Increasing organic content

This is the place to discuss Organic lawncare.
redcoat
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Increasing organic content

Post by redcoat » March 23rd, 2016, 10:21 am

My soil test last year indicated Organic Matter of only 1.8%. I have read that unless it is at a minimum 3%, it will be almost impossible to have a decent lawn.

What's the best/quickest way to increase it? Is Spring a good time to top dress with compost?

cheers!

David

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Re: Increasing organic content

Post by TimmyG » March 23rd, 2016, 10:29 am

redcoat wrote:I have read that unless it is at a minimum 3%, it will be almost impossible to have a decent lawn.
Well that's not true. It may be a struggle to have a perfect lawn, but decent should be easy with good cultural practices.

To raise the OM, always mulch mow. That includes all leaves and anything else you can get your hands on.

Spring is a great time to topdress with compost, as is just about any other time of year that the grass is growing. Read up on the efforts of jglongisland regarding his success in raising OM.

But the single greatest source of OM is the sloughing of grass roots. Do everything else you can to get the grass to grow thick and deep, and the OM will follow.

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Re: Increasing organic content

Post by bpgreen » March 23rd, 2016, 12:51 pm

I don't think there's any such thing as a quickest way to increase organic matter in the soil. It's a long term effort.

Don't let any organic comment leave your yard. As Timmy said, mulch more, including any tree leaves. If your neighbors bag their leaves, ask if you can have them and more those in. Spread your coffee grounds on the lawn. So at Starbucks and get grounds from them. Check if any tree services in your area will give you their chipped wood (they often have to pay to dump, so you may be able to get it by the truckload).

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Re: Increasing organic content

Post by andy10917 » March 23rd, 2016, 2:57 pm

There are more old-wifes-tales about soil organic matter than almost anything else in this hobby, and even some of the most technical and logical sounding ones are wrong...

Organic matter provides a plethora of direct and indirect benefits, both chemical and biological, in soil.

A soil that is 1% - 2% is going to struggle to develop a microherd (what will they eat?), won't hold nutrients that well, and will dry out much easier. Will it grow grass? Sure, if you compensate for the above.

I don't subscribe to the "grass roots are a major source of OM" statement, at all. If that were true, old grandad's lawn would have a 10% OM number. The OM from roots is recycled into next year's roots, and the overall OM number rises very slowly.

While mulch-mowing is great in that it doesn't remove OM from the soil of the mowed area, it also isn't a major source of OM.

If you want to increase OM substantially, it takes lots of imported material, and even then a rise of 0.5% in a year is very good, and anything over 1.0% to be nearly impossible.

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Re: Increasing organic content

Post by booneatl » March 23rd, 2016, 3:29 pm

I'm curious how you feel about wood chips. I've read through some old posts but would like to know if anyone that has used them was happy with the results. I had a truck load delivered last year for free and used them around my planting beds.

This seems to be the easiest and cheapest way to obtain lots of om. I realize they can also be composted .........the load I received was already cooking and I was really tempted to cover the entire dormant lawn with them.

I realize the biggest obstacle with bermuda grass would be the height of cut vs the size of wood chips scattered about. So far I'm not one of these guys cutting below 1" but I plan to lower my hoc this year.


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Re: Increasing organic content

Post by redcoat » March 23rd, 2016, 3:41 pm

re the comment from @andy10917, what is the best way to

1) compensating for "A soil that is 1% - 2% is going to struggle to develop a microherd (what will they eat?), won't hold nutrients that well, and will dry out much easier"

and

2) importing material? Is compost via top-dressing the best solution here? Unfortunately I don't have any trees so no leaves fall on my property :( How does this compare to using corn meal etc??

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Re: Increasing organic content

Post by TimmyG » March 23rd, 2016, 3:47 pm

Clearly, the only way to increase OM by leaps and bounds in short time in an established lawn is to import and spread OM frequently by the truckload, likely either compost or peat moss. It's backbreaking work. I topdressed with 10 yards of compost a few times using a Newer Spreader, but even that required days of raking. And that was on a small portion of my lawn. The vast majority of my lawn where I didn't topdress kept up pace in improvement over several years (a NoMix turf, FWIW), so I sold the Newer Spreader and chose to leave topdressing to those with much smaller lawns or those with professional equipment.

That lawn started with OM around 2.5%. and each of my test areas were north of 3% by the time we moved. I'm happy to be starting with closer to 4% at our new home. Still a huge lawn.

Regarding granddad's lawn, I don't know about 10% OM, but it certainly won't be anywhere near as low as 1.8%. More often than not, one only starts there on newer properties where the builders have stripped the living top layer and/or backfilled and graded with crap. I attribute the higher of OM of this current lawn to the lawn being about 5 years older than our last one. Only about two miles apart, and the soil looks identical to my old soil. It may not be the fastest, but just having a healthy lawn (or other crops) is going to increase the OM.

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Re: Increasing organic content

Post by TimmyG » March 23rd, 2016, 3:54 pm

redcoat wrote:re the comment from @andy10917, what is the best way to

1) compensating for "A soil that is 1% - 2% is going to struggle to develop a microherd (what will they eat?), won't hold nutrients that well, and will dry out much easier"
I've got sandy MA soil that doesn't hold nutrients for squat. Nonetheless, feeding the microherd with a constant source of organic fertilizer is going to help greatly. When I switched from synthetics to biosolids (Milorganite), it took about a year before I noticed a sharp change toward the better in the turf. I'm sure a significant factor was the need for a depleted microherd to catch up. It was a night and day difference.
redcoat wrote:2) importing material? Is compost via top-dressing the best solution here? Unfortunately I don't have any trees so no leaves fall on my property :( How does this compare to using corn meal etc??
No matter how small your property is, compost is likely the only relatively cost effective option for going at a bonkers pace of increasing your OM. You're looking at applying about a cubic yard per 1,000 sq ft. Compost isn't much of a fertilizer, though. Corn meal and other organic fertilizers are going to contribute to your OM, when applied at appropriate rates as fertilizers, but only a tiny amount compared to mulching and topdressing.

When you topdress with compost, you're aiming for about 1/4–1/2" deep. When spreading corn meal and other organic fertilizers, it may seem like a lot, but the grains/prills are still well spaced apart where they fall.

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Re: Increasing organic content

Post by TimmyG » March 23rd, 2016, 4:04 pm

booneatl wrote:I'm curious how you feel about wood chips.
Wood chips are great for mulch. And, yes, they compost in place and do wonders for raising the OM of your flower beds. That's why you need to replenish the mulch every two or three years.

I've chipped close to 20 cubic yards of my own wood chips just in this last year from trees that I've been clearing and cleaning.

But wood chips certainly don't belong on a lawn. Unless you have the means to chop those chips into sawdust, stick to mulching the beds. Or compost them first if you have the space...and patience.

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Re: Increasing organic content

Post by redcoat » March 23rd, 2016, 5:30 pm

Thanks, @TimmyG...

I will try to topdress in Spring and Fall for several years...

I'm new to organics. Would you recommend Milorganite for my situation, or something else? What schedule should I use?

Appreciate the help!

cheers

David

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Re: Increasing organic content

Post by andy10917 » March 23rd, 2016, 7:02 pm

Would you recommend Milorganite for my situation, or something else? What schedule should I use?
How much gasoline should I put in my car?????

Nobody can make a valid recommendation for your lawn/soil without knowing what is lacking. Only a soil test can answer that.

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Re: Increasing organic content

Post by TimmyG » March 23rd, 2016, 8:06 pm

David, having followed this forum for years, I don't know a situation where Milorganite (or Bay State, etc.) wouldn't be recommended. Every lawn needs a regular supply of nitrogen, and a standard soil test won't address nitrogen. Mind you, some grasses need more nitrogen and some need much less.

But do take Andy's stern advice to obtain and post a soil test (specifically from Logan Labs) in the Soil Management and Compost Forum so that he and others can help you address what you soil really needs. Knowledge of your OM % indicates that you have recently obtained a soil test, but from where? Only if it's from Logan Labs can/will the generous gurus here help you out.

Andy's point (I think) isn't so much about whether Milorganite would be recommended in your "situation" but rather that we don't know what else would be recommended to address what your lawn is lacking (other than nitrogen). You see OM % as your weakest link, but is it? Sure, my current soil may have ~4% OM, but the micronutrients are severely lacking across the board...a "depleted" soil. No amount of OM is going to fix that. Andy's and others' philosophy, which works, is that your lawn's performance is only as strong as your soil's weakest link (I'm taking many liberties in this translation). Get that soil test done and give other's a chance to provide the recommendations that really matter in your situation.

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Re: Increasing organic content

Post by andy10917 » March 23rd, 2016, 8:21 pm

The soil is only as good as its weakest link. Know where it is.

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Re: Increasing organic content

Post by redcoat » March 23rd, 2016, 10:41 pm

Hi Timmy, Andy, thanks for the replies.

I have quite a long story, that some people on another forum helped me with. Short version: 2 year old house...started out with fairly heavy clay soil...builder dug rentention pond behind us from heavily wooded area, and put a lot of the soil on our yard to make it flatter...turns out it was pretty sandy. I installed irrigation system. KY31 was seeded on that, didn't do very well at all. I killed everything last summer and reseeded with Triple Threat Tall Fescue Blend that's created/tested here in Raleigh - contains Endeavor II, Rain Dance and Inspiration Tall Fescues. Unfortunately I was fairly late seeding in the Fall, and there was a bunch of rain so I had to reseed soon after.

All things considered, I'm was pleased the front turned out as well as it did, although I think it ended up being seeded too thick. The sides are ok, but the back is really struggling. There are bare areas, but overall the length of the grass is far shorter and looks far less healthy than the front.

I did have a Logans test done, and someone on the other forum helped me interpret it. I uploaded it here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/7kevj71ey4ufq ... 7.pdf?dl=0.

Due to the heavy rains in the fall making it pretty impossible to walk on the yard, I was never able to lay down the Milorganite with Mule Team Borax that was recommended. What I did do was:

Oct 19th: Applied starter fertilizer at bag rate.
Nov 19th: Applied starter fertilizer at bag rate.
Nov 30th: Applied 3 pounds of Pennington Fast Lime per thousand square feet

And that's the brief version :)

Appreciate whatever help people can give! Should I repost this in another forum? Should I lay down the Milorganite and Borax now?

I will happily post some pics if that would help too!

cheers!

David

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Re: Increasing organic content

Post by andy10917 » March 23rd, 2016, 10:50 pm

Post your story (just the last posting please) into the Soil & Compost Forum.

Where did your friends on the other Forum go?

redcoat
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Re: Increasing organic content

Post by redcoat » March 23rd, 2016, 10:58 pm

I think I wore them out ;) In all seriousness, the thread ended up being very long, so I started another post this Spring and didn't get too much traction.

I then found this site and posted the specific question about increasing organics :)

Headed over to post in Soil & Compost. Really appreciate the help!

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Re: Increasing organic content

Post by bernstem » March 27th, 2016, 10:27 am

Compost and Peat Moss are, in my opinion, your two best options for increasing organic matter. There is no substitute for the importation of massive quantities of stuff. Mulch mowing, leaves and organic fertilizer will all help, but the volume just cannot compare to bringing in a yard of compost per 1000 sq ft a couple times per year. You could easily add compost 2-3 times or more in a season if you have the budget and time. Do not underestimate the effort, though. A yard of compost weighs ~1600 lbs and is about 50% water.

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Re: Increasing organic content

Post by redcoat » March 27th, 2016, 11:01 pm

Thanks @bernstem. There's a local company that has one of the manual compost spreaders I can rent for $25 (drum with wire grid). Is that probably my best option to do the spreading? Any idea if anyone rents the powered compost spreaders?

Is now a good time to add some? I submitted my last test to the other forum, and waiting to get a breakdown of recommendations....

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Re: Increasing organic content

Post by bpgreen » March 28th, 2016, 12:42 am

redcoat wrote:Thanks @bernstem. There's a local company that has one of the manual compost spreaders I can rent for $25 (drum with wire grid). Is that probably my best option to do the spreading? Any idea if anyone rents the powered compost spreaders?

Is now a good time to add some? I submitted my last test to the other forum, and waiting to get a breakdown of recommendations....
I don't know about the spreader, but any day ending with a "y" is a good day to spread compost.

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Re: Increasing organic content

Post by Tsmith » March 28th, 2016, 9:22 am

redcoat wrote:Thanks @bernstem. There's a local company that has one of the manual compost spreaders I can rent for $25 (drum with wire grid). Is that probably my best option to do the spreading? Any idea if anyone rents the powered compost spreaders?

Is now a good time to add some? I submitted my last test to the other forum, and waiting to get a breakdown of recommendations....

I believe Home Depot rents the manual push compost spreader which I recently purchased and used for the first time this weekend. I want to get in the habit of spreading compost a couple times a year and will be doing at least a reno of the front and sides this year so I pulled the trigger and purchased one since they can also be used to spread peat moss.

I did two yards over my lawn on saturday and it was hard work, feel like i got hit by a truck so I couldnt imagine doing one yard for every 1000 sqft. In the future I will attack my yard in sections and prob do two passes but since this was first time i did one pass over enitre lawn. I also tried peat moss and it was much easier.

One thing i will recommend is putting some kind of strap around the spreader to hold the door shut as compost will cause the door to open due to how much heavier it is compared to peat moss. The clips that hold the door shut are not great.

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