Uncle Steve’s Soil Test

Learn how improving your soil can lead to a better looking lawn
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Brian M
Posts: 31
Joined: July 16th, 2020, 8:10 am
Location: Westchester county, NY
Grass Type: TTTF/KBG
Lawn Size: 20000-1 acre
Level: Some Experience

Uncle Steve’s Soil Test

Post by Brian M » June 20th, 2022, 4:41 pm

Hi guys. I’m trying to help my uncle with his lawn. I took a soil test last fall, didn’t post it in time before the end of the year cutoff, then didn’t want to post it during the busy time of year. This is last years test. So we are looking for a fall plan at this point. This year he did 1 bag rate app of magical. 1 app of milorganite, and 1 app of random fert. Info on lawn is: Thornwood NY 10594. 5600 sqft. Hodgepodge of Scott’s type grass, although I overseeded last year with GCI TTTF so he’s got some good grass but over all TTTF. He does have irrigation. I can help him with micro-nutrients if needed. Attached is the Logan Labs results.

Thankyou in advance!

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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: Uncle Steve’s Soil Test

Post by MorpheusPA » June 21st, 2022, 8:28 am

This one's not too bad of a read. The Mag-I-Cal was a technical mistake as the lawn didn't need the calcium and it probably kicked the pH a little too high. It'll work out over time. If you meant Mag-I-Cal plus, it's not a mistake and you're fine.

Phosphorus is great (none is required or desired, even when seeding; this soil is packed with it), calcium is great, magnesium is great, organic matter is great...

Potassium is just a tad low, but it's minor (we're talking half a pound per thousand square feet here). Would I correct this? Well, I corrected 3 ounces per thousand square feet, but this is me we're talking about. Optional recommendation below, using potassium sulfate (order from the Home Depot, or any local landscape store, or online). I've left the amount flexible in that I don't want him to bother ordering more than one box or bag. Whatever spreads evenly twice over his lawn is fine. If Mistakes Are Made and he overapplies, then just evenly spread whatever's left the second time.

Boron is a hair low, but it's not that significant (it's 100 parts per billion low). So I optionally recommended two apps of 20 Mule Team Borax below, one after winter washes out some.

All the other minor elements are riding right in the perfect groove. Iron at 199 might be low for absolute best color on some lawns, but for TTTF, it's actually going to be fine--fescues aren't the biggest consumers of iron.

Minor warning: Aluminum in this soil is rather high (nowhere near the highest I've seen, but at 1.1% Al, pretty high). Keep an eye on the pH. If it starts to fall under 5.5, this soil will start to go toxic to plants. This is in no danger of happening at the present moment, and could probably be ignored for a decade or more of bad treatment before it would even vaguely think about possibly doing something of that sort, but I had trouble in the gardens as the pH dove to 5.2. In my case, I simply use very acidic plant food...and a lot of it.

Recommendation:

September 1: Apply 1-2 pounds of potassium sulfate per thousand square feet (optional). Apply 3 tablespoons 20 Mule Team Borax per thousand square feet in Milorganite carrier as per the Micronutrient Application Guide (optional).

May 1, 2023: Apply 1-2 pounds of potassium sulfate per thousand square feet (optional). Apply 3 tablespoons 20 Mule Team Borax per thousand square feet in Milorganite carrier as per the Micronutrient Application Guide (optional).

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