# I got a proper soil test ......



## dunc (Jan 6, 2019)

A couple of years ago I posted here with a soil test for a Colorado lawn that showed the soil was quite acidic. The experts here told me to come back after getting a proper test  I am always happy to learn and I appreciate the advice so I recently sent some soil samples to Waypoint.

This first test is for the front lawn, fescue, shaded by large oak trees, mostly fertilized with Milorganite



This second test is for the back lawn, mostly kbg, which is shared with chickens which provide our eggs. So I start the year with organic ferts like corn, alfalfa and use straight urea in the fall



Any advice would be most appreciated.

Edit - apart from the low pH I have two other questions / concerns. Can someone point me to a chart of reasonable ranges for the different tests? I live in an old house so there has been many decades for people to add fertilizer and I am not sure how far from reasonable things currently are?

Cheers.


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## Virginiagal (Apr 24, 2017)

Both lawns need lime, especially the back one. The soil tests came with recommendations, didn't they? Follow those recommendations. You can put down 50 lb of lime per 1000 sq ft at a time (if you use fast acting lime follow the bag directions).

@Ridgerunner has some info on various extractants and values to shoot for:
https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=1088
You can ask the lab which kind of soil test was used.


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## Yellow Jacket (May 8, 2021)

I agree, hit the lime at max rate in back yard. I would use dolomitic since your magnesium is super low too. Then slow down on the fertilizer on back yard. When you do put some down, go at a light rate of something that has no phosphorus, your levels are literally maxed out on this test.


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## Virginiagal (Apr 24, 2017)

I am wondering if there could be chicken poop mixed into the soil sample for the back yard. 9.1% organic matter is not normal.


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## dunc (Jan 6, 2019)

Thank you for your help @Virginiagal and @Yellow Jacket. The link to the post by @Ridgerunner was very helpful.

I don't think there was raw chicken poop mixed in with the samples. I used a ProPlugger and took soil from the base of ~10 samples. However, according to Wikipedia the 3000 sqft lawn is getting ~1000 lbs of raw poop 1.6/1.0/1.0 per year. I have also been mulching about 6 inches of oak leaves into the lawn each fall which might explain some of the organic matter.

The Waypoint recommendation is for 400 lbs of lime so it is going to take a while to get the pH adjusted. I'll get started on adding the dolomitic lime, hold off on P,K and retest next winter.

Cheers,


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