# First Soil Test - Front and Back Lawn pH is Very Different



## justiceorjustus (Oct 2, 2018)

Soil Test:


http://imgur.com/XECZGIf


I just did soil tests for my front and back lawn separately. This is a 70 year old house that I just moved in to, so it's not new construction. The front lawn got a pH of 6.3, which I can believe. The back lawn got a whopping 5.0 pH!

I was hoping someone could answer some questions I have:
The back lawn looks fairly decent... can grass even do well in 5.0 pH?
Should I really be putting down the 101 lbs / 1000 sqft of Dolomitic Lime that they suggest?

I took the samples according to the instructions. I took about 10 cores evenly throughout the yard.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)




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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

No milo or any P source for this soil.

In the front I think calcitic will be best, only if you want. I think potassium is fine at 150ppm.

The back does need lime. Do not apply 100lb/ksqft at once. Split it in half 6 months apart. Grass is very resourceful and will do ok at 5.0pH. It will do better at 6-6.5.


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## justiceorjustus (Oct 2, 2018)

g-man said:


> No milo or any P source for this soil.
> 
> In the front I think calcitic will be best, only if you want. I think potassium is fine at 150ppm.
> 
> The back does need lime. Do not apply 100lb/ksqft at once. Split it in half 6 months apart. Grass is very resourceful and will do ok at 5.0pH. It will do better at 6-6.5.


Thanks for the help! I guess the Milo is gonna sit on the shelf for a while. I actually gave them a call and was surprised to get so much help. He recommended I do 25 lbs / 1k of Lime over the course of 4 applications. Spring, fall, spring, fall.

Also, he reccomended 2.5 lbs / 1k of Potassium Sulfate. What do you think?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

4 at 25lb is a fine approach too.

Your K is at 123ppm. I like to hover around 150ppm. Understand that MLSN recommends K at above 37ppm. That means that they found golf greens to look acceptable quality with most of them have 37ppm of K. At 123ppm, you are more than fine.


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