Kaslawn Soil Test 2019

[Kaslawn]

Year 6 soil test.

The front yard is about 2,000 sf and the back is about 3,000 sf all TTTF. I have micros if needed. Thanks for all the help.

2019 soil test


2014 Test Link (very first test)
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=12838&p=206356&sid ... 63#p173509

[andy10917]

That's an unusual soil !! I don't see many like it...

It's a Loam soil with OK (not great) OM numbers in the Back, and mediocre OM in the Front. Do what you can to raise the OM content.

But there is a twist. There is a single nutrient that is the source of almost all of the challenges (not crazy, but keep reading). It's an important one too - Calcium. The Front and Back both need it, but have different scenarios. The Back lacks Calcium and has a pH of 5.4 due to the large Calcium gap - that needs good calcitic lime (Encap/Mag-I-Cal/SoluCal) at 9 lbs/K every 90 days. The Front also has a less-pronounced gap, but the much-higher Magnesium component brought the pH up to 6.7. That's a scenario where you want to add Calcium and displace Magnesium, without raising the pH. For that we use Gypsum - preferably a Rapid/Fast-Acting Gypsum. Apply it at the heavy-rate on the bag, every 90 days. Don't use Lime in the Front - it will blow the pH right out of the top of the pH Sweet Spot.

Phosphorus and Potassium are at good numbers, in both lawns.

Iron is good, as long as we manage to keep the pH in control in the Front.

For the micro's, both lawns could use some Boron and Manganese - Boron (from Twenty Mule Team laundry soap at the grocery store) and Manganese Sulfate (from Amazon/EBAY) goes down at 3 tablespoons/K every 60 days, as outlined in the Micronutrient Application Guide.

For Nitrogen, it's up to you, but I'd use Urea at 2 lbs/K or Milorganite at bag rate - either monthly except July and the first half of August.

What an interesting set of soils!!

[Kaslawn]

Thanks Andy. I thought I was making progess on the low ph in the backyard but seems I have had a setback from the 6.0 last year.

[andy10917]

I'll say it for the 1,001 time. pH is not something to try to manage - it is an indirect indicator. Get the cations right and the pH will automatically fall in line. It has to - it is the result of how much of the exchange sites are not filled by cations. Exchangeable Hydrogen fills the exchange site. Find a soil test with no exchangeable Hydrogen and the pH will be 7.0 or higher.