# Soil Test Results



## cr0ntab (Oct 14, 2018)

I didn't get many replies in my journal thread so re-posting here.

Here is my soil analysis report:



They recommend adding sulfur to bring the pH down.


Can I put down the sulfur at any time during the year or do I need to wait for a certain temperature?
Is this the stuff I need? https://smile.amazon.com/Southern-Ag-Pelletized-Soil-Acidifier/dp/B01M7MDKBS/


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

@cr0ntab can you describe your soil sampling method? The Phosphorous value at 807 ppm is very very high. Your sodium is also very high at 218ppm. Is the zoysia growing and looking good?


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## cr0ntab (Oct 14, 2018)

@g-man Thanks for the reply!

I used this probe: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M7RDBXD/

and I took probably about 12 cores. I removed the grass, sticks, rocks, etc. and mixed the cores in a clean bucket to get my sample.

I did bias the 12 cores in areas that weren't doing great.

I haven't put anything on the sod since I bought it - I put it down 9/21 so about 2 months ago.

The grass certainly isn't up to where I would like it (especially for the cost and all my labor) and it's definitely not as green as I'd like. There are quite a few dead or dying patches. I need to get some closer pictures of the lawn - it's raining this week so I'll see if I can get some when the rain stops.

I am fighting with rabbits (a lot of them) and I've been slowly fencing off the area's that I find holes in....but they're still winning the battle. I'll eventually get them completely out.

The right side of the lawn definitely gets more shade than the rest due to the palm trees (The photo is looking east)


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I read your lawn journal. Did you get soil deliver prior to the sod? Soil samples at least 4in deep? Is the sod rooted? What are your current temps? What was the soil prior? what fertilizer did you apply recently?

I'm concern with how the zoysia looks. I'm not a warm lawn guy. It might be going dormant or something else. @Greendoc thoughts?

In regards to the soil test:

P is very high. If the value is accurate (that's why I'm asking so many questions), you will need to bag your clippings to reduce it.

With your soil pH at 7.4, the iron is not as available. Elemental sulfur at 5lb/ksqft every 6 months might reduce the pH over time. Go to a local farm fertilizer store for it. The one you listed will work but it is expensive from amazon.


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## cr0ntab (Oct 14, 2018)

g-man said:


> Did you get soil deliver prior to the sod?


I did not add any additional soil (I didn't want to raise the level of the dirt and I assumed since there was grass and weeds and other junk at one point was "good enough")

The only prep I did was lots of Glyphosate on the ground to kill all the weeds before I put the sod down.



g-man said:


> Soil samples at least 4in deep?


I just went to measure the probe and the guide line I was using is at 6". I took off probably around 1" - 1.5" of grass and junk at the top of the sample. This means that the sample was good for at least 4.5" - 5" deep.



g-man said:


> Is the sod rooted?


It hasn't don't a great job. In the more green areas it's much better (I can't pull it up) where it's unhappy I can still pull it up and very few roots have gone down into the soil.

I figured I'd just let it be because I've read that Zoysia is a slow growing grass.



g-man said:


> What are your current temps?


According to: http://www.greencastonline.com/tools/soil-temperature

Today's average soil temp is 54F



g-man said:


> What was the soil prior?


It was originally grass (no idea what kind). I pulled all that out (last year on 11/4/18), rototilled and tried to seed Zoysia. That didn't pan out so I gave up and left it for a while.

Earlier this year (June) when it warmed up I got serious about it and fixed all the sprinklers.

I also leveled all the dirt and took out as many weeds as I could (July)

While I was deciding what kind and where to get my sod I was applying lots of Glyphosate to kill everything and keep it dead (July - Sept)



g-man said:


> what fertilizer did you apply recently?


I haven't put anything down since I got the sod, just water. (I know my city water is on the harder side, but not sure if that matters)



g-man said:


> P is very high. If the value is accurate (that's why I'm asking so many questions), you will need to bag your clippings to reduce it.


I have an automower that's not bagging any clippings. I can certainly switch to the manual reel and pick everything up while the grass gets better (probably won't need much mowing since it's getting colder though)


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

g-man said:


> @cr0ntab can you describe your soil sampling method? The Phosphorous value at 807 ppm is very very high. Your sodium is also very high at 218ppm. Is the zoysia growing and looking good?


The lab used the wrong extraction method for the soil. pH over 7 and high Calcium is where Olsen(0.5m Bicarbonate) is used rather than an acidic and highly chelated extraction reagent


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## cr0ntab (Oct 14, 2018)

Greendoc said:


> The lab used the wrong extraction method for the soil. pH over 7 and high Calcium is where Olsen(0.5m Bicarbonate) is used rather than an acidic and highly chelated extraction reagent


Interesting - Should I tell the lab to re-sample or should I gather another sample and send it somewhere else?


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## Methodical (May 3, 2018)

Out of curiosity, if it were me, I'd take a sample and send somewhere else to see what readings they get for comparison purposes, especially based on G-man's observation of the testing method. I used Waypoint for the first time this year and I like their report.


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