# 1st Soil Testing



## Boberto (Apr 28, 2019)

Greetings Everyone.

Got my first soil testing results back. Kind of shocked at them.


Any recommendations as far as using 33-0-0 fert?

Should I do something differently?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Don't buy 33-0-0. Find Ammonium Sulfate (21-0-0) instead. Your soil pH is at 7.0 and 7.4, AS will be better for it. Avoid phosphorus since it is high. Potassium appears high, but they did not report their test method.

If you need color, a chelated version of iron might work or a foliar one for sure will work.


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## Boberto (Apr 28, 2019)

g-man said:


> Don't buy 33-0-0. Find Ammonium Sulfate (21-0-0) instead. Your soil pH is at 7.0 and 7.4, AS will be better for it. Avoid phosphorus since it is high. Potassium appears high, but they did not report their test method.
> 
> If you need color, a chelated version of iron might work or a foliar one for sure will work.


Thanks for the info! Was hoping I didn't have to go the 33-0-0 route. The test at the UofM is cheap and they are 10 mins from work. So I thought with the first round, go with them, and then later maybe do soil savvy or something similar to get more in-depth info.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I checked their website. The table shows they uses ammonium acetate for potassium extraction. This means you are pretty good at those levels.

Don't use soil savvy, this is a better value for your money.


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## Boberto (Apr 28, 2019)

g-man said:


> I checked their website. The table shows they uses ammonium acetate for potassium extraction. This means you are pretty good at those levels.
> 
> Don't use soil savvy, this is a better value for your money.


Sounds good. Still trying to locate a good source for that Ammonium Sulfate (21-0-0). I assume still the same 1 lb per 1k sqft per month?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Ask the guys in the home thread forum. Feed stores or rural King or cooperatives. Places that sell to farmers.

The practical max is 1lb of N/ksqft/month (or 4.74lb/ksqft of AS). But just because you can, doesn't mean that you should in a given month. If the conditions are not optimal for growth, then do less or none.


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## Boberto (Apr 28, 2019)

g-man said:


> Ask the guys in the home thread forum. Feed stores or rural King or cooperatives. Places that sell to farmers.
> 
> The practical max is 1lb of N/ksqft/month (or 4.74lb/ksqft of AS). But just because you can, doesn't mean that you should in a given month. If the conditions are not optimal for growth, then do less or none.


You're my hero, thank you! Just trying to figure out this yard stuff. Really want some nice grass for the kids to run around bare foot in. I grew up in the middle of the corn field so I had to deal with gopher holes, thistle, etc... growing up.


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## Drewmey (Oct 3, 2018)

Boberto said:


> Sounds good. Still trying to locate a good source for that Ammonium Sulfate (21-0-0). I assume still the same 1 lb per 1k sqft per month?


You may have found a good deal yourself already. Sounds like you aren't near a Rural King. But if you are not able to find a local source, you should be able to get Rural King to ship 51 lbs of Ammonium Sulfate to you for about $32. If you needed multiple bags, it would be best to keep making individual orders, as the shipping price seems to get worse (no economies of scale apparently). Still not a bad deal. Comes to about $2.98/lbs of N. If you don't need some slow release coating, buying Ammonium Sulfate and/or Potassium Sulfate to mix your own fertilizer is still cheaper than Scott's, etc.

https://www.ruralking.com/dsm-ammonium-sulfate-51lb-bag


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## Boberto (Apr 28, 2019)

Drewmey said:


> Boberto said:
> 
> 
> > Sounds good. Still trying to locate a good source for that Ammonium Sulfate (21-0-0). I assume still the same 1 lb per 1k sqft per month?
> ...


Yeah, sadly from what I can tell there's not much to choose from in my area besides menards/home depot/fleet farm.... Going to try and see if anyone in the local part of the forum has any sources. Would like to get something down tomorrow as it's going to rain Sunday.


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## Boberto (Apr 28, 2019)

g-man said:


> Ask the guys in the home thread forum. Feed stores or rural King or cooperatives. Places that sell to farmers.
> 
> The practical max is 1lb of N/ksqft/month (or 4.74lb/ksqft of AS). But just because you can, doesn't mean that you should in a given month. If the conditions are not optimal for growth, then do less or none.


@g-man would this stuff work? I know it says not to put any more potash down, but this stuff is easier to get. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Sta-Green-...H0BP&cjevent=5dbe9650842211e98190005f0a24060e


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Yes it will work. It is mostly coated urea.

This post has a list of places in MN to buy stuff.
https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=7672&start=40#p158696


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## Boberto (Apr 28, 2019)

g-man said:


> Yes it will work. It is mostly coated urea.
> 
> This post has a list of places in MN to buy stuff.
> https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=7672&start=40#p158696


okay.. looks like I need to do more reading up on Urea vs. Ammonium Sulfate. Seems like urea takes time to process hence the 'slow release' where the ammonium sulfate is a straight application with quicker results yet risk of burn out.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Urea is fast too. It is sold at around $20 for a 50lb bag with 46% nitrogen by weight (23lb of N in a bag). To slow it down, it is coated with different methods, which drive up the price. It has a neutral effect on soil pH.

Ammonium sulfate will help lowering the soil pH slightly. Since your is borderline above 7, I recommend using it. It is sold at around $25 for a 50lb bag with it being 21% nitrogen by weight (10.5lb of N in a bag).

Both will work and if you need to apply nitrogen to your lawn, use what you can find now and continue the search for AS later.


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## Boberto (Apr 28, 2019)

g-man said:


> Urea is fast too. It is sold at around $20 for a 50lb bag with 46% nitrogen by weight (23lb of N in a bag). To slow it down, it is coated with different methods, which drive up the price. It has a neutral effect on soil pH.
> 
> Ammonium sulfate will help lowering the soil pH slightly. Since your is borderline above 7, I recommend using it. It is sold at around $25 for a 50lb bag with it being 21% nitrogen by weight (10.5lb of N in a bag).
> 
> Both will work and if you need to apply nitrogen to your lawn, use what you can find now and continue the search for AS later.


Thank you for all your guidance!


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

Going to split hairs regarding the acidifying effect of urea and other fertilizers.
See chart on page 2:
https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/HO/HO-241-W.pdf


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Yes, a pound of urea and a pound of AS are close in the acidifying effect, but it takes 2lb of urea to get a pound of N vs close to 5lb of AS for a pound of N. So you get double the benefit from AS.


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

:thumbup:


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## Boberto (Apr 28, 2019)

So I applied a bag of 22-0-0 to my yard, so what would I do for the rest of the year? According to that sheet I only do that yearly?


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## Ptb427 (May 13, 2019)

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. But your soil test report suggests 2lb of nitrogen per 1k sq ft over the growing season. I'm going to assume you applied a 50lb bag of the 22-0-0 over your yard (assuming 11k sq ft from your profile). So that 22-0-0 fertilizer has 22% nitrogen giving you 11 lb of actual (pure) nitrogen in the bag. Spread that out over your yard and you have put down 1 lb of actual nitrogen per 1k sq ft (1 lb N/k). That 1 lb of nitrogen counts toward your 2 lb recommendation per year from the soil test. So you can take the remaining 1 lb of actual nitrogen and spread it over the course of the rest of the growing season. Maybe apply 0.5 lb N/k in six weeks and then again six weeks after that. Timing and rates may need more info to advise on.


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## Boberto (Apr 28, 2019)

Ptb427 said:


> Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. But your soil test report suggests 2lb of nitrogen per 1k sq ft over the growing season. I'm going to assume you applied a 50lb bag of the 22-0-0 over your yard (assuming 11k sq ft from your profile). So that 22-0-0 fertilizer has 22% nitrogen giving you 11 lb of actual (pure) nitrogen in the bag. Spread that out over your yard and you have put down 1 lb of actual nitrogen per 1k sq ft (1 lb N/k). That 1 lb of nitrogen counts toward your 2 lb recommendation per year from the soil test. So you can take the remaining 1 lb of actual nitrogen and spread it over the course of the rest of the growing season. Maybe apply 0.5 lb N/k in six weeks and then again six weeks after that. Timing and rates may need more info to advise on.


I'll pull the bags out of the trash and put the numbers down as two how much N was put down.


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