Dargin's 2019 Soil Test

[Dargin]

This is the soil test for my landlord's home property.
The lawn is approximately 3k. It was renovated by hydroseeding 2 years ago. It is a mix of Homerun perennial rye, Salem red creeping fescue, and Blue Saphire kbg.

I've given it a couple milo apps, along with some starter for a handful of small seeded patches. I've started both SLS and kelp/humid acid/molasses applications.

The lawn looks like it's surviving, not thriving.

I don't know much about soils, but the low tec surprised me, because their soil seems heavy; it's clay.





Thanks.

[andy10917]

It's clay-like right to the surface of the soil, to your eyes? That is completely inconsistent with the test results, and with my experience with the soils near Worcester. The test results indicate a soil that is like beach sand, and the only thing propping it up to even the 3+ TEC range (very low) is the presence of a fair amount of organic matter at OM% around 4.3%.

If you took the samples at the 3"-4" depth as specified, then the "clay-like" soil would have to come almost right to the surface. The soil test says it doesn't.

I don't know how to how to proceed with recommendations if we're so very far apart on the nature of the soil.

Please provide additional information.

[Dargin]

Thanks, Andy.

Yes, to my eyes, and hands, it's definitely clay.

I'll speak with him today to get more info. If nothing useful comes from that I guess I'll take another sample.

[Dargin]

Ok. New info.

He didn't put in clay during the renovation, he said it was already clay, along with the other houses on this private street. During the renovation he applied about 1-2 inches of some sort of slurry made from stone dust, to stop weeds, he says. This was only done to about 1/2 of the lawn, and this is the area where I took a majority of the samples.

Would it make sense that my sample depth wasn't as deep as I thought, and I picked up whatever that slurry is?

Re-test?

Thank you.

[andy10917]

Would it make sense that my sample depth wasn't as deep as I thought, and I picked up whatever that slurry is?

Not really - stone dust would not show up as clay.

It's your call - I can either tell you what to do from the soil test results (which disagree with your observations), or you can one of two other things: (1) do the (free!) Soil Structure Test in the Soil Management Part 1 article and post results, or (2) get the professional "Physical Test 1" from Logan Labs. That will settle the confusion.

Let me know which way to go...

[Dargin]

If it's ok I'll do the soil structure test when I get back over there Tuesday, and I'll post the results as soon as I have them. Thank you for your patience.

[Dargin]

Hey, Andy.

Is the physical test over at 2 days, 2 hours and 2 minutes? Or can it take longer for the clay to finish settling?

Over the past 2 days about 3/4 inch of very murky water cleared up at the top, resulting in a 1/16 inch layer of clay. There's still an inch and 3/4 of murky water that's yet to settle. Let it keep going?

As it stands right now:
Sand - 1 inch
Silt - Just under a 1/2 inch
Clay - 1/16th inch...



Does this line up well with the Logan analysis, or are things still off given the amount of silt? I don't know if this qualifies as "beach sand?"

Although, this is what it looks like when mostly dried out.



Whatever the case may be, I'd like to retract my previous statement, "It's definitely clay." Good grief...

Thank you.

[andy10917]

Yeah, that lines up with the Logan test results. Don't bother keeping the test going on - the amount of clay making the water cloudy is next to nothing.

You're still in the queue - I'll probably get to your results tomorrow morning - expect it to be worse than a reading of the raw results. The TEC is so low that you're lower than the base-level minimums, and my plans expect much more than the bare minimums.

[Dargin]

Thanks, Andy.

I don't mind the bad news at all. I'm happy just knowing the test results are indeed accurate. And now I have more evidence to present when I tell him his soil is not even close to what he thought it was. That should be a fun conversation.

Looking forward to the challenge.

[andy10917]

OK, so we've established that the soil is very sandy, but has the appearance of being clay-like to you. This may be an aggregation issue and the soil "clumps" when wet. Small aggregates are good (allow for Oxygen and water to move in the soil), but large aggregates make the soil hard or difficult to work. BLSC treatments may help, perhaps well. Follow up on that.

The low TEC of 3+ means that the numbers on the "desired values" are minimums, and that isn't high enough for a quality lawn - it's just enough to keep the grass from disease or fading out. You'll want more than those numbers, if the soil will hold it. In the meantime, apply anything (free if possible that will increase the OM levels - even though you already have an OM level of 4.3. Keep it coming...

In the cations (what really controls the pH), you're deficient across the board. Apply good calcitic lime (Encap/Mag-I-Cal/SoluCal) at 9 lbs/K mixed with 2 lbs/K of Epsom Salts. Do this every 60-90 days. For Potassium, locate and apply Sulfate of Potash (SOP) at 2 lbs/K every month until September, but avoid doing it near the Lime/Epsom applications. The 5.1 pH will rise if you get the Calcium/Magnesium/Potassium to rise at the right rates. Do not substitute cheap dolomitic Lime for the quality higher-end calcitics identified.

The Phosphorus is plentiful, and that's good.

Surprisingly, the Iron levels are good, and it will be a long time before the pH rises enough to complicate that.

In the micro's, Boron and Manganese are low. Are micro's on the 2019 platter?

For Nitrogen, Worcester isn't crazy far from Quincy. If you can pull it off, get the Bay State fertilizer in quantity and apply it at bag rate every month. If that doesn't work for you (too far to travel?) then Urea applied at 2 lbs/K monthly will work - but not in July to mid-August.

Irrigate however you can - deep and infrequently.

This soil is going to take around three years to truly come around, but with BLSC, OM and the above, you should see a noticeable change during this season.

[Dargin]

Thanks a ton, Andy!

Micros are absolutely on the agenda. I have 20 Mule ready to go. I'm blanking on the manganese source at the moment.

It's interesting you mention aggregation/clumping. That might be the case. When I was prepping for seeding I felt like I had to muscle the soil more than I'm accustomed to. Although, it might just be that Im not exactly adept at recognizing soil types...

Mag-i-cal and epsom. Check and check.

Bay State has been a recurring thought lately, epecially with milo prices. I'll try to talk him into taking a trip. I hope it smells the same.

I was afraid SoP would come up. I haven't exhausted my search but I won't be surprised if I end up spending near a $100 for 50lbs shipped. Oh well. I've read enough here about the muriate form to know to steer clear of it. I'll get my hands on the good stuff somehow.

I'll stick with the Blsc. I'll search to see if it's ok to increase the frequency of the kelp/humic acid/molasses apps to build that SOM. I'm least sure about the kelp. Beyond that I'd like to get some cornmeal. I have them mulch mowing now as well.

Thanks again!

[andy10917]

Manganese can be gotten at EBay or Amazon as Manganese Sulfate (*NOT* Magnesium Sulfate!). Apply 3 tablespoons each of the Twenty Mules and Manganese Sulfate per K, as outlined in the Micronutrient Application Guide. Do that every 60 days.

[Dargin]

Got it. Thank you!

[ken-n-nancy]

I was afraid SoP would come up. I haven't exhausted my search but I won't be surprised if I end up spending near a $100 for 50lbs shipped. Oh well. I've read enough here about the muriate form to know to steer clear of it. I'll get my hands on the good stuff somehow.

Within an hour from you, and up in tax-free New Hampshire, I've been getting Sulfate of Potash (0-0-50) at Achille Agway in Milford, NH. Before you make the drive, though, call them, ask for Bruce (the ordering manager) and confirm that they have some in stock. I think it was $34.99 per 50-pound bag when I last got some. He's been ordering a pallet pretty much each year for the past 5 years, encouraged by my requests for it. I haven't talked to him this spring to get more, as I think I have enough from last year to carry me through this year.

They also have urea (46-0-0) for about $17.99 for a 50-pound bag.

TimmyG is in our general vicinity and may have an SOP source which is closer to you than Milford, NH.

[ken-n-nancy]

Oh, also, a very convenient, inexpensive source for the quality calcitic limes in New England is the "Sta-Green" Rapid Lime at Lowes. It is the SoluCal product, but re-branded in the Sta-Green (Lowes) brand. It's about $12 per bag, with a further volume discount if you buy 5 or more bags.

[Dargin]

Wow, thanks for the info, Ken-n-Nancy!

I remember reading here about "Sta-Green," but it fell off my mental radar. Thanks for reminding me. I didn't recall that it breaks down to less than half the price of Mag-i-Cal though!

Milford is a tough one for me, but at those prices I'll try to make it happen. Sounds great. I've been needing a good source for Urea too. I think I paid around the same price last fall for 5lbs...

Best I've seen for SoP is from Kelp4Less; 30lbs at just under $50 with free shipping.

Really appreciate the tips!

[Riverpilot]

Wow, thanks for the info, Ken-n-Nancy!

I remember reading here about "Sta-Green," but it fell off my mental radar. Thanks for reminding me. I didn't recall that it breaks down to less than half the price of Mag-i-Cal though!

Milford is a tough one for me, but at those prices I'll try to make it happen. Sounds great. I've been needing a good source for Urea too. I think I paid around the same price last fall for 5lbs...

Best I've seen for SoP is from Kelp4Less; 30lbs at just under $50 with free shipping.

Really appreciate the tips!

It looks like you also have a SiteOne store near you, which may have SOP, Urea, etc.. worth a call, or a stop by.

[Dargin]

I'll check them out. They're super close. Thanks! For some reason I thought they only sold to commercial businesses, but I read up some more and see that's not the case, or at least not always.

Appreciated!

[Dargin]

I contacted the local siteone. No issues selling to homeowners. He quoted me $57 for 50lbs of 0-0-50. I think that's my plan B if New Hampshire falls through. The guy said he didnt have 46-0-0. He actually called me back 15 minutes later and said he had 44-0-0.

Totally appreciated the call, but had to tell him I wasn't sure what the difference was. He said "It's only 2 numbers lower." That didnt inspire much confidence. Thanked him for the call back and told him I'd have to look it up. He sounded a tiny bit offended. I'm off to a Larry Davidian start with siteone.

44-0-0 is pretty much the opposite of what I want out of urea, right? Slow release.

[TimmyG]

Anderson's Humic Coated Urea? If so, I don't know how cost effective that would be compared to unmodified urea. But it sounds interesting, and the coating "does not act as a physical barrier to slow nitrogen release". Heck, the stuff is water soluble for spray applications.