# Compost to amend soil?



## PFTanx (Aug 13, 2021)

This fall, I'll begin the process of trying to amend my awful clay that is lacking nutrients according to my soil test. Virtually no P&K, hard to work with, some run off issues here and there, ruts. The lawn is about 1 year old, this is its first growing season and most of it was planted last august.

So; what I want to accomplish;

1-Add Nutrients
2-Level Ruts
3-Aim for loamy soil over time

To accomplish this I will plan to aerate in the fall (VERY compact clay) and add 1/4" high quality local compost that is baked to eliminate seed. I will use their "super soil" which is mostly compost and a bit of sand. It's nice stuff. I'll also plan to do a nitrogen blitz, although this I'm unsure of due to compost. Perhaps I aerate and compost earlier in the fall and do the nitrogen blitz a few weeks later. It's my hope that this will help introduce some of the essential nutrients it's lacking. With the nitrogen blitz I would also try to find a low N and high P&K fert mix, this is where I'm getting a little "unsure".

Ruts I'll level when I do the top dressing except with top soil/sand mixture. Not the compost.

Then I snap back into reality and say to myself "you're doing too much".


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## Grizzly Adam (May 5, 2017)

Adding compost and sand is likely the way to go! I would consider adding more sand while you are going to the trouble. Check out the USDA soil triangle and look at how much sand and silt are in loam. The compost will do you well for getting some nutrient keeping your CEC up as you transition away from clay to a sandier mixture. After that, top dressing with more sand should get you pretty smooth.


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## BobLovesGrass (Jun 13, 2020)

One line of thought is that to increase organic matter, fert fert fert and mulch your clippings. This will get roots growing too and break up soil.

Not saying there is anything wrong with your plan, just saying, there is value in fert beyond thicker grass.

And a heads up on the leveling, leveling with something largely compost will have the ruts reappear. Been there , made that mistake so you don't need too.


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## Grizzly Adam (May 5, 2017)

I second mulching. I am not one that has ever worried too much about leveling my lawn-- mulching all year and aggressive core aeration in the fall will do a good job at filling in small rut, ankle twisting holes, and just general leveling.


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## PFTanx (Aug 13, 2021)

Thanks for the input. I'll use sand to level the ruts. My question is on timing and in what order. Does it matter? I assume doing a fall nitrogen blitz at the very end makes sense.


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## Grizzly Adam (May 5, 2017)

Nitrogen in the early fall should be good.


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## Virginiagal (Apr 24, 2017)

Why do you not want to use much nitrogen in the fall? Whatever you're doing will not be a nitrogen blitz.


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## BobLovesGrass (Jun 13, 2020)

If leveling you want some nitrogen beforehand to help the grass pop back up thru the leveling medium quickly


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## robjak (Mar 31, 2020)

"With the nitrogen blitz I would also try to find a low N and high P&K fert mix, this is where I'm getting a little "unsure".

This is what VirginiaGal is referencing. Low N is not a BLITZ. The blitz is using a applying a fast acting nitrogen source (Urea or AMS) at a fairly high rate during the fall growth season (0.5 N / M weekly).


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## Virginiagal (Apr 24, 2017)

Compost is good stuff and you seem excited by what you have found. @BobLovesGrass makes a good point that you want some nitrogen down before you aerate and spread compost. If you're low in P and K getting some down before you aerate is a great time to do so. P is rather immobile and getting it into aeration holes will get it closer to roots. A balanced fertilizer, like 10-10-10, will give you equal amounts of N, P, and K and you can do 1 lb per 1000 sq ft of each nutrient in a month. Still puzzled by why you want low N. If you were overseeding, then you'd want to hold back on N. But you haven't mentioned overseeding.

Now if all this seems too much work (spreading compost is hard labor and you have a large yard), you can increase organic matter in the soil by increased growth (with fertilizer, as @BobLovesGrass mentioned) and mulching as he and @Grizzly Adam recommended. Leave your grass clippings on the lawn whenever you mow. In the fall when the leaves fall, mulch mow them into the lawn. It's a way to make compost for the lawn without buying or spreading anything. Every few days as the leaves fall, mow them into little pieces. They will fall between the grass plants and decompose. If you don't have many leaves, gather some from your neighbors (with their permission) and mow them in.


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## PFTanx (Aug 13, 2021)

robjak said:


> "With the nitrogen blitz I would also try to find a low N and high P&K fert mix, this is where I'm getting a little "unsure".
> 
> This is what VirginiaGal is referencing. Low N is not a BLITZ. The blitz is using a applying a fast acting nitrogen source (Urea or AMS) at a fairly high rate during the fall growth season (0.5 N / M weekly).


Oh, I see the misunderstanding. I was planning on doing a nitrogen blitz but also trying to find a high P&K Fert to do separately prior to the nitrogen blitz. Totally separate from the blitz itself.


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## PFTanx (Aug 13, 2021)

Virginiagal said:


> Compost is good stuff and you seem excited by what you have found. @BobLovesGrass makes a good point that you want some nitrogen down before you aerate and spread compost. If you're low in P and K getting some down before you aerate is a great time to do so. P is rather immobile and getting it into aeration holes will get it closer to roots. A balanced fertilizer, like 10-10-10, will give you equal amounts of N, P, and K and you can do 1 lb per 1000 sq ft of each nutrient in a month. Still puzzled by why you want low N. If you were overseeding, then you'd want to hold back on N. But you haven't mentioned overseeding.
> 
> Now if all this seems too much work (spreading compost is hard labor and you have a large yard), you can increase organic matter in the soil by increased growth (with fertilizer, as @BobLovesGrass mentioned) and mulching as he and @Grizzly Adam recommended. Leave your grass clippings on the lawn whenever you mow. In the fall when the leaves fall, mulch mow them into the lawn. It's a way to make compost for the lawn without buying or spreading anything. Every few days as the leaves fall, mow them into little pieces. They will fall between the grass plants and decompose. If you don't have many leaves, gather some from your neighbors (with their permission) and mow them in.


I had considered overseeding, but this lawn is a year old and from one of my many threads, the consensus seemed to be that there shouldn't be a need to oversee assuming there aren't large bare spots. I don't mind the manual labor of spreading the compost, I will probably get a Landzie top dresser or try and rent a top dressing machine locally, if I can find one.

I do have a mulching plug on my mower so the clippings always stay in the lawn. Last year, I had blown all the leaves into the woods, but this year I will mulch them in with the mower. Good tip! I do worry about some of the leaves not getting mulched (there are a TON of leaves in the fall), and killing out spots of the lawn. Many leaves that were left over from the fall left some dead patches in my grass this spring.


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## Virginiagal (Apr 24, 2017)

You don't have to find a low N fertilizer. Here's the order of operations: aerate, put down balanced fertilizer, put down compost. Continue to put down more balanced fertilizer through the fall. The nitrogen blitz is usually urea or ammonium sulfate every week or couple of weeks. You would be using an appropriate amount of balanced fertilizer instead. There is limited time to take advantage of this prime fall growing time and you should take advantage of it from the start, which in your area might be mid to late August.


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## PFTanx (Aug 13, 2021)

Virginiagal said:


> You don't have to find a low N fertilizer. Here's the order of operations: aerate, put down balanced fertilizer, put down compost. Continue to put down more balanced fertilizer through the fall. The nitrogen blitz is usually urea or ammonium sulfate every week or couple of weeks. You would be using an appropriate amount of balanced fertilizer instead. There is limited time to take advantage of this prime fall growing time and you should take advantage of it from the start, which in your area might be mid to late August.


Thanks for the help! I appreciate it very much!


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