ticklemejoviemo's north east fall 2021 soil test results

Learn how improving your soil can lead to a better looking lawn
Post Reply
ticklemejoviemo
Posts: 1
Joined: September 30th, 2021, 6:31 am
Location: South East Massachusetts
Grass Type: Cool grass mix
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

ticklemejoviemo's north east fall 2021 soil test results

Post by ticklemejoviemo » September 30th, 2021, 7:57 am

Good morning, new member here and very new to lawn care. I purchased my house in south eastern Massachusetts fall 2016. Lawn has been pretty neglected so trying to get it back on track. I have aprx. 20,000sq. Ft. of lawn and just had an entire 10 zone, 48 head irrigation system installed 2 weeks ago (Hunter Pro-HC controller w/ I20 heads).

Intended on doing work myself this fall, but a very reputable local landscaper was recommended to me. He came by and quoted very reasonable price for lawn renovation. His plan for the fall is as follows: weed & crabgrass control, 2 weeks later aerate, overseed w/ turf type tall fescue, apply gypsum, calcitic limestone & starter fert.

Just received soil test results from SiteOne on Tuesday. The following is from their e-mail:

"You will need the following products:

0-0-50 to boost your potassium levels which is crucial for root development

Dolominic Lime at 40lbs per thousand sq. ft. to raise your soil pH level

Finally Lesco Carbon Pro-G will need to be applied 2x a year at 10lbs per thousand sq. ft. for at least the next 2 seasons. This will add beneficial biology to your soil and help raise CEC which is the communication between your soil and the plant. It is one of the most crucial numbers when trying to grow and maintain a healthy turf."

No known diseases but quite a bit of grab crass, and was noted to have creeping bent grass and more weed I'm unsure of.


I called landscaper yesterday and he suggests sticking with original plan, as the calcitic limestone should bring the pH up and doing another soil test in the spring. However, he did state that if willing to spend it the suggestions from SiteOne won't hurt.

Any questions please don't hesitate to ask me. Thanks for any suggestions or advice, much appreciated!


Image

User avatar
MorpheusPA
Posts: 18129
Joined: March 5th, 2009, 7:32 pm
Location: Zone 6 (Eastern PA)
Grass Type: Elite KBG
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Advanced

Re: ticklemejoviemo's north east fall 2021 soil test results

Post by MorpheusPA » October 1st, 2021, 4:52 pm

I won't tell you what I think of that soil read or the soil test, but picture me scraping it off the bottom of my shoe. We really only read Logan Labs and for good reason.

For Massachusetts, it's really rather late for any sort of lime, or at least I would be hesitant to apply it in October. Lime's penetration is fairly slow, and as ground freeze happens, erosion of it becomes more likely. Even if I followed these instructions--I wouldn't--now is not the right time to do so with dolomitic or most calcitic limestone types.

On the up side, crabgrass doesn't survive frost. It's an annual and dies in cold weather, and only the seeds survive the winter. A pre-emergent in late spring will stop crabgrass, or any good crabgrass killer will get rid of it when you see it, as well as wipe out a lot of other weeds.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 13 guests