ztrips fall 2017 soil test

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ztrips
Posts: 32
Joined: October 21st, 2017, 9:37 am
Location: Georgetown, KY
Grass Type: Falcon IV Tall Fescue
Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
Level: Some Experience

ztrips fall 2017 soil test

Post by ztrips » October 30th, 2017, 10:53 am

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2 samples, front yard and back. 55k sq ft total, evenly split. I have been laying down 1/2 bag rate Milo almost monthly this year. Lawn is tall fescue, mainly Falcon IV. Mow weekly (or when needed) at 3.5" most of the time.

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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: ztrips fall 2017 soil test

Post by andy10917 » October 30th, 2017, 7:53 pm

Please make sure to get this post entered as a link in the Soil Test Interpretations thread. Things are closing down for the Winter in the ST6 soil test area (working on winter projects for the site) 10/31. Get it in under the wire...

ztrips
Posts: 32
Joined: October 21st, 2017, 9:37 am
Location: Georgetown, KY
Grass Type: Falcon IV Tall Fescue
Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: ztrips fall 2017 soil test

Post by ztrips » October 31st, 2017, 12:04 pm

I know these are not Logan tests, but I had testing done in 2015. It looks like things are much better now than back then.
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ztrips
Posts: 32
Joined: October 21st, 2017, 9:37 am
Location: Georgetown, KY
Grass Type: Falcon IV Tall Fescue
Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: ztrips fall 2017 soil test

Post by ztrips » October 31st, 2017, 12:07 pm

Image

Image

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ken-n-nancy
Posts: 2571
Joined: July 17th, 2014, 3:58 pm
Location: Bedford, NH
Grass Type: Front: KBG (Bewitched+Prosperity); Side: Bewitched KBG; Back: Fine Fescue Blend + Prosperity
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Experienced

Re: ztrips fall 2017 soil test

Post by ken-n-nancy » October 31st, 2017, 11:18 pm

I'm curious as to the background on this soil -- what is the history of it? How long have you been maintaining a lawn there?

As a separate question, do you have interest in addressing micronutrients?

(I hope so, otherwise you basically just need to find a fork to put in that soil...)


ztrips
Posts: 32
Joined: October 21st, 2017, 9:37 am
Location: Georgetown, KY
Grass Type: Falcon IV Tall Fescue
Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: ztrips fall 2017 soil test

Post by ztrips » November 1st, 2017, 5:50 am

Land was primarily horse pasture, for probably 20 years before it was developed (developed 10 years ago or so). I'm guessing it was tobacco or corn before horses. I've been here 9 years. Started off serious but realized it was a lot of turf to try and keep perfect. Had a few years in the middle that I didn't keep on top of it, but last 2 years have had the time and $$ to stay active and pay attention. Primary fert early on was alfalfa pellets, corn meal, bone meal, etc. organics. Made the move to milo 3-4 years ago but only recently started getting down enough to keep the turf happy. The Home Depot people think I'm insane when I go to pick the stuff up all the time. Need to find a more cost effective/bulk method for next year. This is the first year I really used herbicides effectively as well, looking forward to that paying off next year. Being surrounded on 4 sides with undeveloped land makes it tough to battle invasives, really need to have a super dense and healthy turf.

Yes, I'm interested in micronutrients as well as getting the entire biome balanced and happy. I've been a marine/reef fish tank hobbiest for 25 years, keeping plenty of hard to thrive corals. It was like a light bulb when I realized my turf was just a giant system like that.

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ken-n-nancy
Posts: 2571
Joined: July 17th, 2014, 3:58 pm
Location: Bedford, NH
Grass Type: Front: KBG (Bewitched+Prosperity); Side: Bewitched KBG; Back: Fine Fescue Blend + Prosperity
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Experienced

Re: ztrips fall 2017 soil test

Post by ken-n-nancy » November 1st, 2017, 12:10 pm

Thanks for providing the history on that soil. I'm not an ST6 member, so my impressions aren't an official interpretation, but at least as far as macronutrients and major cations go, whatever you've been doing has been working great! We've been working on improving our soil since we joined the site over 3 years ago, and you're already ahead of where we are after 3 years of soil amendments!

Keep up the good work!

The ST6 crew will be able to provide advice on micronutrients to fine-tune that good soil even further.

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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: ztrips fall 2017 soil test

Post by andy10917 » November 3rd, 2017, 8:24 pm

I don't see much to do with this soil - a tweak here and there but that's it...

You've got a medium loam with high Phosphorus numbers but it's not going to be an issue. The other ratios look good to excellent.

To tweak it, I'd use Milorganite to raise the small amount that the Iron needs to go, or you could add Ferrous Sulfate. It's just a small shortage in the Front and the pH will be OK for Ferrous Sulfate to work well. The Sulfates in the Ferrous Sulfate will be nice also - the Sulfur is toward the low end of what I like to see.

In the micro's, Boron, Copper and Zinc are short somewhat. Get Twenty Mule Team Laundry Soap (grocery), Copper Sulfate (Amazon/EBay), and Zinc Sulfate (Amazon/Ebay) and apply each at three tablespoons/K every 60 days during the growing season. Read the Micronutrient Application Guide for application specifics.

ztrips
Posts: 32
Joined: October 21st, 2017, 9:37 am
Location: Georgetown, KY
Grass Type: Falcon IV Tall Fescue
Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: ztrips fall 2017 soil test

Post by ztrips » November 3rd, 2017, 8:48 pm

Awesome. Looking forward to next growing season! I've read the "MAG", but mixing this one milo bag at a time is going to be painful. I usually put down 12 bags at a time for normal feeding, and that is half rate so I try to feed monthly. I have a 100lbs spreader I pull around, are there options to try and mix the micros in the spreader? Or maybe I just try to mix one at a time and load the spreader with 3 at a time. Just looking for ways to scale this.. 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: ztrips fall 2017 soil test

Post by andy10917 » November 3rd, 2017, 8:54 pm

You're too literal - the Milorganite does not have to be applied at bag rate. The idea is to have enough Milorganite to spread the micro's evenly -- that's all.

ztrips
Posts: 32
Joined: October 21st, 2017, 9:37 am
Location: Georgetown, KY
Grass Type: Falcon IV Tall Fescue
Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: ztrips fall 2017 soil test

Post by ztrips » November 3rd, 2017, 8:57 pm

Ah!!! That makes more sense. ;)

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