# TTTF Interim Reno - Soil Test with Low pH and P



## Jagermeister (May 18, 2021)

All,

I am planning rent a mini skid-steer in the next couple of weeks to fix some drainage issues, low spots, roots, steep hills, etc. My soil test from Clemson showed a pH of 5.9 and low Phosphorous of 19 lbs / acre. All other numbers are in the sufficient range (K is actually on the high side).

I am wondering if I should put down a heavier amount of lime and P so I can mix this in when I regrade, getting this deeper into the soil profile. Would you all do this? I am going to seed with annual rye to hold the soil in place until I can do a full reno in the fall. I am also planning to core aerate in May so can lime and add P then as well.

Clemson is recommending 28 lbs / 1000 sq ft of lime and 2 lbs of triple phosphate plus a couple apps of 3lbs of 29-2-2.


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## Jagermeister (May 18, 2021)

Any advice on this one?


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## Lawn Whisperer (Feb 15, 2021)

How deep were the soil samples you took? Soil pH can differ at different depths. Most lime recommendations for lawns is for 3-4 inches of depth. This due to limestones being very immobile in the soil. Do you plan on tilling the lime into the soil?


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## Jagermeister (May 18, 2021)

Lawn Whisperer said:


> How deep were the soil samples you took? Soil pH can differ at different depths. Most lime recommendations for lawns is for 3-4 inches of depth. This due to limestones being very immobile in the soil. Do you plan on tilling the lime into the soil?


I used a coring sample tool and went to about 6 inches and mixed it in. Numbers were consistent with last year. For my reno, I am not going to till. My plan is to regrade and knock down some of the steep hills and fill in the ruts with the dirt, etc. I also want to create some mount and swales to direct the water better. That is why I was thinking about mix8ng in some P and lime and get it deeper in the profile.


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## Jagermeister (May 18, 2021)

Any recommendations on this one? I am planning to rent the Dingo and regrade this section on Wednesday. Seems like it would make sense to blend in lime and P while doing this but not sure how much.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Your P is fairly low. How many inches of soil do you plan to disturb? If only 1-2in, i would focus on monthly applications of P. Lime, do it all at once now. Cheap dolomitic would be my choice.

Plan to do multiple gly applications to get rid of the Bermuda.


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## Jagermeister (May 18, 2021)

g-man said:


> Your P is fairly low. How many inches of soil do you plan to disturb? If only 1-2in, i would focus on monthly applications of P. Lime, do it all at once now. Cheap dolomitic would be my choice.
> 
> Plan to do multiple gly applications to get rid of the Bermuda.


I would estimate on average 4 - 6 inches will be disturbed. I will move dirt from the high / steep spots and use it to fill in the low spots. I have two bags of fast acting lime and 2 bags of the cheap Soil Doctor pelletized lime (not sure if this is calcitic or dolomitic). I also have one 50 lb bag of 0-46-0.

I don't have any bermuda in the TTTF section. I want to do a full reno in the fall and get down some premium TTTF and get rid of the hodge podge of grass I have there now. I will put down some annual rye to hold the soil and then probably chemical mow to limit seeds.


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## Jagermeister (May 18, 2021)

Correction, looks like I have 2 40 lb bags of Austinville Lime that is dolomitic according to their website.

http://avlime.com/2352/8101.html The top one. I was confused when it said 'Fast Acting Acid Neutralizer'.

So looks like I probably have 4 bags of dolomitic limestone as they all have similar descriptions on the bags.


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## Jagermeister (May 18, 2021)

@g-man I am going to put down the lime and some P today.

I have about 4500 sq ft so can I go ahead and put all 4 bags down at once? That would be about 36 lbs per M.

For P, I was thinking of going a little bit heavier than the 3 lbs / M. I was thinking about going with 5 lbs / M since it will be mixed into the profile. Do you think that is too much at once?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

They asked for 28lb/ksqft, why are you 36lb/ksqft?

If you are mixing the P into 6in soil depth, i dont see a problem. You previous answer was not clear on soil depth.


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## Jagermeister (May 18, 2021)

g-man said:


> They asked for 28lb/ksqft, why are you 36lb/ksqft?
> 
> If you are mixing the P into 6in soil depth, i dont see a problem. You previous answer was not clear on soil depth.


I was thinking about going heavier on the lime because I will be mixing it into the profile vs. applying at the surface. I also wasn't sure if the 28 lbs would bring the pH all the way back up to 6.5 and that they would want multiple apps of lime.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

You did not posted their recommendations, but normally it is to modify 6in of soil profile to 6.5.


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## Jagermeister (May 18, 2021)

:thumbup:


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