Soil Test Interpretation for a Relative

Learn how improving your soil can lead to a better looking lawn
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CVette
Posts: 239
Joined: August 19th, 2010, 9:16 am
Location: Clifton Park - 20mi North of Albany, NY (Zone 5b)
Grass Type: Bewitched Front, Bewitched-NuGlade-Bedazzled Back
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Experienced

Soil Test Interpretation for a Relative

Post by CVette » August 19th, 2021, 6:20 pm

Hi All,
An older relative has been having issues with his lawn and we’ve completed a soil test as the first step to reseeding. Here are the details:
- Approx 15k sqft in zone 5 (Andy, he’s in Clifton Park too)
- No irrigation except Mother Nature and a hose
- Synthetic fertilizer 3 to 4 x per year, no real schedule and rain dependent
- Appears to be mostly fine fescue and weeds
- House was built in 1966 and under his care since 1978, so the lawn is mature

Problem - The front yard gets full sun and was growing thin. It was seeded last Fall after bringing in some topsoil. About 3000sqft is mostly dead now but I believe most of that is the newly seeded area. The older, established grass nearby appears dormant in this sunny area. I did not find many grubs and the remaining grass does not pull up like a carpet. It looks parched but we’ve had a very wet July. My best guess is that he did not feed the new grass enough this Spring. No sign of disease to my untrained eye. I don’t have any pictures but I can get some. The rest of the lawn gets various amounts of shade and is doing fine.

Goal - A low maintenance, green lawn and a simple program for the future. I need to select a seed mix and make a seeding plan for September (I'll probably create another topic in the cool-season grass section).

The Logan labs results are below. It says 5” sample depth but it was really 4”. "Front" is the problem area, "Back" is the rest of the yard. I had separate tests performed to see if the added topsoil or anything else indicated a soil issue in the front. I was impressed with the OM% considering he has never used organic fertilizer. Well, maybe more jealous than impressed as I’ve been hybrid organic for 11 years and his OM is at least 1% better.

Please let me know if there are any macro changes to be made. I don't expect he's interested in micros. Thanks in advance for the assistance!
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CVette
Posts: 239
Joined: August 19th, 2010, 9:16 am
Location: Clifton Park - 20mi North of Albany, NY (Zone 5b)
Grass Type: Bewitched Front, Bewitched-NuGlade-Bedazzled Back
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Experienced

Re: Soil Test Interpretation for a Relative

Post by CVette » August 27th, 2021, 8:28 pm

Right or wrong, I ordered seed today. I didn't want KBG (high input) or PR. I felt TTTF wouldn't match the fine blades of the existing lawn so I went with 100% fine fescue from SSS after looking at the NTEP reports:
30% Radar (Chewings)
40% Cardinal II (Creeping)
30% Gladiator (Hard)

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: Soil Test Interpretation for a Relative

Post by andy10917 » August 28th, 2021, 8:40 am

Typical Clifton Park soil...

The TEC indicates a soil that's quite sandy, with a mediocre to OK OM%. The pH is quite low, As would be expected, these results lead to general across-the-board deficiencies, There is no real difference in plans between the Back and Front.

Since you asked for a simple plan, the way forward is to apply a good calcitic Lime at 9 lbs/K mixed with 2 lbs/K of Epsom Salts, and applied at 11 lbs/K every 90 days.

Use a balanced fertilizer like 10-10-10, 19-19-19, etc. Post the NPK for application rates. It can be applied at any frequency up to monthly. The frequency will determine how long it takes to get results. Do not apply the balanced fertilizer and the Lime within a couple of weeks of each other.

Try to get him/her to understand that more OM in the form of peat moss, compost, etc will hold the fertilizer, etc better etc. Also convince him/her that Fall leaves get mulched and do not leave the yard.

That's about as far as we can go, while keeping things simple...

CVette
Posts: 239
Joined: August 19th, 2010, 9:16 am
Location: Clifton Park - 20mi North of Albany, NY (Zone 5b)
Grass Type: Bewitched Front, Bewitched-NuGlade-Bedazzled Back
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Experienced

Re: Soil Test Interpretation for a Relative

Post by CVette » August 28th, 2021, 1:35 pm

Thanks Andy! Time to go shopping. My fertilizer options are:

Pennington 10-10-10 at 0.38 $/lb of product
Siteone/lesco 19-19-19 at 1.00 $/lb of product

Pennington is still less expensive when adjusting for N. Please let me know the application rate for 10-10-10.

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: Soil Test Interpretation for a Relative

Post by andy10917 » August 28th, 2021, 5:19 pm

10-10-10 goes down at 10 lbs/K


CVette
Posts: 239
Joined: August 19th, 2010, 9:16 am
Location: Clifton Park - 20mi North of Albany, NY (Zone 5b)
Grass Type: Bewitched Front, Bewitched-NuGlade-Bedazzled Back
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Experienced

Re: Soil Test Interpretation for a Relative

Post by CVette » August 28th, 2021, 9:42 pm

Thank you very much

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