jfd.lew post reno soil test 2021

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jfd.lew
Posts: 400
Joined: August 18th, 2010, 9:02 am
Location: Ankeny, IA
Grass Type: Betwitche/Midnight/Blueberry
Lawn Size: 20000-1 acre
Level: Experienced

jfd.lew post reno soil test 2021

Post by jfd.lew » July 27th, 2021, 1:57 pm

Hey all, havent been around for a while.

Decided to get back in the swing and get the lawn going again. Here is my soil test for 2021.

Front yard - roughly 3200 sq ft
Back Yard - roughly 9800 sq ft

The front yard was reno'd to a 30% Bewitched, 30% Blueberry, 40% Midnight turf in 2019. It typically does great, but this year it's not as green and lush as last year. It's much thinner than I would like and not nearly as dark green as I would have expected. Even with foliar iron and Milo.

The back yard is builder northern mix sod. The top half of the backyard does pretty decent. It grows fast and thick and is dark green. The lower part looks terrible. It's thin and light green/yellowish. The back yard test is from the lower half.

Typical regimen right now is Milo every week at half bag rate + foliar iron spray every two weeks. Calcium and pH are high so iron isn't very available to my lawn.

Thanks!

Image

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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: jfd.lew post reno soil test 2021

Post by andy10917 » August 7th, 2021, 7:40 am

Jeff, I'm sorry to say that I don't see a ton of stuff wrong that explains the thinning and color - you're doing a rather aggressive program, and while there are some spot shortages that we can address, there are no glaring shortages that cause "ah-ha" explanations.

That's a heavy soil at a TEC in the mid-twenties. It has mediocre OM numbers that are somewhat handled by the heavy nature of the overall soil. The Calcium and Magnesium beg the question of whether you've got a calcareous soil, but it' not terrible.

Two ideas come to mind - you could put the Milo on hold for a bit and replace it with a balanced fertilizer like 10-10-10, 19-19-19, etc monthly and see if you get a reaction. If you do that, post the NPK of the selected fertilizer for an application rate. An even better idea would be to do the aggressive Fall Fertilizer regimen this Fall and tell us how it reacts to it.

You can keep up the foliar Iron if you'd like.

I don't know if you've done micronutrients in the past, but there are some shortages, and one (Copper in the back yard) is quite pronounced (it's low enough that it is undetectable). Do you want to tackle the micro's?

Since there is nothing glaring that explains your symptoms, spend a bit of time considering the other elements of your practices (water and mowing), and make sure that they haven't changed much.

User avatar
jfd.lew
Posts: 400
Joined: August 18th, 2010, 9:02 am
Location: Ankeny, IA
Grass Type: Betwitche/Midnight/Blueberry
Lawn Size: 20000-1 acre
Level: Experienced

Re: jfd.lew post reno soil test 2021

Post by jfd.lew » August 8th, 2021, 11:00 am

Thanks Andy.

The only thing that has changed in water and mowing has been water restrictions this year, but those haven't affected me. I have always watered once or twice a week at least an inch per zone. Even with restrictions I have been able to continue that practice. I mow at 3.75-4” as needed. This summer is haven’t needed to mow much at all.

I have a bag of 10-10-10 available right now actually. What would you suggest I do for rates?

And I have not done macros on this yard yet, so I would be up for it. Every little bit helps!

Thanks!

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: jfd.lew post reno soil test 2021

Post by andy10917 » August 8th, 2021, 11:03 am

10-10-10 goes down at 10 lb/K

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