ClintB 2020 Soil Test

[ClintB]

Hello fellow turf nuts. Been off the forum for a couple years with moving and life changes but back and ready to get after it.
moved into a new house this year that I plan to be at for the next 10-15 years and going to be focusing on the front yard (where my soil test is from) and planning a fall 2020 reno to a monostand of KBG of the darkest variety I can find (suggestions? I did a bewitched monostand and a blend of Blueberry, Prosperity, and Bewitched before). I still have my John Deere 260B that I am planning to maintain it at 7/8 of a inch after establishment. I have done a reno before and am familiar with soil tests. I have no issue procuring whatever fertilizers I need. The front is about 2500 sq feet and within my budget to do whatever I need. I have no issues calculating sprays with my backpack sprayer and am up for tackling micronutrients right away. Feel free to bring on the work, I enjoy this hobby. Testing was done with multiple samples from 3-4 inches down to ATY standards using Logan Labs.



I was a bit surprised by the high TEC of 23.06. I will be doing the jar test to confirm this as soon as it stops raining but it should be as my sampling was done well with multiple samples mixed. Definitely not sandy but I had a lawn before with a TEC of 15 before and it seemed similar. So far the soil is a bit sticky when digging, but is draining fairly well and not hard (but I haven't been here that long to see it when it is very dry). I am thinking that I will be adding calcium to increase the ratio to magnesium (but not sure how much). At 7.2 PH my iron availability is lowered so I will be using Milorganite at half rate with urea mixed in to increase my nitrogen supplementation (milo doubled in price around here). I have used iron sprays in the past so I may start doing that again. I will try and increase the organic matter but that is a long term goal. In the short term phosphorus, potassium are the big things to fix.

Looking forward to seeing if I had a ballpark idea of what to do. Wanted to take a shot at it before I got the input. Very much appreciate what you do and looking forward to hearing your suggestions. Thanks guys!

[andy10917]

I've seen far worse than that...

Yeah, it's a heavy soil, and the issue centers around that Magnesium number. We can try to displace it, but that's a lot of Magnesium! There is some potential to lower the pH a bit with continued use.

The OM% is good but not great, but the heavy soil nature is holding nutrients just fine.

Let's apply Fast-Acting Gypsum at the heavy bag rate every 60 days. We'll leave the Potassium alone as the raw number is fine - if any Potassium gets displaced, we'll get it in the future.

Get Triple Superphosphate (0-46-0,"TSP") and apply monthly at 2 lbs/K.

Your recipe for a Nitrogen source is fine.

The Iron level is fine, but mostly unavailable.

In the micro's, it's Boron and Zinc that are short. 3 Tablespoons/K each of Twenty Mule Team laundry soap and Zinc Sulfate every 60 days, as outlined in the Micronutrient Application Guide.

[ClintB]

No rate given on the gypsum bags I got from the Co-op. The internet is telling me 30-40 pounds per 1000sq feet but that seems to be as a garden amendment. If I remember right 30lbs per 1k is ok. Please confirm.

Triple super phosphate is a bit expensive around here. I have 11-52-0 on hand so will be using that as a substitute.

As for the ph, it is your thought that the gypsum May displace the magnesium and lower the ph. I was under the impression the increase in calcium would bump my ph upwards. Just trying to increase my knowledge-not questioning your expertise.

Thanks!!!

(Edited for clarity)

[andy10917]

No rate given on the gypsum bags I got from the Co-op. The internet is telling me 30-40 pounds per 1000sq feet but that seems to be as a garden amendment. If I remember right 30lbs per 1k is ok. Please confirm.

That's standard garden Gypsum. If it's not pelletized it is a hot-mess to apply, and it doesn't doesn't incorporate as fast. Leave at least 80 days between apps, which means it will take longer to finish the job.

Triple super phosphate is a bit expensive around here. I have 11-52-0 on hand so will be using that as a substitute.

OK - just factor the Nitrogen into your other Nitrogen applications (you're applying 0.22 lbs/K N with the Phosphorus app),

As for the ph, it is your thought that the gypsum May displace the magnesium and lower the ph. I was under the impression the increase in calcium would bump my ph upwards. Just trying to increase my knowledge-not questioning your expertise.

You don't want to ask that question! I'll start chattering about valences, Carbonates, Sulfates and atom sizes. Calcium does affect pH by using up exchange sites, but has less effect on pH than Magnesium. Potassium has the least effect on pH than the others. So, by replacing one item in the soil with another with less effect, the pH **may** fall a couple/three tenths of a point over time.

[ClintB]

Awesome. It would be the bees knees if my ph fell enough for my iron to be available. Still doubtful but cool to think about.

Appreciate the help Andy!