# Danno99 Soil Test Analysis



## Danno99 (Aug 9, 2018)

Hey all,
Thanks for the suggestions!
I do have an irrigation system and I've been watering every other day for 30 minutes per zone.
I also spread compost by the yard every year.
I've been fighting bent grass since I moved here but I think I finally have the upper hand.
The weeds are showing up where the grass is sparse. It's these spots that I need to get grass growing to crowd out any potential weeds.
I've done soil tests every year, except for the last one, but I'm not certain of the results.
I'll try to post the latest one here.

Thanks!

Dan


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## NikeFace (Feb 14, 2018)

I had a feeling you were in better shape than the first post assumed.

You may want to cut down the water to once or twice a week but for longer each time. You want an inch+ a week. Deep and infrequent.

Is it reasonable to pull the weeds by hand? If so, I stick by suggestion. Pull weeds, rake soil, seed, roll if you can, cover with peat moss, and water 3-5 days (10 min or so- just want to keep seed/peat moist).

For the soil, I'm not a pro, but it looks decent to me. I think you need lime, maybe with calcium. But hopefully others with more experience chirp in. May want something more specialized like SOP but I want to hear what others say...


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

@Danno99 I moved your post to the soil analysis so we could discuss it.

Your test is one of the reason I prefer members to use a good lab vs some other online labs.

I'm concerned with your sulfur levels (299ppm). That's pretty high and could cause problems in the soil. Ridgerunner explained best in his  soil thread 



ridgerunner said:


> For the nerds  : 1. Elemental sulfur will lower soil pH BUT Sulfate does not lower soil pH. 2. In very unusual situations, sulfate buildup can create a black layer. This occurs in humid high temperature climates where anaerobic conditions may arise due to excess water and soil compaction and poor soil drainage. This has been observed on some golf courses where intensive sulfate containing fertilizers are applied and due to excess soil water, microbes use the oxygen in the sulfate and replace it with hydrogen producing hydrogen sulfide (rotten eggs) creating toxic conditions.


There are other minor issues: you need some lime to up your pH, potassium and phosphorous, but let's focus on sulfur for now. Have you applied any? Anything that could help understand this value?


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## BXMurphy (Aug 5, 2017)

g-man said:


> I moved your post to the soil analysis so we could discuss it.
> Your test is one of the reason I prefer members to use a good lab vs some other online labs.


@g-man, that looks like a UMass soil test. That's a good one, right?

I have never seen an online soil test result. How does an online test compared to what UMass provides? Do you have a preferred lab?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Look at the soil labs thread in the signature below my post.


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## BXMurphy (Aug 5, 2017)

g-man said:


> Look at the soil labs thread in the signature below my post.


Hey, that's pretty good. Thanks! I found a list of labs and a source of other labs that participate in North American Proficiency Testing (NAPT) Program. UMass is a participant. Thanks!

BTW... the acronym in that thread has a typo... it should be NAPT (and not NATP).

Edit: I also re-read your Cool Season Lawn Care Guide for the umpteenth time. That really is a good piece of work. I am always favorably impressed. Good job!


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## Danno99 (Aug 9, 2018)

Hey all,
Thanks again for all the suggestions. What would you consider infrequent and deep waterings? Once, twice, a week? And for how long per zone? 60? 90 minutes?
As for my PH, when I first moved into my house my PH was 4.5  In ten years I have literally put down at least a ton of lime over my 12K sq ft of lawn and had 20 pine trees taken down, and still my PH is low. Is there a quicker acting lime or some other product that can raise this?
I swear I've put more blood, sweat, and tears into my lawn than the average person, but whenever I see a nice lawn, I never see anyone working on it! Arrgh!
I'm going to hand pull the weeds and try to enhance the soil where the weeds show up. How long does compost keep it's potency? I have 2 yards of it in a pile, but it just looks like topsoil and I even have weeds growing it..

Dan in NH


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Deep is 3/4 -1in of water. Infrequent is once a week or when it shows the signs of stress. In the peak of summer heat it could be every 3 days. You need to do an audit. Place tuna cans or a similar straight wall container and see how long you need to run your zones to the 3/4in.

Have you ever applied sulfur to your lawn? I think we need to get to the bottom of the sulfur question before we could deal with the pH. Do you have lb/ksqft of lime you have applied recorded? @Ridgerunner any other ideas that I'm not thinking of?


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

@Danno99 Could you post some of the other soil tests you've done ( with dates) so we can see if there is any trend? Also are you on a well?


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