calcium: 4411 (4885)
Magnesium: 696 (714)

Let's be Crazy, and go out on a limb. Let's skip the Lime.

CEC: 26.1 (29.0)

That's a heavy soil, but you can handle it. It will certainly hold the nutrients.

Soil pH: 7.3 (7.8 - Yay! Although I'm not sure what changed that?)

Sweet! Probably the OM pulling you toward neutral.

Phosphorus: 18 (7 - I dropped a considerable amount of starter while renovating last year)
Potassium: 183 (153)

Almost there! Keep it up...

Overall --- A+ for progress

[MorpheusPA]

Oh, dear, and anything actually GROWS in that? When I find myself using words like "smidge" and "titch," you know you don't have any real issues.

pH: The organics certainly helped, and all the phosphoric acid you dropped probably displaced some of your calcium and a touch of magnesium. Iron sulfates will also neutralize calcium (to gypsum). 7.3 is actually fairly workable; you saw my lawn at 7.2. No problems there. Never see a pH below 7.0? Maybe. But you're close enough that it's not much of an issue any longer.

OM: I utterly, completely hate you. I dump 1,200 pounds per thousand to get a 1.1% rise. You dump a lot less for 0.8% starting at a better base than I had. Hate, hate, hate. However, winters are longer and harder there, so decay stops dead between November and March. Here it doesn't, and we spent most of the winter unfrozen with our OM quietly decaying away and nothing being added either by us or by the (napping) lawn.

Maybe just a titch more phosphorus. Just a titch, at a pH of 7.3 I'd like to see you at 25 PPM in the lawn and 50-ish in the gardens. The pH is just high enough to start binding it up. So 7 PPM more, or seven parts in 11 (64%) of what you added last year. That's a small enough jump that I don't object to using starter, it's not going to overdo the nitrogen. Even if you don't do it, that doesn't bother me. 18 PPM is really pretty good.

Potassium--it's maybe just a smidge low. Organic feeding will contain some (it's famous, actually, for not having a great deal). My 1,200 pounds per thousand last year increased K by 60 PPM (to a rather high 385). I wouldn't bother with Sul-Po-Mag, muriate of potash, or anything else on this soil. It's not exactly a problem, just a wee bit lower than I would like to see. It's definitely lower than like in the base saturation numbers, but not an issue. There's enough, and with your CEC even 1.7% is a good bit. If I had that saturation, I'd add more K. You don't have to except incidentally.

Iron: Improving, but still about a tenth of the minimum. Milorganite is your friend, and fortunately it's cheap for you. Ferrous sulfate spray is coming into play at that pH since it'll also nudge the pH downward a tiny bit (not much, perhaps not enough to matter, but I'll take what I can get when you're down to 7.3). Since the rhizosphere is already acidic it'll help. Bonide #299 is a great addition too.

CEC: 26.1. Clay and organic material much? The soil will resist change strongly and require lots of resources to change base saturations, but it's workable--since your base saturations are pretty reasonable already.

[Drinyth]

Thanks for the adjustments, Andy! I'll get those down with my next MO feeding in a few weeks.

And sorry, Morph! As the person who has hands down answered the most questions that I've had with my lawn and my fall renovation, I feel sheepish even posting my OM numbers know how hard that you worked last year to get where you are. But my continued thanks to helping me adjust things even further to get it all dialed in!

[MorpheusPA]

Thanks for the adjustments, Andy! I'll get those down with my next MO feeding in a few weeks.

And sorry, Morph! As the person who has hands down answered the most questions that I've had with my lawn and my fall renovation, I feel sheepish even posting my OM numbers know how hard that you worked last year to get where you are. But my continued thanks to helping me adjust things even further to get it all dialed in!

Yeah, right, whatev. Talk to the hand.

Your winters have something to do with that, and you did a good job last year. Your soil's to the point that minor adjustments are all that remains.