Post
by MorpheusPA » March 30th, 2021, 5:28 pm
It's not bad for a first soil test, actually. Since this is your first rodeo, I tend to give line by line descriptions as we go, with recommendations summed up at the bottom for your first year. There's...surprisingly not that much to do here, unlike many we see.
EC 6.35: Probably a sandy soil. It's one that might need to be chased after a bit, so soil tests every year or two are recommended at first. Once you get a feel for how fast it changes, you'll know how often it needs to be tested.
pH 6.1: Not very useful, but people expect it. I dissect this under calcium, potassium, magnesium, and sodium below.
OM 4.4%: Good! Certainly mulch mow, mow your fall leaves in, and mow in whatever you can. You can feed organically if you want, of course. And with a low EC soil, the more the better (with a sandy soil, it's also hard to get this up very high). But it's a great place to start and a good place to be.
Sulfur 17: Completely normal. S goes all over the place and it's almost always completely normal.
Phosphorus 71: This was the kicker, it's quite low. My target is normally 200 for your soil type and pH-range. In this case, we'll use a starter fertilizer to raise this, applied as per the recommendations below. Just get the cheapest of anything that has a second number around the same as the first number like 18-24-5, 20-20-3, or something like that.
Calcium 56%: A tad short. It's not that short and I don't want to overload your lawn because you're so close to a perfect soil here. We use a humate-bound calcium for this, like Mag-I-Cal or any of the fast calcitic limes, not a cheap dolomitic limestone or cheap calcium lime. Recommendation below. I'm gliding this in a bit and don't expect to make the entire adjustment in one year, although we might.
Magnesium 19%: It looks like it's at the high end of the normal range, which would be fine, but it's a little falsified by the lower calcium. This will drift down (and still be fine) as the calcium rises a little.
Potassium 3.8%: Currently fine, although a touch short on paper. I expect this will drop with the liming a bit and we might need to tap it next year. We'll see, but it won't be much.
Sodium 1.9%: A little high but I've come to expect that after the winter we just had. It's of no current concern, just keep an eye on this. Liming should actually remove some.
In the trace/minor elements, boron and iron are both kind of low (zinc and to a lesser extent copper might-could use a tap, but that can wait). Iron is not of great concern and you add it over time anyway.
Check the FAQs for the Micronutrient application guide. If you're comfortable doing it (it's not hard, really, and in fact, it's tough to mess up), I'll add the boron recommendation below. In your case, 3 Tbsp boron from 20 Mule Team Borax (your grocery store has this in the laundry aisle) as directed below--and the Milorganite will also add some iron to your soil, along with some organic matter, and an extra feeding (which you don't need, but will certainly boost the grasses).
Recommendations:
April-ish: Apply humate calcitic fast lime at 4 pounds per thousand square feet.
May 1: Apply 3 Tbsp 20 Mule Team Borax as per the Micronutrient Application Guide.
May 25: Apply starter fertilizer at bag rate (or even a little above...)
September 1: Apply 3 Tbsp 20 Mule Team Borax as per the Micronutrient Application Guide.
Labor Day: Apply starter fertilizer at bag rate (or even a little above...)
October 1: Apply starter fertilizer at bag rate (or even a little above...)
October 15: Apply 3 Tbsp 20 Mule Team Borax as per the Micronutrient Application Guide.
Growth stoppage (after November 1): Apply any high-nitrogen fertilizer (not starter) after your last mow while the lawn is still green.
