Post
by HoosierLawnGnome » July 6th, 2017, 9:33 am
Well, not too bad.
The soil shouldn't get in your renovation's way.
The TEC @ 10 indicates a nice loam with a good amount of exchange sites.
The OM is mediocre at best. If you are going to till in compost, incorporate as much as you can. It will be hard to "overdo" this with any realistic amount. 1 inch on 1 K isn't that much coverage.
Tilling in a lot of compost might bring that pH down just a smidge too, closer to where Bermuda REALLY likes it.
I'm not a levelling expert - but on Bermuda renovations I've always heard them say that tilling is not a good idea if you can avoid it - so heads up there on getting it level. On 2K doesn't seem like too much to get it there.
Keep working on that OM over the years - mulch mow, mulch leaves - you've probably heard it if you've been around here of course.
On to the nutrients.
Major cations are high in Calcium, showing low in Mg, and low in K - but they aren't bad. Mostly that Ca is skewing the ratio. I would like to see more K though.
You have a CRAZY high amount of Phosphorus (P). Nothing to do there.
Iron is at a healthy level, but your pH is going to get in the way of binding it up. That's another reason I'd like to work on that pH since you're already tilling.
And here's where I think you have a real opportunity: SULFUR.
The raw level itself isn't awful, but I am going to recommend tilling in a good elemental sulfur when you till up that soil and add compost. Tilling in sulfur is probably the best thing you can do for your lawn here long term since it's a great strategy for lowering pH - and your pH @ 7 is going to struggle with Iron uptake - it will free up that Iron you have and give you more options.
Finally - you'll need a good Nitrogen program. Read the Bermuda Guide of course. I will recommend urea, watered in after application of course.
So - what's the plan.
You'll need three things: elemental sulfur (or garden sulfur), urea 46-0-0, Sulfate of Potash (SOP 0-0-50), and milorganite (for now). Please make a note to use the good sulfur.
When you till it up, till it up at least 6 inches down. Mix in copious amounts of organic matter. Mix in 20 lbs / K of that elemental or garden sulfur. Till it all up and mix it well, water it well to settle it all down prior to seeding and level. Mixing in Sulfate of Potash and milorganite would also be beneficial.
Apply 1 lbs / K SOP 0-0-50 and 2 lbs / K Urea 46-0-0 when the Bermuda guide calls for feeding. This is normally every month while the turf is awake.
2 weeks off from the urea / SOP, apply milorganite at bag rate.
That's it. I'm hoping incorporating a good dose of sulfur and lots of Organic Matter into that area lowers it's pH a few tenths, but it's going to depend how much we can incorporate.
I am going to double check my sulfur recommendation for how much you can actually incorporate to get your pH down with the other gurus, but you will need a lot per K. Normally you can't put down more than 5 lbs / K an application or 10 lbs / K per year if you are surface applying it, but that all changes if you are tilling it in - you can go a lot heavier.
