FstLaneUA's 2020 Soil Test

Learn how improving your soil can lead to a better looking lawn
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fstlaneua
Posts: 13
Joined: April 14th, 2019, 6:40 pm
Location: Halfmoon, NY
Grass Type: 1/3 Kentucky Blue, 1/3 Fescue and 1/3 Perennial Rye
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Novice

FstLaneUA's 2020 Soil Test

Post by fstlaneua » March 17th, 2020, 2:29 pm

Hi all!

Hope everyone had a great winter! I recently received my 2nd lab results back from Logan Labs and compiled them against 2019. Here is where we stand:

Image

Last year I followed the following regiment:
  • April - GrubEx
  • Early May/Mid-June/Late July - Sulfate of Potash + Borax + Milorganite
  • August - Overseed with SS5000 Sunny Mixture + watering schedule
  • Used some peat moss during overseed process
  • Used some weed-b-gone 2-3 times

Looks like things are improving.

Anyone have any thoughts/concerns?

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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: FstLaneUA's 2020 Soil Test

Post by andy10917 » March 17th, 2020, 2:45 pm

Make sure to add a link in the "Soil Test Interpretation Queue" pointing to this thread - that's where I look each evening to see who's waiting...

fstlaneua
Posts: 13
Joined: April 14th, 2019, 6:40 pm
Location: Halfmoon, NY
Grass Type: 1/3 Kentucky Blue, 1/3 Fescue and 1/3 Perennial Rye
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Novice

Re: FstLaneUA's 2020 Soil Test

Post by fstlaneua » March 17th, 2020, 3:05 pm

Thank you Andy. Link added.

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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: FstLaneUA's 2020 Soil Test

Post by andy10917 » March 18th, 2020, 6:10 pm

Did you do anything more than some peat moss during overseeding for the OM?

fstlaneua
Posts: 13
Joined: April 14th, 2019, 6:40 pm
Location: Halfmoon, NY
Grass Type: 1/3 Kentucky Blue, 1/3 Fescue and 1/3 Perennial Rye
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Novice

Re: FstLaneUA's 2020 Soil Test

Post by fstlaneua » March 18th, 2020, 8:32 pm

andy10917 wrote:
March 18th, 2020, 6:10 pm
Did you do anything more than some peat moss during overseeding for the OM?
No sir. Just mowed the lawn (bagged it), put down seed everywhere, and covered the particularly bare areas with peat moss and nothing else.


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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: FstLaneUA's 2020 Soil Test

Post by andy10917 » March 21st, 2020, 4:16 pm

FstLaneUA, I see changes in the soil composition that cannot be explained by your published regimen. Listen, I'm not here to be the police (you can do whatever you want to), but in reviewing your postings from last year, I see a question about the use of 19-19-19, and the changes I see would map pretty well to the use of that. I'm OK with whatever you choose to do, but I need to understand what's been done in order to build a plan for 2020...

Did you use stuff that is not listed in what you posted as your 2019 nutrients?

OK, I'm going ahead and using what you said you did -- this may need adjustment if you forgot to post ingredients from last year.

I see a soil that changed very little in structure - the TEC is nearly identical, and the OM% moved from the weakest number of 2019 to still a very weak number, and well-within the sampling error rate. You can ignore it if you wish, but the money and nutrients that you're buying will leach out of that soil very quickly until some part of the budget and effort goes to an aggressive OM campaign. Just sayin'...

There is some evidence that the natural processes that will some day make that soil/fill come back to the natural pH of the Halfmoon area - but again, it could be the use of nutrients not in your list. The drop of 7.7 to 7.3 is larger than I'd expect for a single year.

In the cations, I do see a significant rise in Potassium, but it's still years away from what we'd like to see. Good on the Potassium work! The Calcium and Magnesium essentially stayed flat, and that's good and what I wanted to see happen. They are so flat that it's tough to point at sampling errors as the source of the discrepancies I see overall. Stay with the 2 lbs/K of SOP monthly April to September (including September).

The biggest surprise is the Phosphorus. A jump from 237 -> 340 is a 50% increase from a test that isn't showing much sampling variance. I simply cannot explain it from your published list of nutrient applications.

The Iron level also rose a surprising amount, and while the Iron still isn't available much at pH 7.3, it's a step in the right direction if the pH naturally continues to track lower as natural processes move the soil toward the natural soil of the area.

In the micro's, continue with the Boron applications you did last year - again, they are better but have a long way to go. Next year we'll add Copper and Zinc to the mix, but not yet.

For Nitrogen, use Milorganite at bag rate monthly, or Urea at 2 lbs/K montly. Urea is cheap, but Milorganite will supply some chelated Iron that will help you with lawn color.

Please get back to me with any nutrient applications that were omitted from your previous list -- this plan will not work properly if there are other sources of nutrients that I didn't consider...

fstlaneua
Posts: 13
Joined: April 14th, 2019, 6:40 pm
Location: Halfmoon, NY
Grass Type: 1/3 Kentucky Blue, 1/3 Fescue and 1/3 Perennial Rye
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Novice

Re: FstLaneUA's 2020 Soil Test

Post by fstlaneua » March 21st, 2020, 7:21 pm

You are correct. After your post I dug deep in my brain and I did forget that I did purchase some Urea in October after I had started the overseed process. So...SOP, Miloganite, Borox, Peatmoss, Urea & Weed-B-Gone...that's all I purchased last year.

My sample is taken from 6-7 spots each year around my .5 acre lot (two spots front yard, two spots on each side of the house and 2-3 spots in back) and is all mixed together in one 1 gallon bag and shipped to LL.

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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: FstLaneUA's 2020 Soil Test

Post by andy10917 » March 21st, 2020, 7:49 pm

OK. Then your plan is fine, and the Phosphorus jump and Iron jump are wild outliers without an explanation. Go for it.

fstlaneua
Posts: 13
Joined: April 14th, 2019, 6:40 pm
Location: Halfmoon, NY
Grass Type: 1/3 Kentucky Blue, 1/3 Fescue and 1/3 Perennial Rye
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Novice

Re: FstLaneUA's 2020 Soil Test

Post by fstlaneua » April 5th, 2020, 10:44 am

Noticed something while walking my yard yesterday. Where I put down peatmoss for overseeding, I now have actual moss growing. I got a decent amount of it all over the yard (front, back, doesn't matter). Thoughts?

Image

Image

User avatar
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: FstLaneUA's 2020 Soil Test

Post by andy10917 » April 5th, 2020, 11:38 am

Moss is opportunistic, and is mostly found where conditions don't favor higher-order plants like grass to grow well.

Use 3-4 oz of Dawn dishwashing liquid per gallon of water, and spray (with a backpack or pump-up sprayer) the dilution onto the moss every 10-14 days - it will turn brown and then die. Then find out why grass doesn't do well in that location, and correct the problem(s). The Dawn treatment is temporary, and the Moss will return if conditions favor the Moss.

fstlaneua
Posts: 13
Joined: April 14th, 2019, 6:40 pm
Location: Halfmoon, NY
Grass Type: 1/3 Kentucky Blue, 1/3 Fescue and 1/3 Perennial Rye
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Novice

Re: FstLaneUA's 2020 Soil Test

Post by fstlaneua » April 5th, 2020, 1:39 pm

The moss seems pretty dang specific to areas that I overseeded and covered in peatmoss. Areas where I just overseeded, I don't seem to see the moss.

Does it have to be dawn or can it be any dishwashing liquid? Just clarifying.

Thanks for the tip.

User avatar
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: FstLaneUA's 2020 Soil Test

Post by andy10917 » April 5th, 2020, 5:02 pm

I have no idea why it's specific to the area that you applied peat moss to - I've never seen that in 47 years of doing lawn care as a hobby.
Does it have to be dawn or can it be any dishwashing liquid? Just clarifying.
I have no idea about other dishwashing liquids - I put down Dawn in my recommendations because I have tested and used it for years, so I know it's safe and how much to use. I have no idea about the ingredients, safety and application rate of the store brand dishwashing liquid in any member's grocery store.

fstlaneua
Posts: 13
Joined: April 14th, 2019, 6:40 pm
Location: Halfmoon, NY
Grass Type: 1/3 Kentucky Blue, 1/3 Fescue and 1/3 Perennial Rye
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Novice

Re: FstLaneUA's 2020 Soil Test

Post by fstlaneua » April 5th, 2020, 8:55 pm

Understood. Thank you.

fstlaneua
Posts: 13
Joined: April 14th, 2019, 6:40 pm
Location: Halfmoon, NY
Grass Type: 1/3 Kentucky Blue, 1/3 Fescue and 1/3 Perennial Rye
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Novice

Re: FstLaneUA's 2020 Soil Test

Post by fstlaneua » October 31st, 2020, 11:46 pm

Update time. I've finished off my yearly plan with urea and will just do another leaf mowing/mulching session if the snow holds off and then wait till it's time to do the 2021 soil analysis in the spring.

So far I'm happy with the results!

Image

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