# Reel Low Dad's aka Fistertondeluxe's Soil Test



## Reel Low Dad (Jun 1, 2017)

Here are the results of my soil test I had done at MidWest Labs. I chose the S3C Complete package that included their S1A, S2N and S3 tests. My first thought, with having limited knowledge, is not to bad. I am still pouring over @Ridgerunner soil thread to learn how to do this myself. In the mean time, here it is for all to scrutinize.



For Background info, the 2016 and 2017 seasons were spring apps of Scotts GreenMax at bag rate and Milo the rest of the year following their schedule. 2018 was AMS in the Spring, followed by a local blend called Ninja Blend and a blend of AMS and Biosolids called magic mix. I also did foliar apps with ENC 11-8-5. RGS was also added as well as a bit more Humic via the Tournament Ready Pellets with Actesol.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Lets start with pH: 6.2. That is in a nice spot. No change needed.
Organic matter: 3.6%. This is a good.
Phosphorous: Both weak Bray(15-30)40 and strong Bray(40-60)66 are on the high side. Avoid adding more P to your soil.
Potassium: AA (Ammonium Acetate 100-235) 173. This is a good range. Keep up with maintenance quantities more so if you dont collect your clippings)
CEC: 10 good middle of the road CEC.
Sulfur: looks good too. 
Iron: looks good too.

Their recommendations are on point. Just a simple maintenance strategy. The 24-0-4 Carbon X would be a good product for your soil.


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## Reel Low Dad (Jun 1, 2017)

@g-man awesome to hear. Now just need to pick up 4 Bag of CX for the year. Plus some ammonium sulfate to kick things off.

Really surprised you didn't interpret it as needed a heavy glyphosate app followed by a KBG overseed 😁


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

This is what the soil needs regardless you are growing a grass(kbg) or a hot weather weed (Bermuda).


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

I don't have much to add to what @g-man has said. Across the board, none of the nutrient levels are lower than sufficiency range to even remotely suggest a possible deficiency and none are so high as to be close to possible toxicity levels. As g-man said, in the build/maintain program, your soil is built. You're either a heck of a farmer (albeit a farmer of a weed) or incredibly lucky.

A couple of extraneous points:
On pH. Recommendation for the range of pH at which all nutrients are most available is 6.5-6.8. I think the concept of an "ideal" pH is highly debatable. I thought it was @g-man, but maybe it was @j4c11 who had posted a Carolina University study regarding the relationship between soil pH and turf disease where they reported lower soil pH resulted in lower incidence of disease. For example, this article on pH and summer patch: https://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/diseases-in-turf/summer-patch-in-turf/

On P. Why have two tests for P (Bray P1 and Bray P2)? Bray P1 is a weaker extract than P2, but it's considered, by those who use it to judge the sufficiency of soil P levels, an ideal test method for determining the amount of P that is or will be available to the plant during the current growing season. Bray P2, being a stronger extract is likely not only reporting P that will be available during the current growing season, but also reporting P that is far less labile (tied up in chemical complexes) and unavailable for another season or two or possibly many years. A number of soil specialists suggest an interesting concept. Comparing changes in P1 and P2 levels could be used as an indicator as to what proportion of a P amendment remains labile or readily available to the plant and what proportion is likely becoming tied up in complexes and is not available to the plant. So what, who cares? Well, P that is less labile is getting tied up with something and in lower pH soil the most likely culprits are the metallic micro-nutrients like Fe, Zn, Cu etc.
If your micro levels are low, and your P levels are already plentiful, is it wise to add more P and chance affecting micro availability? How actually detrimental is this? Meh., but what's the purpose served in chancing it? BTW, Your micros are at healthy levels, I don't see this as an issue for you, just an FYI to consider.
Another interesting (to me) thing about P, is that at some level (somewhere above 100 ppm) the plant resists in toto root inoculation by mycorrhizal fungi, thereby reducing or eliminating the nutrients and water that the fungi would otherwise be supplying the plant. Why do that? 
I think that's all I got, @g-man didn't leave much, so I decided to go off on a tangent rather than say "I got nuttin'." :roll:  :lol:

P.S., I can't get the tags to work. Bummer. Can any mod fix that? Thanks in advance.


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## Reel Low Dad (Jun 1, 2017)

Thank you @Ridgerunner I feel honored to have received one of your tangents and overly in depth explanations. I want to say I got lucky. I didn't start caring about the soil until 2 years ago.


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