robmorren2's Sept2020 Soil Test

[robmorren2]

results below (used the Logan Labs submission sheet from the site and used soil from the 4" range):




These samples are from problem areas in my lawn where I had pool construction equipment compact and damage the lawn. I was able to get TTTF to grow, but it stressed (some brown/yellowish areas, some died completely) during the summer while the other areas (not affected by construction) stayed healthy and dark green.

Thanks!

Rob

[robmorren2]

Additional info ...

Northwest Indiana, near South Bend. Turf Type Tall Fescue. Backyard area is about 6,000 sqft. I don't have irrigation (which is why I went with TTTF), but I do move sprinklers around regularly. Subdivision lot, built in early 90's. Recently sprayed BLSC and Kelp help. I keep the grass as tall as the mower will cut (4" is what the setting says), and I mow regularly so I'm never taking off more than 1/3. Currently relieving compaction manually with a spade fork in the problem areas. I'm looking for the "best" approach (don't mind putting in some work or spending a little money, this lawn has become my new challenge as I enter my mid-30's and life slows down!)

[andy10917]

Alright, I get around one of these a year - this year it took until September to receive one.

Someone comes along and posts a soil test, and says "I'm willing to do the work and spend the money, and I'm up for the challenge", and I go through the analysis, and the results come back and say...

NADA needed.

Yes, there are a few things that could be tweaked a bit, but nothing is wrong at the gross level.

For tweaking, the organic matter level is 3.92%, which is at the very high end of "mediocre" and almost at "OK but not great". Regular additions of compost, peat moss and mulched Fall leaves (free!) will move you toward the 5% level I strive for.

The pH is at 7.0, which is a teensy bit high - any higher and Iron availability would become an issue. Don't apply any Lime or item that will raise pH.

In the micro's, Boron needs a tap. Do you want to start dealing with that this year?

One last warning: do not post anything about your physical location at the detailed level - other members here will arrive at your address under cover of night and steal your soil...

[robmorren2]

Wow, in some ways that's disappointing news, lol. With Big Ten football being postponed this fall, I was ready to use my Saturdays doing obnoxious yard tweaks and amendments

I have a local environmental center that offers leaf compost. Should I look at adding that? And do I just cast it around with a shovel? Any worry of bringing weed seeds in with it?

And Boron -- sure! What do I do there?

Also, another thank you. I've been taking tips and suggestions off this board for a few years and apparently it's making a difference -- or at least keeping me from ruining the good soil I was blessed with

[MorpheusPA]

I also have an environmental center that offers compost! It kills plants on contact and has been documented as taking out an entire community vegetable garden. Including the brassicas.

I'm going to recommend a "no" on that one unless you have sure and certain knowledge that the compost is good stuff from others. Then it becomes a "yes." If it's a yes, use as much as you can get your greedy little hands on--a quarter inch at a time, every six weeks during the active growing season (for you, April, June, August, and October) maximum. That gives it time to work in before the next load goes down.

For a lawn your size, that's...tonnage, so do what you realistically can. Good compost shouldn't have weed seeds, but I'm going to tell you right now, it's going to. Plan on killing weeds because that's life.

[robmorren2]

Morpheus -- what are my other options (I don't have any references for the leaf compost). Andy mentioned mulched leaves, but I only have one small tree, and it's in my front yard (I mainly tend to the backyard). I know he mentioned peat moss, but I have no experience with that and wouldn't know where to get it. The bulk places I've visited up here have screened top soil, leaf compost, and mulches -- I haven't seen peat moss offered.

Thanks!

[andy10917]

I'm not sure why you're limiting yourself to "bulk supply" places. I get compressed peat moss bales from HD, Lowe's and other local garden stores/outlets for a 1+ acre lawn. I can drag/carry a bale to a point in the yard, bust it open and spread it easily in the area. With bulk supply places it will all be in one spot.

[MorpheusPA]

You can get a small amount of the compost and try it out, certainly! Price becomes the issue. Around here, it's $10 for what you can haul, up to a flatbed truck's worth. If you bring the truck, it's worth it. If you only take a small amount, it isn't (of course, the compost isn't worth it to begin with, but...)

So always price compare.

Most wood mulches are out. Too slow, too expensive, not worth your time. Sometimes you might know a local carpenter or of a local carpentry shop. If they work unprocessed wood (processed wood has too many chemicals to keep bugs away that are not good for you or the lawn), they pay to get the sawdust hauled. They may let you have it free. Take it if so. Spread up to a quarter inch deep. Sawdust takes forever to decay, but that's not a problem (it's effectively all carbon, no nitrogen, and relies on fungi and nitrogen-fixing bacteria to rot off, which takes a while).

Many of us feed with soybean meal from a grain mill, farmer's co-op, and so on. I usually do, but this was an odd year for me due to COVID-19. I went with Milorganite, Organic Choice, and synthetics instead; stuff I could have delivered to the door while I inspected the delivery person for zombie bites. It adds to the OM content over time and also will help anything else you add (like the sawdust) decay. 15 pounds of soybean meal per thousand square feet delivers the equivalent of 1 pound of nitrogen per thousand, just like a standard synthetic.

People will argue about amounts and equivalencies and nitrogen not mattering for days. I just drop 15# per thousand on a slightly shifted schedule four times yearly and shrug (plus a fifth synthetic in November when growth stops). The lawn looks fantastic. This is not arguable.

Leaves are great, but are not the end-all, be-all. I have three trees, live 3rd from the top of a huge hill, in a windy area, and lose almost all of mine, so I feel your pain. I mow in what I can and accept the things I cannot change. If you can import Other People's Leaves (OPL), great. Just try to get them from lawns that are relatively weed-free and that don't have infestations of chartreuse-colored P. annua. You will pay for that mistake for years. I've imported my mother's by going over, doing the raking and blowing, mowing them up, and exporting them to my property. Bag by bag, then mowing them back in. She has a grove of trees in her backyard, so she appreciates the work. 120 bags or so of chopped leaves later, I'm exhausted, but the lawn has 2" of very finely chopped leaf mass on it.

Peat moss is great. It's incredibly slow to break down (if one can say it really breaks down much at all--it kind of works in, really). Again, if the price is right, great. If it's not in your budget, no problem.

Even the smallest things can go on the lawn. Coffee grounds are great. Just toss them on the lawn rather than in the garbage. Hurl weeds onto the lawn instead of the garbage and mow them in (if they're not seeding out). Toss dying flowers onto the grass and mow them in. Dying garden plants, ditto. My entire garden eventually cycles back into the soil every year and nothing useful leaves the property if I can manage it--larger branches being an exception.

And I'm sure other people have a thousand other things to suggest.

[MorpheusPA]

Oh, I forgot the absolute cheapest, most important of all. Because it's obvious and something we all do.

Mulch mow. Always mulch mow. Never let a single grass blade leave your property. Unless you have a disease where the grass has to be collected, or certain weeds where collection is recommended, mulch mow every time you mow. The grass loves it, the soil loves it, and the worms love it.

[ken-n-nancy]

results below (used the Logan Labs submission sheet from the site and used soil from the 4" range):

... I'm looking for the "best" approach (don't mind putting in some work or spending a little money, this lawn has become my new challenge as I enter my mid-30's and life slows down!)

Umm. Ignore what Andy said. I think the "best" approach would be for you to get a small bulldozer and scrape off the top 6 inches of that soil, load it into dump trucks, and send them to my house in New Hampshire. They can just dump it out on the front lawn and we'll spread it out here. Then, you can grow grass in your subsoil in order to have a "new challenge." Your subsoil will still be a couple notches better than the native soil in our lawn.

You're going to tell me that there aren't rocks in it, either, aren't you?

More proof about why it was smart for most of the farmers to move out of New Hampshire in the 1800s and head to the midwest...

[andy10917]

K&N: New Hampshire soil is similar to Connecticut soil, but Connecticut soil has special characteristics for growing Poison Ivy. When I lived there I was told that CT soil is "2/3 rock and 1/3 poison ivy, or 2/3 poison ivy and 1/3 rock".

[andy10917]

With Big Ten football being postponed this fall, I was ready to use my Saturdays doing obnoxious yard tweaks and amendments

Actually, you're in luck - you don't have to be depressed by being clobbered by Ohio State while you do those tweaks. Fair Warning: rabid Ohio State fanatic here...

[robmorren2]

More proof about why it was smart for most of the farmers to move out of New Hampshire in the 1800s and head to the midwest...

My subdivision was built in the middle of fields that rotate between corn and soybeans. My friend's family owns the surrounding fields and he's the 7th generation who has farmed it. I'm guessing the 100+ years of farming was good for my dirt, but I'm going to pretend that I had something to do with it

[robmorren2]

With Big Ten football being postponed this fall, I was ready to use my Saturdays doing obnoxious yard tweaks and amendments

Actually, you're in luck - you don't have to be depressed by being clobbered by Ohio State while you do those tweaks. Fair Warning: rabid Ohio State fanatic here...

Yup, I'm a Michigan fan. Luckily, Northern Indiana is mostly a mix of Notre Dame and Michigan fans -- not too many Ohio State fans. So, the Michigan fans and Notre Dame fans argue about who is better and pretend we're relevant. In reality, we're both getting dusted by the Ohio States and Alabamas of the wold

[andy10917]

Yup, I'm a Michigan fan.

Oh, Rob, I'm so sorry. My condolences, and wishes that in your next life you get to root for a real football team.

[robmorren2]

Lol. I'm just glad I got to see one (shared) National Championship in my lifetime. Who is your team Andy?

[andy10917]

Ohio State. Rabid fan (and lived in the University area for three years) since the late 1970's. Unlikely but true - I married a Michigan girl - Novembers can be "interesting".

[robmorren2]

I was born in Michigan, and I was in elementary school during the Fab Five years -- so I'm pretty much a lifer. Honestly, I've basically conceded to Ohio State. I just have to hope momentum swings back some day like it was during the OSU/Cooper years in the 90, before Tressell and Meyer put a stranglehold on things. I'm reduced to focusing on beating Notre Dame and Michigan State, and hoping that Big Ten Football can catch up with the SEC/Clemson.

[robmorren2]

Ok, back to the lawn. I finally found a feed mill. 50lb sacks of soybean meal for $9.75/each. Based on previous posts about SBM that seemed like a good price so I grabbed a couple of bags.

How much should I put down? I already have a decent organic material percentage, so I assume that means I can be a little more aggressive without risk of being too stinky? At least that was what I gathered from other posts. Would 100lbs on 6k sqft be too much?

Also, do I still put regular slow release fertilizer down? I'm not totally clear on the difference between, say, 28-0-3 slow release fert, Cornmeal/Soybean meal/peat moss, and milorganite. Is NPK basically just grass food with no soil benefits while CBM/SBM/PM is geared more towards soil improvement? And where does milorganite fit in? Previously I thought I was helping my soil by using milorganite, and maybe I should have been using SBM or something the whole time.

Also, Andy ... You mentioned me needing to address Boron levels somehow?

Thanks once again!!

[andy10917]

Soybean Meal (SBM) behaves as a 7-2-1 NPK fertilizer. Therefore it takes about 14 lbs/K to get a single lb of Nitrogen applied. I wouldn't apply that and another fertilizer at the same time. However, you can alternate them. SBM is more than just a fertilizer though -- the microherd and earthworms love it.

For the Boron, get a box of Twenty Mule Team laundry soap from the grocery store, and apply it at 3 tablespoons/K every 60 days, as outlined in the Micronutrient Application Guide.