# SP's 2019 soil test Waypoint Analytical



## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

I received results back from my soil test from Waypoint Analytical.



I had a test in 2017 from another lab. Among other things, P and K were very low. It looks like I have addressed the deficiency fairly well. Boron was also low on that test. Virginiagal recommended using Borax-coated milorganite for application. That recommendation was not forgotten, but it did get lost in the mix (timing was never right; lots of young grass in the yard). KMag was another recommendation made by Virginiagal, but sourcing that proved difficult.

Waypoint is recommending lime treatment to raise pH to 6.5, but I think I should leave my pH alone, yes?

So, moving foward, I am at a good point to add boron to the lawn this fall. Any suggestions on what else might be helpful?
My goal is to have my grass looking as nice as possible (all the time :mrgreen: :lol: ) .


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## LawnOrder (Sep 29, 2019)

social port said:


> Waypoint is recommending lime treatment to raise pH to 6.5, but I think I should leave my pH alone, yes?


@social port - You're already at the top of the sweet spot for most fescue turfgrasses. Maybe Waypoint thinks you're growing sugar beets.
.


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## Virginiagal (Apr 24, 2017)

Ridgerunner has discussed boron in some detail here:
https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=12642
Read the Michigan State article I linked to there. I am hesitant now to recommend adding boron because overdoing it can be toxic. I have mixed it with Milorganite without ill effects but I can see that if not mixed and spread sufficiently, too much could land in a spot and do harm. So maybe if you're really concerned the boron, do a tissue test first. There are fertilizers that contain micronutrients and you could check them out.

I think it's worth raising the pH to 6.5.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

LawnOrder said:


> social port said:
> 
> 
> > Waypoint is recommending lime treatment to raise pH to 6.5, but I think I should leave my pH alone, yes?
> ...


That is what I was thinking, too. And modifying pH makes me nervous, but it is something I would do if needed.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

Virginiagal said:


> Ridgerunner has discussed boron in some detail here:
> https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=12642
> Read the Michigan State article I linked to there. I am hesitant now to recommend adding boron because overdoing it can be toxic. I have mixed it with Milorganite without ill effects but I can see that if not mixed and spread sufficiently, too much could land in a spot and do harm. So maybe if you're really concerned the boron, do a tissue test first. There are fertilizers that contain micronutrients and you could check them out.
> 
> I think it's worth raising the pH to 6.5.


Thanks for pointing that out. Perhaps I will just let the boron be. Based on those links, it almost sounds as though the boron deficiency could be corrected by increasing organic matter, but I may be wrong in my line of thought.

I wasn't expecting the pH recommendation. Maybe I could try a low rate. Should I also use a fast-acting calcitic lime?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I would try to bump the sulfur via SOP or AMS.


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## Virginiagal (Apr 24, 2017)

The range for tall fescue is 5.5-7.0. So you're ok. I suggest raising it a bit because for those of us with acidic soil it does tend to drop over time so that would keep it up in the good range for the next few years. Did you need lime in 2017? If so, did Waypoint ask you if you had applied lime previously? VA Tech does a lime credit calculation for previous lime applications. If you applied lime in 2017 some of it may still be around to reduce acidity. If you use fast acting lime, follow directions on the bag about how much to use. If you use ordinary lime, don't apply more than 50 lb/1000 sq ft at a time. Aren't you overseeding? If so, put off the lime until late fall.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

g-man said:


> I would try to bump the sulfur via SOP or AMS.


Can do. AMS it is. :thumbup:


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

Virginiagal said:


> The range for tall fescue is 5.5-7.0. So you're ok. I suggest raising it a bit because for those of us with acidic soil it does tend to drop over time so that would keep it up in the good range for the next few years. Did you need lime in 2017? If so, did Waypoint ask you if you had applied lime previously? VA Tech does a lime credit calculation for previous lime applications. If you applied lime in 2017 some of it may still be around to reduce acidity. If you use fast acting lime, follow directions on the bag about how much to use. If you use ordinary lime, don't apply more than 50 lb/1000 sq ft at a time. Aren't you overseeding? If so, put off the lime until late fall.


I have never added lime. I will double-check, but I think I was around 6.3 for pH in 2017. 
Ok, I will move forward with the lime plan. I wasn't thinking about the pH dropping over time. I am not overseeding this year, so now is a good time for the app. I do have a good number of bare areas (dead Bermuda) that I am reseeding. I can use my Whizz spreader to avoid lime in these reseeded areas.
I'm glad that I did the soil test.


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## Virginiagal (Apr 24, 2017)

Instead of avoiding lime in certain areas, I would just do it later on evenly over the area. The lime isn't going to hurt the seedlings; people routinely lime and seed at the same time. It just raises the pH on the surface at a time when the new grass has enough to contend with. So since 6.0 is fine, why not leave it until the new grass is a little more established? You could even do it next spring if you like.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

Virginiagal said:


> Instead of avoiding lime in certain areas, I would just do it later on evenly over the area. The lime isn't going to hurt the seedlings; people routinely lime and seed at the same time. It just raises the pH on the surface at a time when the new grass has enough to contend with. So since 6.0 is fine, why not leave it until the new grass is a little more established? You could even do it next spring if you like.


Yes, that does make more sense. Maybe I can time an app with spring green-up next year :thumbup:


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## Anthony Drexler (Apr 23, 2018)

looks good!


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

Anthony Drexler said:


> looks good!


Yes, I was happy to see those numbers. I have been chipping away at low P and K for two years. Feels like a weight has been lifted.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

Just read my 2017 report. At that time, my pH was 6.4. 
I also had organic matter at 3.9%.

Both figures decreased over two years.


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## Suburban Jungle Life (Mar 1, 2018)

I'm not sure I would be concerned about liming and seeding TTTF. I've put out 50 lbs/M and seeded the same day. With the constant watering, the seed germinated just fine. If you are concerned, you could split it at 25 lbs this fall and the rest in the spring. If it were my lawn, I would lime it now but the real question is, would you use calcitic, dolomitic, or a combo? I like the combo idea of maybe 20% dolomitic and the rest calcitic but I'll let the experts chime in here.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

Suburban Jungle Life said:


> I'm not sure I would be concerned about liming and seeding TTTF. I've put out 50 lbs/M and seeded the same day. With the constant watering, the seed germinated just fine. If you are concerned, you could split it at 25 lbs this fall and the rest in the spring. If it were my lawn, I would lime it now but the real question is, would you use calcitic, dolomitic, or a combo? I like the combo idea of maybe 20% dolomitic and the rest calcitic but I'll let the experts chime in here.


Thank you, SJL. I'm going to seriously consider the option of half now and half in the spring. It occurred to me today that a little pH push might bring a slight color push as well; I don't know enough about pH to know whether or not that is realistic.
Also, I see the point in splitting dolomitic and calcitic; that seems to be at least somewhat analogous to fast-release and slow-release N, right?

I checked stores today, and the most convenient option for sourcing is Pennington's fast acting lime.



If that is not the best option, I could check a farm co-op tomorrow while I am out of town.


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

https://images.homedepot-static.com/catalog/pdfImages/41/417ecb06-d1a5-40cb-975a-78de1d1028f2.pdf


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## Virginiagal (Apr 24, 2017)

You can use any lime. You're not deficient or overloaded with magnesium or calcium. Dolomitic lime has magnesium as well as calcium. Calcitic lime has only calcium. The Pennington lime is calcitic and is fine to use. According to the bag, for a pH of 6 you would use 12 lb/1000 sq ft. per application. So you could apply 12 lb/1000 sq ft this fall, 12 lb/1000 sq ft in the spring, 12 lb/1000 sq ft next fall, 12 lb/1000 sq ft the following spring and get close to the 50 lb/1000 sq ft recommended. Alternatively, if you were to find a dolomitic or non fast-acting calcitic lime, you could apply 50 lb/1000 sq ft in one application or apply 25 lb/1000 sq ft this fall and 25 lb/1000 sq ft next spring. Since your present pH is ok, it's not necessary to immediately raise it. The slower acting limes will continue to work for about three years. You can make the decision based on convenience, price, ease of application.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

Ridgerunner said:


> https://images.homedepot-static.com/catalog/pdfImages/41/417ecb06-d1a5-40cb-975a-78de1d1028f2.pdf





Virginiagal said:


> You can use any lime. You're not deficient or overloaded with magnesium or calcium. Dolomitic lime has magnesium as well as calcium. Calcitic lime has only calcium. The Pennington lime is calcitic and is fine to use. According to the bag, for a pH of 6 you would use 12 lb/1000 sq ft. per application. So you could apply 12 lb/1000 sq ft this fall, 12 lb/1000 sq ft in the spring, 12 lb/1000 sq ft next fall, 12 lb/1000 sq ft the following spring and get close to the 50 lb/1000 sq ft recommended. Alternatively, if you were to find a dolomitic or non fast-acting calcitic lime, you could apply 50 lb/1000 sq ft in one application or apply 25 lb/1000 sq ft this fall and 25 lb/1000 sq ft next spring. Since your present pH is ok, it's not necessary to immediately raise it. The slower acting limes will continue to work for about three years. You can make the decision based on convenience, price, ease of application.


Thank you :thumbup: . I will use the Pennington lime since it is readily available, and I will begin this fall at the 12lb/k rate.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

Virginiagal said:


> I am hesitant now to recommend adding boron because overdoing it can be toxic. I have mixed it with Milorganite without ill effects but I can see that if not mixed and spread sufficiently, too much could land in a spot and do harm. So maybe if you're really concerned the boron, do a tissue test first.


I'm fairly conservative with everything that gets recommended, because it often seems that numbers increase faster than expected, or that the grass does well with only half the number of applications of a given nutrient than you'd expect to be needed. I'm not so into pushing to max/optimal levels of everything...because it's easy to overshoot. Like how I tried to pour a little more gas into the mower today. Bad decision. It indeed overflowed.

I did micros today, using Milorganize, and Boron was one of them. They're such a pain to mix, that I only do micros once per year on average. I got it well-mixed, but again, it was not all that fun to do.

SP: Just noting that you can often have great results using lower application frequencies and less nutrient per year than recommended in your test.

Miracle Gro has some Boron...it's from Boric acid. I'm not sure how great a source that is in terms of quality, for plants.


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## Suburban Jungle Life (Mar 1, 2018)

I feel this says it all. 6.5 seems ideal (especially for P) but it does start to reduce iron a tad. FAS to the rescue!


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

Suburban Jungle Life said:


> I feel this says it all. 6.5 seems ideal (especially for P) but it does start to reduce iron a tad. FAS to the rescue!


That chart does concisely clarify the strengths and weakness. I can see why 6.5 is ideal.

One additional consideration: Plans to raise the pH have assumed that the plant is TTTF. That is correct. However, I also have about 1700 sq ft of bluegrass. I am managing it without fungicides. My biggest concern is summer patch. From what I can tell, higher pH soil is a risk factor for summer patch. 
This raises the question: Should I skip the bluegrass plots when I lime? I am inclined to do one app in the fall, along with the fescue, but skip the spring app. Curious about other opinions here.


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## Virginiagal (Apr 24, 2017)

Cornell recommends 5.5-6.0 for summer patch management:
http://plantclinic.cornell.edu/factsheets/summerpatch.pdf

NC State recommends 6.0-6.5:
https://turf.ces.ncsu.edu/diseases-in-turf/summer-patch-in-turf/
And says "Bluegrasses are less tolerant of low soil pH than other turfgrasses, so use caution when adjusting pH."

With your pH right at 6.0, sounds like you should leave it alone in your bluegrass areas.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

Thanks for the input, @Virginiagal.


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