# Fescue lawn soil test from Northern Alabama



## Abru (Sep 24, 2018)

Hello guys,

My wife and I bought our first home a year ago. It is a new construction. I've spent the past year learning the basics of how to care for a lawn. I do this with a lot of dedication and patience, but I am very much a newbie. I have a 3000ft2 of bermuda in the front yard, and 7000m2 of TTTF in the backyard. I decided to do a soil test for the backyard as a start. For now, my plan is to overseed this lawn with TTTF in the fall, since it is not thick enough yet. I would also like to aerate before I do that, because our red Alabama clay would probably benefit from it. Recommendations are welcome.

It is my goal to have a dense lawn in the backyard by next year. Dense enough not to get muddy shoes whenever I walk on it after some rain, and to make some nice stripes after I mow. I'm currently not persuing a perfect stand of fescue. I prefer to set reachable goals each season, and learn as I go.



I would really appriciate it if I could get some recommendations based on the soil test results. Do I have soil I can work with? and what would be my first step? The fertilizer recommendation seems pretty straightforward, but I don't know what to do next. PH seems a little low, but I am not sure if it is low enough to justify trying to change it.

I do not have a complete irrigation system, but I water using impact sprinklers that I move around. I mow at 3.5 inch, which has gotten my lawn through heat spells fairly well so far.

If additional info is needed, let me know.

Thank you very much!


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## Virginiagal (Apr 24, 2017)

You should definitely add lime to raise the pH if your pH really is 5.57 (Soil Savvy numbers are not necessarily accurate for pH). We are not able to interpret their tests. They should have given you a lime recommendation with that pH reading and if they didn't, they are being negligent. You would do much better to use Auburn University soil testing:
https://www.aces.edu/blog/topics/crop-production/routine-soil-analysis/
There are also commercial labs.

Soil Savvy's fertilizer recommendation is rather strange, in my opinion. They are only recommending 1/2 lb of N, P, and K per 1000 sq ft even though they indicate that P is quite low. And what is a 5-5-5 organic fertilizer? I'm not aware of any with that formulation. This is a recommendation for only one application. If you were to ask them if you needed more fertilizer later, they'd require you to get another test. Auburn and commercial labs will give recommendations for the whole year.

The Auburn site also has publications on turfgrass which may be of interest. I imagine it is a challenge to keep fescue alive in the summer in Alabama. You seem to be doing ok with getting it through the heat spells. Overseeding in the fall will probably be a regular thing.


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## Abru (Sep 24, 2018)

Thank you very much for your reply. If we were to assume that the ph values are accurate, at what rates would you recommend I apply lime and for how long? Also, They seem to recommend 3lbs of N, P, K per 1000ft2 or am I misinterpreting things? 
The reason I picked soil savvy was because of its convenience + I have seen many more users on this forum use Soil Savvy. Some which have stunning lawns. I don't really want to throw this test overboard just yet. Perhaps I'll try a different lab for a next test.


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## jimbeckel (May 27, 2018)

Abru said:


> Thank you very much for your reply. If we were to assume that the ph values are accurate, at what rates would you recommend I apply lime and for how long? Also, They seem to recommend 3lbs of N, P, K per 1000ft2 or am I misinterpreting things?
> The reason I picked soil savvy was because of its convenience + I have seen many more users on this forum use Soil Savvy. Some which have stunning lawns. I don't really want to throw this test overboard just yet. Perhaps I'll try a different lab for a next test.


I'm in your neighborhood and have Bermuda in the front and Meyer zoysia in the rear. I plan on overseeing with TTTF Titan RX which is more heat tolerant, I also irrigate the whole yard. My ph was in the six range which means it is slightly acidic. I added a bunch of lime and the zoysia seems to be doing better. If you need any help let me know.


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## Abru (Sep 24, 2018)

@jimbeckel Thanks, Jim! What would be a good time window for our area to overseed? I moved here less than two years ago (I'm a Dutchman), and was quite disappointed when we had a 90 degree heat spell early-mid october last year. Right after I put down fescue seed.


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## jimbeckel (May 27, 2018)

Abru said:


> @jimbeckel Thanks, Jim! What would be a good time window for our area to overseed? I moved here less than two years ago (I'm a Dutchman), and was quite disappointed when we had a 90 degree heat spell early-mid october last year. Right after I put down fescue seed.


I'm going to seed around the middle of September, that would give me about six strong weeks of good weather to get the TTTF going into the winter. I expect the grass to stay green most of the winter unless we have a bad cold snap. I'm originally from Illinois so I am adapting to the warm season grass but Bermuda looks really good mowed short.


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## Virginiagal (Apr 24, 2017)

3 lb of a fertilizer with 16% N and 16% P and 16% K gives you 0.48 lb of N and 0.48 lb of P and 0.48 lb of K. The NPK numbers are the percentages of those nutrients in that fertilizer. A normal fertilization is 1 lb/1000 square feet of a nutrient. For slow release nitrogen, you can go up to 1.5 lb/1000 square feet. You can use various formulations of fertilizer; just determine how many pounds of it will give you the feeding you desire.

I can't make any lime recommendations. It goes by more than just the pH, even if it were accurate. You'll need a soil test from a reputable lab. You have time to get one done.


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## Abru (Sep 24, 2018)

Thanks for clarifying @Virginiagal I misinterpreted earlier.


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## corneliani (Apr 2, 2019)

For starters, apply some starter fertilizer to get your seeds going. Even with a large margin of error this soil test is showing serious deficiency in P, which is very important for seedlings & their root formation. If it was me I'd easily apply a good pound of P per 1000, you won't harm anything applying that much fertilizer in the fall on a cool season lawn. If you pick up the Leso 18-24-12 that's about 5-6 lbs of product per 1000. Or do split apps, half a bag at seeding and the other half 4-6 wks later.
Also you can't go wrong with spreading out some dolomitic lime, no matter how accurate that test is. I myself would feel very comfortable with applying 25-lbs/1000 (ideally before seeding, and watered in). This should also bump up your Mg levels as well. A micronutrient plan going forward should address your shortages there.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

@corneliani Using any lime without understanding the Ca and Mg in the soil can cause problems. Mg stays in the soil can lead to a compacted soil (chemical not mechanical). Lime can also push the pH above 7, which is not ideal.


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## corneliani (Apr 2, 2019)

g-man said:


> @corneliani Using any lime without understanding the Ca and Mg in the soil can cause problems. Mg stays in the soil can lead to a compacted soil (chemical not mechanical). Lime can also push the pH above 7, which is not ideal.


I can understand that concern but I'm telling you, here in the south this acidic soil of ours, surrounded by pine trees every which way, can handle regular lime treatments.. and in this situation, being that it's new grass on potentially scraped new-construction soil that hasn't received any lime treatments before, it should eat up 25-lbs/M without much concern. I've done it myself, 2 yrs running, and barely raised it 1/2 point.

I agree with your approach of being conscious & aware of the risks, but in this circumstance I would feel more than comfortable doing it. Especially since he has a soil test (reliability be damned).


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## Abru (Sep 24, 2018)

Thank you for the replies. You are right that it's scraped contruction soil. Very compacted in certain areas too, depending on where it has been levelled. Like I said before, I'm not looking for a perfect lawn by next year. I just like it to be much more dense and lush than it is now. And learn to apply different products and see what aeration does for my lawn. I'll raise the bar each year. I'll consider your fertilizer recommendations. I very much appreciate it. I'm starting a journal on this forum, too. Much better than writing stuff in a notebook that no one but me will read.


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