sam1220 Third Test w/ compiled results

[sam1220]

Back for round 3, it's a marathon, not a sprint.

Last year was a busy year ATY, and I'm afraid some things have gotten worse and will need some attention. Last year I added an irrigation system throughout the entire 14,000 sq ft NoMix property, and at the same time had all the downspouts tied together into buried PVC and ejected at the corner of the property. The irrigation system was pretty painless - vibratory plowed in and only minimal disturbance, but the downspout work completely tore up have my yard.

They used an excavator to dig the trenches, and in turn they turned up a lot of soil from down deep. The soil here is full of schist rocks, and there were so many on the top I walked around for days prying them out so that the grass would grow. The work was in late September so there wasn't a lot of growing time to reseed, but I got it done and it looks pretty good.

While the overall turf health is very good this year compared to years past, the soil test results appear to me to have taken a turn for the worst. Last year I followed all of the recommendations and timing, but I also applied BLSC/KH religiously every 2 weeks for 6 applications. I also stepped up my soil testing game and got an actual core tool with depth markings. The first year I took samples was like digging in concrete -- this year it went in like butter.

Question - It seems better to me that the soil is more loose, but the decrease in TEC/M.E. doesn't seem like something I want, is it?

Question - For some unknown reason the turf on one side of my property literally grows 3 times as fast as anywhere else. I almost have to use the string trimmer after a few days to knock it down before I can mow. There's nothing special about it - it doesn't get all day sun, it's not some special seed, I literally can't figure it out so I tested that area separately in case the soil can give me a clue.

Finally, I tested the back separately again this year because the most disturbance from the excavation happened there. Nearly the entire back yard (7000 sq ft) was dug up. The soil was much, much different in appearance from the front/side. It appeared very light in color and almost dusty compared to the front that was dark and appeared rich in organics.

I complied the results from previous years in a spreadsheet and separated them for easy comparison.

THANK YOU for everything you do!

[MorpheusPA]

I have very little explanation for the shifting phosphorus values, and where the potassium is going in back, but this is the first time you've done split tests, so we're getting different perspectives. Front and side have different characteristics.

The side is in great shape, with only a little bit of phosphorus needed to round out and a bit of a boron boost. Neither are critical, but you paid for the test, so you may as well do it.

Front needs a lot of phosphorus and a good chunk of boron.

Back needs gigantic amounts of phosphorus, medium amounts of potassium, and large amounts of boron (comparatively speaking as boron is not a macro-element).

Again, you're an old hat at all this, so you don't need a lot of explanation. We'll continue on with the starter fertilizer (18-24-12, but any starter fertilizer is just fine, 20-27-5, whatever). Get a box of 20 Mule Team Borax for the boron, and use Milorganite, which will certainly help you with the iron levels, which aren't stellar in your lawn.

Recommendations:

May: Apply starter fertilizer on all areas of the lawn. Apply 5 tablespoons of 20 Mule Team Borax per thousand square feet on the Front and Back in Milorganite carrier as per the Micronutrient Application Guide. Apply 3 tablespoons of 20 Mule Team Borax per thousand square feet on the Side in Milorganite carrier as per the Micronutrient Application Guide.

September: Apply starter fertilizer on all areas of the lawn. Apply 5 tablespoons of 20 Mule Team Borax per thousand square feet on the Front and Back in Milorganite carrier as per the Micronutrient Application Guide. Apply 3 tablespoons of 20 Mule Team Borax per thousand square feet on the Side in Milorganite carrier as per the Micronutrient Application Guide.

October: Apply starter fertilizer on all areas of the lawn. Apply 5 tablespoons of 20 Mule Team Borax per thousand square feet on the Front and Back in Milorganite carrier as per the Micronutrient Application Guide. Apply 3 tablespoons of 20 Mule Team Borax per thousand square feet on the Side in Milorganite carrier as per the Micronutrient Application Guide.

[sam1220]

Thanks very much Morpheus.

Can you help me understand the TEC/ME -- don't I want that to be going up, not down? While I can 1000% notice a difference in the consistentcy of the soil in the front now after the BLSC/KH, I would think I want the value to stay high to retain nutrients, not go down -- right?

[MorpheusPA]

They're testing that--as far as I know, anyway--without the OM. They burn that off to determine the organic material percentage, then test ME.

So you're getting the ME results after removing all the nice stuff you put in to raise it. Overall, it will never go up (mine sits in the 12-15 range and always has, for decades). However, raising your organic matter amounts absolutely raises the amount of resources the soil will hold.

My soil, for example, is 12% organic matter after a ton (literal tons, actually), of very hard work. That 12% has an ME of closer to 100 than 15. So if we factor this in (pretending the math is easy, which it isn't):

(88*0.15) + (12 * 1.00) = 25.2 / 100 - 0.252

My ME would be about 25. Over here in the real world, somewhat less. Figure effectively 18, 20, with a lot of variance.

OM's impact on a lower-EC soil is much greater, so lower percentages have even more of a kick.