Dale's Soil Test for Front and Back Yard - 2016

[DTockeII]

Hi there,

Finally bit the bullet and decided to get some samples from my Front and Back yard tested by Logan Labs to see how I can improve on my soil to thicken up the lawn.

***I read Andy's post about not getting much feedback for what to do during the rest of 2016 and I'm fine with that. I'm looking for more of a longer term plan to improve the soil (assuming it needs it). I do not know the prior history of this yard as I only moved in a year ago so I'm trying to get a baseline and some suggestions for improvement. I don't know if these levels are good or bad, nor what needs to be done over time to improve them. Thanks!***

My regimen has been mostly spot killing weeds / pulling them and I fertilize with Milorganite at the bag rate. I try to mow twice a week at about 3" unless unnecessary and the current condition is that the grass is quite established, but there are some thinner areas where weeds (clover and dandelions) tend to grow. Trying to thicken up the grass overall and get it less drought sensitive.

Looking for interpretation of results please.

All samples were taken around 4" and a mixture of locations within the two yard areas were sampled. I did not take side yard samples as the grass there is quite nice.

Front 1,800 Sq Ft, sees sun most of the day:



Back 3,700 Sq Ft, sees sun most of the day, there is about 1,000 sq ft that is in almost constant shade and looks beautiful so I didn't sample there:


THANKS!

[DTockeII]

Pictures added, didn't work before

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[DTockeII]

I read Andy's post about not getting much feedback for what to do during the rest of 2016 and I'm fine with that. I'm looking for more of a longer term plan to improve the soil (assuming it needs it). I do not know the prior history of this yard as I only moved in a year ago so I'm trying to get a baseline and some suggestions for improvement. I don't know if these levels are good or bad, nor what needs to be done over time to improve them. Thanks, I appreciate your time!

[g-man]

Dtoctell, dont stress too much. You have a good soil. For our region, the window of improving the soil is closing/closed. Ie, your soil needs potassium, but adding it now is risky (see Andy post).

For future soil test, a single sample across the lawn is fine since both front and back look fairly similar.

Focus the remaining of the year in getting 1lb of nitrogen per month (per the fall nitrogen regiment post in the cool season forum). The bag rate of Milo is only getting you ~0.7lb of nitrogen if applied monthly. I would up it to 3 bags (108lb of Milo) for your 5.5sqft to get the 1lb of nitrogen. It is fairly warm this week, so you could continue with Milo, but switch to chemical fertilizer with low potassium (last number) once the temperature drops.

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[DTockeII]

Thanks G-man, why the switch to chemical when its colder? because the soil won't absorb the milo as fast? Does soil change that much from winter to spring where I can't pull together a 2017 plan based on this 2016 sample? Or is it because the soil will use up the nutrients throughout the year so its important to maintain levels using the fertilizer? (in other words, does soil itself not maintain levels and therefore always needs some help / feeding?)

Sorry if these are newb questions

Appreciate the feedback.

[kbgfarmer]

"Organic" Fertilizers and bio-solids like Milorganite require microbial activity to break down the fertilizer into plant-available nitrogen and phosphorus. Microbial activity is much more pronounced during warm moist weather and declines as soil temperatures decrease thus any Milorganite applied after first frost is unlikely to be broken down enough to make a difference to your lawn. Synthetic fertilizers such as urea are already plant-available once they dissolve with irrigation and make their way to the plant's root zone and thus don't require microbial populations to be active. In regards to your second question I will defer to the experts but I imagine that your soil won't change much if you are just applying nitrogen without any other amendments at this time so I surmise that a soil test done now should be applicable for the first part of next years's growing season. Nitrogen isn't something that is commented on a soil test anyway and the other things such as phosphorus and potassium deficiencies are corrected over a period of time anyway.

[g-man]

1) regards to milo - what kbgfarmer said plus I think it is explained in the fall nitrogen regiment post too.

2) I don't think a new soil test will be needed for early next year, but Andy will chime in. I think a yearly one is a small cost for the benefit. It is only $25 plus shipping (small box flat rate of $5 works for me).

I think the main issue is that it takes time to do the analysis and recommend lb / sqft based on the product you find locally. Folks are busy with work, family, their own lawns (fall nitrogen = more frequent mowing) and helping out the renovation group (those that are running out of time to have a lawn this year). Therefore next year plan recommendation take a lower priority this time of the year.

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[DTockeII]

Totally understand the timing and the fact that people have day jobs Not in any rush and will certainly wait my turn in line. Didn't know best practice for pulling a sample so its a good learning experience

[HoosierLawnGnome]

Those can be pretty nice soils with some work. As it is, they are ok.

I'll give you a plan through end of year, ping us in the spring for a full year plan.

Both zones are a heavy, loam soil. Fairly common in this area of the midwest - commonly referred to as a silty loam or clay loam type soil.

Organic Matter (OM) levels in the front are right at the good level. In the back it's a smidge lower - just below the good level. Keep mulching leaves and mulching grass - this is a great thing to do in the fall of course. The back needs a little more work, but it's not critical for you - there are other areas of more importance.

Your pH in both zones is right on the precipice where it starts to impact Iron uptake - leaning alkaline. Your high Magnesium (Mg) level is behind this in both zones- skewing the soil to the alkaline. You aren't going to change this, and you don't need to in order to have excellent turf - we'll dance with it. This high Mg levels makes the Ca and K levels look more deficient on the test, but you do have decent base levels - we don't want to chase ratios here. We don't want to apply lots of K in the late season and exacerbate any snow mold risk, so we'll tackle that next year.

Phosphorus (P) is very low. Apply 2 lbs / K of Monoammonsium Phosphate (MAP 16-52-0), Diammonsium Phosphate (DAP 18-45-0) or Triple Superphosphate (TSP 0-52-0) in the next two weeks before first frost. These numbers may be slightliy different on the bag - just make sure that last number is 0 and the middle number is the highest The milorganite will increase P as well, so good for you applying that.

The Iron is really good. However, your pH is right on that border where if we push it higher we can create problems for your grass to take it up. So, if it's not the color of green you want - milorganite is your answer. The grass is going to start shutting down in a few weeks at first frost, at which time you don't want to push tender new growth that gets killed by frost easily - so you can probably save the milo for next year.

Finishing out this season's nitrogen (N) applications in the next few weeks, then putting down 1 lb / K of fast release N when top growth stops but the roots are still growing is the next goal for fertilization.

Ping us early spring next year for 2017's plan!

[DTockeII]

Thanks for the feedback, I'll see what I can find for a Phosphorus application

[DTockeII]

Those can be pretty nice soils with some work. As it is, they are ok.

I'll give you a plan through end of year, ping us in the spring for a full year plan.

Both zones are a heavy, loam soil. Fairly common in this area of the midwest - commonly referred to as a silty loam or clay loam type soil.

Organic Matter (OM) levels in the front are right at the good level. In the back it's a smidge lower - just below the good level. Keep mulching leaves and mulching grass - this is a great thing to do in the fall of course. The back needs a little more work, but it's not critical for you - there are other areas of more importance.

Your pH in both zones is right on the precipice where it starts to impact Iron uptake - leaning alkaline. Your high Magnesium (Mg) level is behind this in both zones- skewing the soil to the alkaline. You aren't going to change this, and you don't need to in order to have excellent turf - we'll dance with it. This high Mg levels makes the Ca and K levels look more deficient on the test, but you do have decent base levels - we don't want to chase ratios here. We don't want to apply lots of K in the late season and exacerbate any snow mold risk, so we'll tackle that next year.

Phosphorus (P) is very low. Apply 2 lbs / K of Monoammonsium Phosphate (MAP 16-52-0), Diammonsium Phosphate (DAP 18-45-0) or Triple Superphosphate (TSP 0-52-0) in the next two weeks before first frost. These numbers may be slightliy different on the bag - just make sure that last number is 0 and the middle number is the highest The milorganite will increase P as well, so good for you applying that.

The Iron is really good. However, your pH is right on that border where if we push it higher we can create problems for your grass to take it up. So, if it's not the color of green you want - milorganite is your answer. The grass is going to start shutting down in a few weeks at first frost, at which time you don't want to push tender new growth that gets killed by frost easily - so you can probably save the milo for next year.

Finishing out this season's nitrogen (N) applications in the next few weeks, then putting down 1 lb / K of fast release N when top growth stops but the roots are still growing is the next goal for fertilization.

Ping us early spring next year for 2017's plan!

What is a good source for the high phosphate fertilizers? I found the Triple Superphosphate, am I understanding right that for approximately 8,000 sq ft, I'd need 4 x 4 lbs bags?

[kbgfarmer]

That is correct.

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[andy10917]

4 lb bags? What do those cost? I want to make sure that you don't go to the poor house.

[kbgfarmer]

Found this online. 50 lb bag of TSP for 26 bucks. Not sure what the shipping is but maybe more economical than the 4 lb bags which I know are pretty expensive online.

https://www.bes-tex.com/catalogItems/vi ... -50-lb-bag

Update*****

60 dollars for UPS ground! Never mind. Pretty expensive.

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[Pete1313]

You should be able to get a high P source from any conservfs. They are located all thru northern IL. If they don't have it, they can usually get it in a day from the warehouse. I use monoammonium phosphate 11-52-0 and get it from them.

http://www.conservfs.com/Location/Pages/seed.aspx

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[DTockeII]

Thanks Pete, I'll check that out.

[DTockeII]

Sweet, the Conserv FS in Wauconda is close for me, thanks for the tip

[Pete1313]

The wauconda location is awesome, it's where I used to go at my old house. I think it's their designated turf location and usually has whatever you need in stock at good prices. I now use the rockford location, and although they can get me anything I need, they sometimes need to go pick it up from somewhere else.

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[Pete1313]

They also have good prices on Pro Milo (50lbs 6-2-0 ~$10 a bag) and urea ~$18 for a 50lb bag IIRC.

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[DTockeII]

Awesome feedback Pete, thanks!

Help me with my math please? So if I get a 50lbs bag of the 11-52-0, and I want to apply 2 lbs P per K, does that basically mean I need to apply 60% of a bag to the whole yard?

52% of 50 = 26 lbs P per bag which can cover 13,000 sq ft @ 2 lbs per K. My whole yard is around 8,000 sq ft, so one bag could do my yard 1.625 times at that rate.

50lbs / 1.625 = 30.76lbs

So I want to apply 30 lbs of that 50 lbs bag across the entire lawn, correct?



I'll be sure to get some of the pro milo from them next year but will get some urea while I'm there.