# First Soil Test Results - Looking for advice



## cfinden (Aug 7, 2018)

Hi all,

Got my first soil test results back from Logan Labs (via Brett Young). My Brett Young sales guy included a recommendation which included the recommendation of buying some fairly pricey products.

These results are from my front lawn which is a NoMix in silty loam soil with a lot of black top soil.

Looks like I'm low on Potassium, some Boron, and high on Sodium.

Looking for advice and thoughts.

Here's the results:




Recommendation from my Brett Young rep:

The soil test and saturated paste test results came back yesterday, I have attached them with notes on optimum levels and areas for concern. The biggest noticeable area for concern on the soil test is the shortage of Potassium and Magnesium, this can be amended by adding granular Potassium and Magnesium to the soil. The imbalance of the soils will make fertilizer applications inefficient and make soils tight making water penetration tougher. The noticeable areas for concern on the Saturated paste tests are the low % of Potassium, it should always be higher than the % of Sodium, when the sodium is higher than Potassium, the high Bicarbonates become an issue by tying up nutrients. If you address the low Potassium in the soil it will bring up the saturation % and will eliminate the issues with Sodium and Bicarbonates. I have also attached the guidelines for soil and saturated paste tests for your information. We have a few products such as Exchange 0-0-15 which will address the low Potassium, Magnesium and also beneficial Sulphur. This sells for $49/50lb bag and is best to apply monthly in addition to regular fertilizer. For regular fertilizer I would suggest something like our Tru Prill 19-2-15 fertilizer, it has slow release nitrogen a nice micronutrient package, it is dispersible to eliminate mower pickup, it sells for $53/50lb bag. I have attached the info sheets on both these products.

Take a look and let me know what you think!


----------



## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

A Logan Labs report in ppm and a saturated paste test. That makes for an interesting opportunity for analysis. Wish I had the time.


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

If you can get SOP (0-0-50) for your potassium, it could be cheaper than his product. P is on the high side. Do you know the source of the sodium?


----------



## cfinden (Aug 7, 2018)

@g-man that's what I was thinking, does SOP have magnesium?

I have a massive pine tree could the needles increase the sodium?


----------



## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

@cfinden There is a product called K-Mag: 0-0-22 with 11% Mg (and 21%S via sulfate) but it's a bit hard to source, especially in a prill form. An alternative is Epsom Salts. IMO, your Mg levels are fine (above 150 ppm, BS of 10% and a Ca:Mg ratio of around 7:1 and no K:Mg concerns). Mg can tighten soil by binding clay particles. I'd let it ride.
@g-man Take a look at his paste test nutrient levels, especially P. Here's a cheat sheet: http://soilfirst.com/pdf/soiltest/Saturated_Paste_Extract_Guidelines.pdf
Although I strongly suspect the nutrient levels are skewed due to the timing of the test (soil isn't woke from winter yet-not active biology, plant root exudeates, liquid water), it still makes for an interesting analysis/exercise. I doubt you have any more free time than I, but it would be educational to research bicarbonates and how they interact (the mechanics and chemistry) in the soil.


----------



## cfinden (Aug 7, 2018)

@Ridgerunner Interesting, is the binding of clay particles a big concern even with lower clay content?

Here's the 2 products recommended to me:


----------



## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

Have you had a soil texture test? What was the clay %? At a CEC of 15, it's likely that you have a fair percentage of clay (albeit your OM is above 5). If you like, think of clay as a mortar between the bricks of sand and silt. Making the "mortar" stronger/tighter by adding Mg make the soil harder to break apart and less permeable to water. I only mention the possible negative Mg issue because of your bicarbonate levels. Higher bicarb levels are known to result in tighter soils. As your Mg is sufficient, why chance the possibility of creating an additional soil texture/drainage issue? On the other hand, you know whether you have soil drainage and tilth issues or not. That 0-0-15 product at 7% Mg if applied at the rate of 1#/M of K is going to add nearly 1/2 pound of Mg. Logan is recommending the addition of one and a quarter pounds of Mg, so take care if you employ that product. The amount of Mg in the 19-2-15 I don't see as a problem if applied by itself.


----------



## cfinden (Aug 7, 2018)

@Ridgerunner makes sense, I'm not going to risk it. Thank you.

I'd like to control what I put down as much as possible so I'm going to try and source SOP for my potassium, and not bother with the 2 products recommended above.

@g-man My local supply store has MOP (Muriate of Potash) instead of SOP (Sulphate of Potash) I'm not knowledgeable enough to determine the difference even with Google. Are you able to explain the difference, and recommend one over the other?


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

SOP is nicer to the soil.

Check this thread.


----------



## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

I'm a pretty conservative type. Sorry for being a Debbie Downer on the Mg. As always it's your lawn and your decision. Good luck


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

@cfinden the recommended SOP rate is 2lb of SOP/ksqft per growing month.


----------



## cfinden (Aug 7, 2018)

g-man said:


> @cfinden the recommended SOP rate is 2lb of SOP/ksqft per growing month.


Thanks g-man. My SOP is 0-0-50 so that would give me 1lb/ksqft of potassium. So at this rate it will take 2 seasons to meet my recommendation of 6.5lbs/ksqft of potassium.


----------



## cfinden (Aug 7, 2018)

I bought some general purpose fertilizer for my raspberries, strawberries, etc. Label below:



Would it be beneficial to put down 3lbs/M on my turf? I know it has a polymer coated urea (PCU) which seems to be controversial for lawn applications, but if I put it down at 3lbs/M I'm only putting down max 0.45lb/M of N.


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

You can. The only problem with slow release is not having control. One you apply it, you cant control when it is available to the roots and when it stopped being available.


----------

