# Soil test recommendations



## DiggingHoles (Nov 5, 2018)

Hi guys. Like a lot of posts, I got back my first soil test results and am looking for suggestions. Mine is a new sod lawn laid 3 years ago. Pretty similar results for front and back. Seems like really high PH and calcium levels.

I've been using Lesco products since I moved in from Site One. Bought the N-Ext starter pack this year and am wanting to take the yard up a notch this year.

I appreciate any feedback and suggestions you can offer. It's a pretty small yard so cost isn't so much a concern as having a really thick green lawn.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I think this is typical for your area (high pH and calcium). It is likely you also have hard water and a water softener. There is not much that you could do about the pH. Learn to live with it. This means, use ammonium sulfate (AS 21-0-0) and FAS for color/iron. Greendoc recommends constant citric acid for a short term benefit of lower pH. It is not something I've tried yet.

It seems like you could use Phosphorous, but I noticed a small issue with the report. The first page says 11ppm for the back, but 37ppm in the last. I think you should give them a call to clarify. You could also use some potassium to maintain your levels.


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## DiggingHoles (Nov 5, 2018)

Thanks G-Man. I'll ask them to clarify. I don't post a lot but am on the site nearly every day. I love the community and all the shared knowledge!


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

Odd that 11 ppm for P is. I would not think they would re-key the values for the graph instead of a program just pulling from the report.


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## DiggingHoles (Nov 5, 2018)

Here is the response from the lab...

"The soil analysis report shows that we ran the Olsen Bicarbonate phosphorus, in addition to the Weak and Strong Bray phosphorus methods. You'll notice that the excess lime level reported at M (moderate). With that and the combination of the calcium and pH levels, the bray phosphorus tests start to get skewed. So, we run the Olsen Bicarbonate to get what we call a Final P value. On the lawn graph report, there is only a spot to report the "final" P number. Because two different methods were used for the phosphorus analysis, we need to convert the bicarbonate number so that we can compare the weak bray and Olsen numbers apples to apples. The higher of the two levels, after the conversion of the Olsen is calculated, is what we report on the lawn graph.

Back Lawn Final P for Olsen: We take 8 * 1.4 = 11.2 (we round to 11)
Back Lawn Final P for Weak Bray is 5
We report the Final P as the Olsen converted number of 11 since this is higher than the weak bray

For the Front Lawn we performed the same equation.
Front Lawn Final P for Olsen: take 13 * 1.4 = 18.2 (we round to 18)
Front Lawn Final P for Weak Bray is 5
We report the Final P as the Olsen converted number of 18 since this is higher than the weak bray

Again, this is an apples to apples conversion to report the Final phosphorus number used to show what is available and also to calculate the recommendation levels."


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

@DiggingHoles Thanks immensely for tracking that explanation down. Makes sense now.


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## DiggingHoles (Nov 5, 2018)

So I'm planning on putting down 1lb/K of nitrogen using AS 21-0-0 this weekend. Is there a recommended product to add phosphorus?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Triple super phosphate (0-46-0). TSP.


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## DiggingHoles (Nov 5, 2018)

Awesome! Thanks again.


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