Rallydog's 2017 Soil Test

Learn how improving your soil can lead to a better looking lawn
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Rallydog9
Posts: 57
Joined: April 16th, 2014, 5:12 pm
Location: Kingston, MA
Grass Type: I don't know
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Rallydog's 2017 Soil Test

Post by Rallydog9 » May 3rd, 2017, 2:41 pm

First Soil Tests at my new house. Not sure what type(s) of grass. Whatever it is is less than 5 years old and was relatively well maintained by the previous owner.

Looking for the best approach to amend the soil, including micro's.Goal is just to keep it healthy with 2 kids and a dog beating on it and thicken it up in some areas if possible. I'll usually throw down Baystate/Milo at bag rate every 2 weeks or so. I mow once or twice a week and have an irrigation system.

Front is 2,800 sqft
Back is 4,100 sqft

Image



Thanks!

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andy10917
Posts: 29739
Joined: February 23rd, 2009, 10:48 pm
Location: NY (Lower Hudson Valley)
Grass Type: Emblem KBG (Front); Blueberry KBG Monostand (Back)
Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
Level: Advanced

Re: Rallydog's 2017 Soil Test

Post by andy10917 » May 19th, 2017, 9:15 pm

Don't bother testing those as two yards are amazingly similar.

Those are very, very sandy soils with mediocre OM numbers. You will have a hard time holding nutrients, and the OM work will take several years to start helping to hold the nutrients. No leaves exit the yard, and everything you can throw at it that contains OM gets added.

The cations are short across the board. This leads to a pH of 5.6, which is pretty low. Get a good calcitic lime (Encap/Solu-Cal/Mag-I-Cal) and apply at the "Heavy Rate" on the bag every 90 days after mixing it with 2 lbs/K of Epsom Salts.

Use a balanced fertilizer like 10-10-10 or 19-19-19 every month except July. Post the NPK of the selected product here for an app rate. This will correct the P and K shortages.

In the micro’s, it’s Boron, Manganese, Copper and Zinc - the Fearsome Foursome. Get Twenty Mule Team Laundry Soap (grocery), Manganese Sulfate (Amazon/EBay, Copper Sulfate (Amazon/EBay), and Zinc Sulfate (Amazon/Ebay) and apply each at three tablespoons/K every 60 days. Read the Micronutrient Application Guide for application specifics.

Rallydog9
Posts: 57
Joined: April 16th, 2014, 5:12 pm
Location: Kingston, MA
Grass Type: I don't know
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Rallydog's 2017 Soil Test

Post by Rallydog9 » May 20th, 2017, 7:18 pm

Thank you Andy. I'm not surprised the soil is sandy and lacking, well, everything. I'm in a new development and if you dig down maybe 6 inches it's really sandy.

Anyway, micros are on the way. I picked up a couple bags of 19-19-19 and the mag-I-cal today. Let me know the rate for the 19-19-19 when you can.

I've got some milo to use for the micros, do I need to space it out from the triple 19 apps by a couple weeks or can they all go down together?

Thanks again.

User avatar
andy10917
Posts: 29739
Joined: February 23rd, 2009, 10:48 pm
Location: NY (Lower Hudson Valley)
Grass Type: Emblem KBG (Front); Blueberry KBG Monostand (Back)
Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
Level: Advanced

Re: Rallydog's 2017 Soil Test

Post by andy10917 » May 20th, 2017, 8:01 pm

19-19-19 goes down at 5 lbs/K. You can add the micros to the fertilizer if you want to roll the dice, but I'd recommend the method in the Micronutrient Application Guide until you have enough experience to experiment.

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