# Soil Test Results - Sacramento CA



## spaceman_spiff (Feb 5, 2021)

I've never done soil samples/analysis before, so I figured I'd send in separate samples for all 3 of my lawn zones since they're all slightly different. All 3 are TTTF/KBG.

Front - Nothing special, just a few unknown trees

Needs:
- 53lb/K lime (33.1lb for 625 sq ft)
- Fertilizer with lots of P and K. I have a SSS 19-26-6 starter fertilizer on hand from SSS, but it seems I need more K than P, so this probably wouldn't work too well.

Back - Half under a 45-foot blue oak. Have been told the leaves it drops are slightly acidic, so I figured this would need it's own analysis anyway.

Needs:
- 74lb/K lime (37lb for 500 sq ft)
- Fertilizer with lots of K. I do have a 23-0-20 from SSS on hand which looks like it should do nicely.

Pool - New TTTF/KBG sod that was laid 14 months ago

Needs:
- Fertilizer with an equal amount of P and K

Beyond fertilizer and lime (where the quantity is listed per K), what else should I be looking to add to get more within the optimal range?

Regarding the lime, there's a Pennington one that HD carries but doesn't seem to want to ship to CA for some reason, but Do My Own seemingly will, but it costs 2-3x more. Any other sources for lime?


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## Virginiagal (Apr 24, 2017)

Pool area needs more K than P. For the P you could do 1-2 applications of a balanced fertilizer (2 for front, 1 for the others) and that would take care of all the phosphorus and 1-2 lb of nitrogen and potassium, leaving you to do 1-2 applications of your 23-0-20 to get the other 1-2 lb of K and N. Your cation exchange capacity (CEC) is sort of low, meaning nutrients may tend to leach. If you're up for spoonfeeding, which is two half applications every two weeks instead of a full application once a month, that would be helpful to get the most from what you apply.

I think of Sacramento as in a good farming territory. Surely there are stores that cater to farmers somewhere nearby. They should have lime. If not, call some lawn care people and ask where they get their turf supplies. A regular hardware store should have lime. If regular calcitic lime is available, use that, if not, dolomitic lime is ok. If you use a fast acting lime, follow the directions on the bag, as you will be more limited in how much you can apply at a time.

I have no idea when appropriate times to fertilize are in California. Your climate is different from ours.


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## spaceman_spiff (Feb 5, 2021)

Virginiagal said:


> Pool area needs more K than P. For the P you could do 1-2 applications of a balanced fertilizer (2 for front, 1 for the others) and that would take care of all the phosphorus and 1-2 lb of nitrogen and potassium, leaving you to do 1-2 applications of your 23-0-20 to get the other 1-2 lb of K and N. Your cation exchange capacity (CEC) is sort of low, meaning nutrients may tend to leach. If you're up for spoonfeeding, which is two half applications every two weeks instead of a full application once a month, that would be helpful to get the most from what you apply.
> 
> I think of Sacramento as in a good farming territory. Surely there are stores that cater to farmers somewhere nearby. They should have lime. If not, call some lawn care people and ask where they get their turf supplies. A regular hardware store should have lime. If regular calcitic lime is available, use that, if not, dolomitic lime is ok. If you use a fast acting lime, follow the directions on the bag, as you will be more limited in how much you can apply at a time.
> 
> I have no idea when appropriate times to fertilize are in California. Your climate is different from ours.


Thanks!

I'm kind of confused on the lime now. I found this product on DoMyOwn:
https://www.domyown.com/hi-yield-fast-acting-lime-p-22198.html

It says it's 25lbs and covers 5000 sq ft. Looking at their label (the 5.5 to 6.0 pH range rate), my front (625 sq ft, 6.0 pH) and back (500 sq ft, 5.6 pH) zones would require their 50lbs/5K = 10lbs/K rate. Doing the math, I come up with 6.25lbs of product for the front and 5lbs for the back yard, for a total of 11.25lbs of product. This is pretty far under the 53 and 75lbs/K rate that the soil analysis suggests.

Why the difference between the two rates? Is the Hi-Yield Fast-Acting Lime product some super concentrated product or something that requires a lesser rate?


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## Virginiagal (Apr 24, 2017)

Regular lime works slowly over the course of three to four years. Some of it will start working in a few weeks, some in a few months, some longer. Fast acting lime dissolves faster and works more quickly. However, you can only apply a small amount at at time, like 10 lb per 1000 sq ft in this case. So instead of one application of 50 lb of regular lime per 1000 sa ft (the limit for application of regular lime on top of the ground), you would make 5 applications of 10 lb of fast acting lime, spaced out over three years (lime applications usually spaced out six months, fall and spring).


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## spaceman_spiff (Feb 5, 2021)

Virginiagal said:


> Regular lime works slowly over the course of three to four years. Some of it will start working in a few weeks, some in a few months, some longer. Fast acting lime dissolves faster and works more quickly. However, you can only apply a small amount at at time, like 10 lb per 1000 sq ft in this case. So instead of one application of 50 lb of regular lime per 1000 sa ft (the limit for application of regular lime on top of the ground), you would make 5 applications of 10 lb of fast acting lime, spaced out over three years (lime applications usually spaced out six months, fall and spring).


Awesome, thanks!

I found a 25lb bag of fast-acting lime on Amazon for a decent price and grabbed some:
https://a.co/b2SUPNV

Seeing as it's June 17, is this too late for a "spring" app? It would be nice to have the pH a bit higher for my fall overseeing. I do have some bare patches in my back yard (5.6 pH) that always have a hard time growing grass.


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## Virginiagal (Apr 24, 2017)

If your grass is not under stress, go ahead. Water it in.


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## spaceman_spiff (Feb 5, 2021)

Virginiagal said:


> If your grass is not under stress, go ahead. Water it in.


Ha, it's been 90-100' here for the past week, soooooo I'd say yeah it's stressed. Bummer.


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## spaceman_spiff (Feb 5, 2021)

How do you get CEC up?


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## spaceman_spiff (Feb 5, 2021)

Whoa, my lime is coming today, and it's only supposed to be 78'. Maybe I'll get to lay it after all!


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## Virginiagal (Apr 24, 2017)

CEC doesn't change much. Raising the pH will help some. Organic matter can help. So leaving clippings on the lawn is good, mulching leaves and leaving them chopped up on the lawn is good. The natural growth and decay of roots provides organic matter.


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## spaceman_spiff (Feb 5, 2021)

Dang that came early. Got the lime down already!


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## spaceman_spiff (Feb 5, 2021)

Virginiagal said:


> CEC doesn't change much. Raising the pH will help some. Organic matter can help. So leaving clippings on the lawn is good, mulching leaves and leaving them chopped up on the lawn is good. The natural growth and decay of roots provides organic matter.


Thanks.
I mulch my grass most of the year, except if there's a ton of weeds or if I seed/overseed. I have a giant 45-foot blue oak in my back yard that DUMPS leaves for a couple months. I usually have to bag them since there's so many. Any products that add organic matter? I've seen Milorganite fert, but that seems like a super-expensive way to do it.


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## Virginiagal (Apr 24, 2017)

That oak sounds perfect if it drops over a couple of months. Just keep on mowing the leaves. You can reduce 10 inches of leaves to 1 inch. Of course, 10 inches is too much at once. But if you just mow 2-3 inches of leaves at a time, no problem. It's a way to compost without the bother of composting. I bring tarps of leaves over from neighbors to add to my own leaves. Mow them all in.


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## spaceman_spiff (Feb 5, 2021)

Virginiagal said:


> That oak sounds perfect if it drops over a couple of months. Just keep on mowing the leaves. You can reduce 10 inches of leaves to 1 inch. Of course, 10 inches is too much at once. But if you just mow 2-3 inches of leaves at a time, no problem. It's a way to compost without the bother of composting. I bring tarps of leaves over from neighbors to add to my own leaves. Mow them all in.


Yeah that's a good point. I just worry about the sheer amount of leaves smothering the grass after a mulching mow. Plus, it makes my soil super acidic, as my soil analysis shows, so I have to lime the crap out of it to keep it from getting too bad. There's already a few patches there where grass doesn't grow well that I'm trying to correct.


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## Virginiagal (Apr 24, 2017)

Cut them up into little pieces (it may take a couple of passes) and the pieces fall between the grass blades. They don't smother grass. Oak leaves are acidic at first but decompose into a neutral pH. You won't be making your soil acidic by using them. See this:
https://www.abchomeandcommercial.com/blog/composting-oak-leaves/


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## spaceman_spiff (Feb 5, 2021)

Huh, learn something new every day. That's great to know. Thanks for the link!


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## natedogg (8 mo ago)

Where did you get your soil test done if you don't mind me asking?


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## spaceman_spiff (Feb 5, 2021)

natedogg said:


> Where did you get your soil test done if you don't mind me asking?


Waypoint. The one in TN.


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