# UConn vs MySoil: Test Results



## spraying_and_praying (Feb 24, 2021)

Just got my test results back. I took samples from both my front/side yard, and my back yard for testing through UConn and MySoil. Just to make the test as comparable as possible, I used a clean soil probe and gloves, and took 10-15 samples in each separate area (4 in. deep), mixed each set in a clean plastic bucket, and made my submitted samples from the same pool of soil for each case. I cleaned the probe and bucket between sampling areas, and changed gloves as well. Results are below.

I'm interested in your thoughts, both on the UConn vs MySoil comparison, and helpful suggestions on what I should apply this spring/fall season. Thanks in advance for your insights!

Front and Side Yard:









Back Yard:


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I'm glad you did a real test.

Your soil pH is low and they are recommending lime to raise it.

You soil cec is low. This means that it will struggle to hold on to nutrients. I suggest to apply half the monthly rate every 2 weeks of nutrients.

Your P and K are low. A balanced fertilizer would be a good approach.


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## spraying_and_praying (Feb 24, 2021)

@g-man Thanks for the insights and advice! I do have a few questions if you could help. I'm still trying to make sense of all this information. :?

1) My yard is weirdly shaped- some flat, some sloped, and some steep. In addition, I have a drilled well over 200' deep with standing water about 30' down, and a septic system on site. I've read up on low CEC since your post, and if I'm understanding this correctly, low CEC soils have a tendency to leach nutrients. UConn recommends no more than 2 lbs per 1K sq ft of nitrogen per year if mulching clippings (which I do). Given all that, should I "spoon feed" my yard fertilizer over the season, making sure I don't exceed that yearly 2 lb mark to protect groundwater? UConn recommended two applications per year (May and September), each delivering 1 lb per 1K sq ft, but given my low CEC numbers, wouldn't that promote leaching?!?

2) Besides adjusting pH upward, and mulching clippings and leaves to provide more organic material, is there anything I should be doing to promote a higher CEC number?

3) Given the weird topography of my land, it's really all cut up. I don't have a practical way to irrigate, so I let rainfall take care of watering. My understanding is to never apply fertilizer or other soil amendments during dormancy. How do I handle spoon feeding under these conditions? Apply shortly before light rain in spring and fall, and stop during times of summer and winter dormancy? UConn recommends no applications between October 15-April 15, but summer dormancy is still an issue, correct?

4) My magnesium levels tested optimum, so I bought peletized calcitic lime. Is that the correct choice? And should that be spoon fed over the season as well (except during any summer dormancy)?

5) Anything else I should be thinking of as I start my lawn care season? You've been very helpful- please know it is appreciated! Thank you!


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## AvgHomeOwner (Jun 23, 2020)

For CEC - I would get a SiteOne membership and pick up CarbonPro G. Look it up! It optimizes PH and also helps to increase CEC. It's got Humic and Biochar.

Spraying comes mind when you say spoon feeding. You will probably have better control. Some pictures on yard topography would help advise from experts.


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## Deadlawn (Sep 8, 2020)

spraying_and_praying said:


> @g-man Thanks for the insights and advice! I do have a few questions if you could help. I'm still trying to make sense of all this information. :?
> 
> 1) My yard is weirdly shaped- some flat, some sloped, and some steep. In addition, I have a drilled well over 200' deep with standing water about 30' down, and a septic system on site. I've read up on low CEC since your post, and if I'm understanding this correctly, low CEC soils have a tendency to leach nutrients. UConn recommends no more than 2 lbs per 1K sq ft of nitrogen per year if mulching clippings (which I do). Given all that, should I "spoon feed" my yard fertilizer over the season, making sure I don't exceed that yearly 2 lb mark to protect groundwater? UConn recommended two applications per year (May and September), each delivering 1 lb per 1K sq ft, but given my low CEC numbers, wouldn't that promote leaching?!?
> 
> ...


A few thoughts here:

Your existence of a well rings an alarm bell. In this case, I would use organic sources of N since they are slower release - meaning the grass will use most of it before it can leach. Organics also have the advantage that they will not further acidify the soil. Have you seen how much S there is in Scott's Turf Builder? Use no more than 1 lb. per 1000 sq. ft. per app - once in spring at the beginning of spring flush and once in late summer/early fall. Between that and recycled grass clippings, your lawn will have all the N it needs. More just means more frequent mowing and more disease pressure. If you cannot irrigate, you should always time fertilizer apps before rain.

AFAIK, the only way to raise CEC is to increase organic matter. My guess as a fellow New Englander is that your soil is sandy like mine. Sand makes a nice sieve, but doesn't do much to hold nutrients and water.

Calcitic lime is your correct lime choice. Lime is to be applied at no more than 50 lbs per 1000 sq ft each app at roughly 6 months apart. Your pH is slightly low, but not terrible. One app may be enough here to get you into the optimum range.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

spraying_and_praying said:


> @g-man Thanks for the insights and advice! I do have a few questions if you could help. I'm still trying to make sense of all this information. :?
> 
> 1) My yard is weirdly shaped- some flat, some sloped, and some steep. In addition, I have a drilled well over 200' deep with standing water about 30' down, and a septic system on site. I've read up on low CEC since your post, and if I'm understanding this correctly, low CEC soils have a tendency to leach nutrients. UConn recommends no more than 2 lbs per 1K sq ft of nitrogen per year if mulching clippings (which I do). Given all that, should I "spoon feed" my yard fertilizer over the season, making sure I don't exceed that yearly 2 lb mark to protect groundwater? UConn recommended two applications per year (May and September), each delivering 1 lb per 1K sq ft, but given my low CEC numbers, wouldn't that promote leaching?!?


More frequent applications at lower rates are meant to promote the roots being able to grab the nutrients instead of them going to the sublayers. But, the amount you are applying are very very small compared to what a farmer does after tilling the soil. Their recommendation of 2lb N/ksqft is really on the low side. Feed the lawn to get 1 - 1.5in/week of growth and dont focus on a number.



> 2) Besides adjusting pH upward, and mulching clippings and leaves to provide more organic material, is there anything I should be doing to promote a higher CEC number?


The real answer is to change your soil, but thats not feasible. OM is your best bet, but dont think you will get to 20CEC. Since now you know your CEC, just adjust to it.



> 3) Given the weird topography of my land, it's really all cut up. I don't have a practical way to irrigate, so I let rainfall take care of watering. My understanding is to never apply fertilizer or other soil amendments during dormancy. How do I handle spoon feeding under these conditions? Apply shortly before light rain in spring and fall, and stop during times of summer and winter dormancy? UConn recommends no applications between October 15-April 15, but summer dormancy is still an issue, correct?


Feed the lawn when the conditions are good (eg. not in the peak of summer) and mainly with the nitrogen. The lime, do it all now.



> 4) My magnesium levels tested optimum, so I bought peletized calcitic lime. Is that the correct choice? And should that be spoon fed over the season as well (except during any summer dormancy)?
> 
> 5) Anything else I should be thinking of as I start my lawn care season? You've been very helpful- please know it is appreciated! Thank you!


Yes calcitic is fine. Make sure you follow the bag rate if it is the "fast" type.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

AvgHomeOwner said:


> For CEC - I would get a SiteOne membership and pick up CarbonPro G. Look it up! It optimizes PH and also helps to increase CEC. It's got Humic and Biochar.
> 
> Spraying comes mind when you say spoon feeding. You will probably have better control. Some pictures on yard topography would help advise from experts.


I know that YT channels and maybe the bag claims this, but I doubt it can change the pH or have a significant increase in CEC. The word optimize sounds just like marketing speech, what is optimal? does it change it?


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## spraying_and_praying (Feb 24, 2021)

Thanks for all the feedback and advice everyone. Lots of food for thought!


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## Deadlawn (Sep 8, 2020)

g-man said:


> AvgHomeOwner said:
> 
> 
> > For CEC - I would get a SiteOne membership and pick up CarbonPro G. Look it up! It optimizes PH and also helps to increase CEC. It's got Humic and Biochar.
> ...


Yep. Sounds like snake oil to me.


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## AvgHomeOwner (Jun 23, 2020)

g-man said:


> AvgHomeOwner said:
> 
> 
> > For CEC - I would get a SiteOne membership and pick up CarbonPro G. Look it up! It optimizes PH and also helps to increase CEC. It's got Humic and Biochar.
> ...


Per the label it says it actually increases PH.


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## spraying_and_praying (Feb 24, 2021)

@g-man @Deadlawn @AvgHomeOwner After all your insights, I did some additional research, and I'm curious your thoughts.

1) A number of reputable sources indicate that a soil can hold 10x the CEC value of N per acre. In my case, if we average the tests to a CEC of 4.6, to get per 1k sq ft, that would be:

4.6 x 10= 46
46/43.56 = 1.1 lb per 1k sq ft.

So my soil can theoretically hold no more than about 1 lb per 1k sq ft. I don't know the starting value of N, as UConn doesn't measure that nutrient, and MySoil has it low, but the reliability is suspect anyway. Is this math correct? And that definitely supports g-man's suggestion of smaller applications to make sure that leaching doesn't occur.

2) Humic acid applications are recommended to increase CEC values (among other soil amendments). Would an application this season after I core aerate in the fall be beneficial to add organic matter to the soil? I'll continue mulching clippings and leaves (in the areas with leaves in the fall), but adding compost to a yard like mine would be a huge undertaking, and so the granular humic acid application looks attractive to perform. My thought was that right after the soil has been core aerated is the time to apply (but I'm curious your thoughts). Thanks.


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## AvgHomeOwner (Jun 23, 2020)

spraying_and_praying said:


> @g-man @Deadlawn @AvgHomeOwner After all your insights, I did some additional research, and I'm curious your thoughts.
> 
> 1) A number of reputable sources indicate that a soil can hold 10x the CEC value of N per acre. In my case, if we average the tests to a CEC of 4.6, to get per 1k sq ft, that would be:
> 
> ...


#1 for my amateur brain the math looks right and @g-man's recommendation makes sense considering your situation with the well.

#2 Based on what I have read it makes sense to add after core aeration. It would directly be deposited in the root zone. So there is your chance when cores are removed. The CarbonPro G I mentioned earlier is basically chicken poo albeit treated to remove smell (learned this from other threads in this forum).


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## Lawn Whisperer (Feb 15, 2021)

> ... So my soil can theoretically hold no more than about 1 lb per 1k sq ft. I don't know the starting value of N, as UConn doesn't measure that nutrient, and MySoil has it low, but the reliability is suspect anyway. Is this math correct? And that definitely supports g-man's suggestion of smaller applications to make sure that leaching doesn't occur.


Nitrogen can be in a form of cation or an anion, ammonium or nitrate. Nitrogen loss can occur in several ways like leaching, denitrification, volatilization, erosion or runoff. Forms of nitrogen can be highly mobile in soil.
Grass will feed on nitrogen as much as it can and trying to build a nitrogen reserves even in high CEC soil in lawns is not practical. Most labs will test for nitrogen for an extra fee, but most will not include it on their test as mentioned.



> ... but adding compost to a yard like mine would be a huge undertaking, and so the granular humic acid application looks attractive to perform. My thought was that right after the soil has been core aerated is the time to apply...


Humic can be added any time, anything you add after core aeration is a plus. There lawn services that can deliver and spread the compost, some even have a compost spreader. It's similar to a granular spreader but for compost. For DIY, you can rent a manual spreader.






What are your thoughts on the comparison of the two labs you used?


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## spraying_and_praying (Feb 24, 2021)

@Lawn Whisperer Thanks for that video- interesting! I didn't know there was a potential rental option. I'll have to look into that for the fall.

On the comparison question, I'm now understanding the value of traditional testing, and the limits of the MySoil/Soil Savvy testing. Going forward, I plan to continue using UConn's lab for consistency (and lower cost!). I'm actually surprised that there haven't been more forum members commenting on the comparison of my results. It isn't the first time it's been done I'm sure, but I ran two simultaneous tests (front/side and back yards separately), using both methods. That's about as close to exact same as you can get, so these results should reflect a lot about the similarities/differences between them. Do you have any thoughts?

Or maybe it's already been discussed ad nauseam on the forum.


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