thalaivar's Front Yard Fall 2020 Soil Test

[thalaivar]

Folks,

Posting my soil test results for interpretation.




I had posted previously in the "Lawn Renovations" forum about my approach to a partial renovation. The approach will be as given below:

Wake up grass by applying 1lb of N/1k sq ft - Milorganite down - August 9
Triangle approach to handling weeds - I think the nitrogen is just kicking in, as over the past day or two, the grass growth suddenly spurted
Hit the front yard with Momentum 4-Score.

Wait for the cleanup of the weeds. Potentially hit with either Crossbow or Triclopyr if the Wild Violets and Plantains do not get nailed by the initial go of the 4-Score.

Wait about 3 weeks for the triclopyr to dissipate.

In the meanwhile, I can start to collect the things required to start the remediation of the soil to support a potential full renovation next year.

What areas get cleaned up, I will put seed down there to atleast get some decent grass there.

[andy10917]

Please make sure to post a link to this thread in the Soil Test Interpretation Queue - that's where we look to see who is waiting, and to ensure that all tests are done in the order that they were requested.

[thalaivar]

My apologies, I thought I had posted a link in the post, viewtopic.php?f=11&t=25561

[andy10917]

That soil is EXACTLY on the line between a sandy soil and a Loam soil - I don't know if I've ever seen that before!!! The (very nice) OM level is probably propping up a soil that from a mineral basis is somewhat sandy. The end result works, though, take it!!

Do you put Lime down on a scheduled basis without testing? The Calcium/Magnesium profile would seem to indicate the use of dolomitic Lime in a way that isn't that typical of your area. Both Calcium and Magnesium are high, and Potassium very, very low.

When we see that situation, we look to the Phosphorus to see it is also low, as the simplest way to address things plays well in that scenario. We can use a balanced fertilizer - one like 10-10-10, 19-19-19, etc. That way we can get both addressed and get the Nitrogen all in one application. Pick a balanced fertilizer and post the NPK for an application rate and frequency.

The Iron is somewhat low, but made more troublesome by the pH (caused by the high Calcium/Magnesium) of 7.1, at which point Iron is getting tough to be available to plants - including grasses. You love these borderline situations, no?

In the micro's, only Boron is short. Do you want to address that in 2020?

This may all sound pretty easy, but it's not - the Potassium and Phosphorus shortages are big, and pretty unlikely to resolve in a year. If you test again in the Spring (up to you), I'll recommend a change in fertilizers - so don't stock up on tons of balanced fertilizer.

Get back to me with the NPK of the balanced fertilizer, OK?

[thalaivar]

Sir Andy(The God),

I have not really done anything in the front yard over the past 2 years apart from just basic fertilizing with Chickity Doo Doo. I don't have the actual bag handy, but I believe the N-P-K is around 5-3-2.5. I have not put any lime down at least in the past year. I did get a soil test done by the Penn State Extension a while back(2016-2017), in which the recommendation was to put lime down.

You are spot on with dolomitic lime. I only joined the forum last year so have started to pay more attention to the yard last year onwards.

I was too late to get anything done last year but since then have started to tackle the front, hence the soil test. At this point, I will commit to putting the time to understand the intricacies of managing soil which hopefully will allow me to contribute in a more meaningful way to the forum.

I have a full 50 lb bag of Milorganite along with Solu-Cal. I will hit the yard with Momentum 4-Score today and see how do the weeds do in about a weeks time.

In the meanwhile, I believe I do have to lay my hands on Sulfate of Potash to bring up the Phosphorous numbers. There is a Site One close by, will reach out to them to see if they have SOP available or not. If there are other things required, I can go there with a list. They do show some balanced 10-10-10 and 19-19-19 fertilizers available, though, all of them seem to be OOS, will call them up to find out if they have anything available.

Additionally, I know the time to start the Fall Nitrogen Regimen is fast approaching, are tackling the weeds and the regimen compatible or do I have to do them separately.

For the regimen, I also have to lay my hands on fast release urea, any pointers on where I can look around in SEPA, apart from hitting probably some farm land places in Lancaster County, PA.

I know a lot of questions, but will try to pick up things as I go through the posts and perhaps ask intelligent questions as I get the basics down first.

Thank you for your time.

[andy10917]

You don't need the SoluCal - there is no shortage of Calcium.

I believe I do have to lay my hands on Sulfate of Potash to bring up the Phosphorous number

Sulfate of Potash (0-0-50) is used for Potassium shortages, not Phosphorus.

Weeds can be controlled while on the Fall Nitrogen Regimen.

[thalaivar]

I have to get my elements correct. Given that both P and K are in need of remediation along with Boron, what type of action should I take. I am still trying to hunt around for a balanced fertilizer. The one Site One close to me, only had this balanced fertilizer.

This one looks to be a slow release one, based on the details provided in the label, not sure if that is the one I should go with or use a different one.

There is another Site One, slightly far away who seem to have a couple of other ones, will reach out to them today to find out.

[ken-n-nancy]

Usually a quick-release balanced fertilizer, typically 10-10-10, (or 13-13-13 or 15-15-15 or 20-20-20) can be purchased at a Home Depot, Lowes, or Walmart in their garden center. These will tend to be no-name brands carried and stocked by the local store and will vary from location to location. This may seem like an odd way to shop nowadays, but a phone call to the store can often find out if they have any such fertilizer available -- this stock often isn't reflected on the company web sites.

[andy10917]

Almost all big-box stores will sell it as "garden fertilizer" or "all-purpose fertilizer". It's almost always in the lower-traffic end of the aisle, but as I said, you have to look in other than the main "brand name area for lawns". Many HD stores carry it under the "Hyponex" name.

[thalaivar]

ken-n-nancy and andy,

Thank you for the pointer to look at the big box stores for the balanced fertilizer. I was able to find 10-10-10 at a Walmart. I can get a couple of bags of that fertilizer.

Based on reading other posts about addressing Boron, I should look to get the 20 Mule Team Borax and apply it along with the fertilizer. I am not sure of the the application rate. The posts usually mention 3 table spoons per 1k..

[andy10917]

10-10-10 is applied at 10 lbs/K.

Based on reading other posts about addressing Boron, I should look to get the 20 Mule Team Borax and apply it along with the fertilizer. I am not sure of the the application rate. The posts usually mention 3 table spoons per 1k..

Yes. You didn't get application rates because you didn't answer the question about whether you wanted to address the Boron shortage in 2020 (above). Make sure to read the Micronutrient Application Guide for details about applying micro's.

[ken-n-nancy]

ken-n-nancy and andy,

Thank you for the pointer to look at the big box stores for the balanced fertilizer. I was able to find 10-10-10 at a Walmart. I can get a couple of bags of that fertilizer.

Glad to hear that you found it!

[thalaivar]

What should be the application rate for the 10-10-10 fertilizer? If we are aiming for a 1lb of Nitrogen per 1k, then I will be looking at applying about 17lbs for my lot. If there is a different application rate, please do let me know.

Thank you!

[andy10917]

I posted the application rate in my 7:19am post this morning --- it's 10 lbs/K.

[thalaivar]

My bad, I missed the very first line in the post. What is the frequency of this application? Do I do this till the first frost and secondly, what should be my course of action during the winter months.

Once again, thank you!

[andy10917]

Where you live, I would do September and October, and then stop.

what should be my course of action during the winter months.

Stare at the lawn, and drink heavily.

[thalaivar]

Cool, can do the first thing, not sure if I can manage the second thing .

Some observations till today. As written in my earlier notes, I sprayed the yard with Momentum 4-Score on August 25th, with the measurements being approximately 1.7 fl.oz. per 1k sq.ft. The net application was a little bit more than that. I used up about 2 and a half gallons of the mixture across the entire yard.

That being said, there are some places where the Wild Violets have been completely decimated and there are some places where they haven't even flinched. It is possible that I missed spraying those spots, can't say with certainty, as there are spots roughly 4-6 inches away from those Wild Violets that have yellowing leaves from other weeds. Another theory I have is, could it be that the Wild Violets just started growing potentially from the "wake up" application of the Milorganite and when I had sprayed that they were too small to have taken the herbicide and now have reached a size where they are big enough to be noticeable. As of the time of this post, this is the 5th day after spraying the yard.

So it looks like it is possible to tackle a bunch of level 1 and level 2 weeds in a single shot with Momentum 4-Score, if the growing conditions are right. Maybe the "triangle approach" could be updated to reflect this.

At this point, do I wait or give it a second go around with the Momentum 4-Score?

[andy10917]

I wouldn't apply again yet. Triclopyr works on a different process than Level 1 herbicides, and the kill is 10-14 days. We have written about this hundreds of times. This is from the Triangle Approach article:

The kills will be slower - often 2-3 treatments 14 days apart, with nothing visibly damaged for a long time. Stay the course - the weed killers work.

BTW, the wake-up fertilizer didn't cause the violets - the timing we recommend is exactly planned to catch the weeds when the season is causing the weeds to go back to high-growth mode. Herbicides work better when weeds are actively growing than when they are are slumbering through summer heat. Trust me - the weeds suddenly growing is proof that the timing was right,

Maybe the "triangle approach" could be updated to reflect this.

The Triangle Approach was written to help more inexperienced lawn owner, and emphasizes readily-available herbicides that can be obtained locally at big-box stores, etc. Momentum doesn't meet that criteria, so it's unlikely that I'll be modifying the Approach. That said, if it works for you, do it!!