__JT__'s soil test

[__JT__]

I have a 10,500 sf lawn (sampled 4” from twenty spots). I’m going on 3 years as a lawn enthusiast. I renovated the lawn with the help of this site. I mulch mow about every five days. I have an irrigation system, but use it sparingly. The disease I tend to get is red thread in the spring. My ph has come up a few points (5.6 to 5.9) over the past few years, and I hope that may curtail the red thread out breaks (as well as Serenade applications + cracked corn). For organics, I do an application of Bay State in late spring and also in late summer (week before Labor Day), a mid-June ap of turkey litter, and mulch mow a lot of oak leaves…however the lion’s share of that is in back yard. All for trace element recommendations…Thanks!!!!

[andy10917]

You have a very, very sandy soil at a TEC of around 3.5, and even that is being raised by a OM% of around 3 -- I can't even guess how low it would be without the (mediocre) OM. Suffice it to say that you are probably losing lots of nutrients to leaching. It will not change without getting that OM% up to the 5-neighborhood, which is only gonna happen without a boatload and a half of continuous OM attention.

All of the cations are short - that includes Calcium, Magnesium and Potassium. That means 9 lbs/K of good calcitic lime (Encap/SoluCal/Mag-I-Cal) mixed with 2 lbs/K of Epsom Salts, and applied at 11lbs/K. Every 90 days. Also apply 2 lbs/K of Sulfate of Potash ("SOP") monthly - it's not the easiest thing to locate.

Phosphorus is fine.

Iron is somewhat low - this can be addressed with Bay State fertilizer or Milorganite as your Nitrogen source, applied monthly.

In the micro's, you're short in Boron, Manganese and Zinc. That's Twenty Mule Team laundry soap from the grocery and both Zinc Sulfate and Manganese Sulfate from Amazon/EBAY. Three tablespoons/K each every 60 days, as described in the Micronutrient Application Guide.

[__JT__]

Thanks Andy!!!!! I appreciate it.

I was surprised about the TEC value. I’ve gotten previous tests from my local extension (UMass), and three years straight it was @8. I think my sample method is solid (use a pro plugger and took from a lot of points), but definitely double check the depth next year. I remember when they dug the foundation for my garage, it looked like beach sand. I’m definitely motivated to keep shredding those oak leaves…which I get a lot of…