# Soil Test Help - Pittsburgh PA



## Apapknarf (Oct 3, 2018)

I need some help interpreting my soil test and building out a plan to get my yard in great shape.

Background: When I purchased this house, the back yard was basically woods. I had all of the trees cut down, and just this spring (5/1/2018) I was able to get the yard graded and seeded with a "Penn State Mix". It came in pretty well, but isn't dense and in some areas there is a significant amount of water that pools, and is just dirt.

This fall (9/22/2018, I mechanically aerated, applied starter fertilizer (Lesco 20-14-4 at bag rate), put 50 lbs of Cal-Turf pro down in the back yard (`6,000 sq/feet) and over seeded with Lesco All Pro Team Mates Mix. A lot of the new seed came up and it looks good but it still doesn't look great and I still have pooling water in some areas.

Am I expecting too much for a new lawn? Should I put down some Calcitic vs Dolomitic Lime now based upon the results of my soil test even though i applied the Cal-Turf Pro already(link below - note, I took two samples, one for the front yard which was established and another for the back yard which is new this year)? What steps based upon where the lawn is at should I take to get it moving in the right direction?

My backyard and the transformation - 




2018SoilTest.pdf - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y2gPDECAl215_n_nhGGqXoPrTyZbmOFv/view?usp=sharing


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

There is a big difference between front and back in calcium. Sample depth was 0 to 4in? Other than the trees removal, any other reason to explain the difference.

I would follow the recommendations that Penn State gave you. I would do one application of lime this yearto the back only (never the front). I would use agricultural ground limestone, per the report.

Next year, you are low in both P and K in the front (use a balance fertilizer 10-10-10 or 13-13-13). The back just needs P.


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## Apapknarf (Oct 3, 2018)

Thank you very much.

The front yard has been established while the backyard is new this year so maybe that played into why there was a large difference in calcium between the front in the back.

My local siteone recommended the cal-turf pro as a substitute for the lime. Because I already applied that am I still able to apply agricultural ground Limestone this year? If I am should I cut back the rate as I already applied the cal-turf pro (I think it's just fast acting lime)?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I'm not sure of the product label or the cal-turf. https://www.siteone.com/home/pdfreader.aspx?id=10273 this?

I think calling the vendor of the product for reapplication timing might be best. Otherwise look for the CCE and calculate how much extra lime you need. The label I posted has a CCE of 65%.

I would also wait until the end of november to apply the lime, to avoid problems with your overseed. The benefit of doing some lime this year is that it has more time to work into the soil for next spring.


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## Apapknarf (Oct 3, 2018)

Sounds good and thank you.

Here is the info I found on the cal-turf pro. It looks like it has a cce of 100% but on it it says you use 75% less of this product due to how it works. Did I just buy into marketing or is this legitimate?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/15h5tKLC1Mx1wnSeiNPaT1W6gqIDeRuOm/view?usp=drivesdk


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I dont know about this product.

Regardless of the source, you need 110lb / ksqft. That's a lot of lime. You applied 50lb over 10ksqft or 5lb/ksqft. Even if it is 100% CCE, you still need to apply 105lb/ksqft more.


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

@osuturfman can you explain the guaranteed analysis percentages? CaCO3 is 85% of what and CaO is 46% of what. Likewise MgO and CaO is 7% and 46% of what? How do you calculate/determine the amount of oxide and/or carbonate in the bag? A local salesperson told me it's percent of calcium and Magnesium in those forms, but some bags list total % oxides and carbonates and as they always add up to greater than 100%, I don't see the connection.


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## osuturfman (Aug 12, 2017)

Ridgerunner said:


> @osuturfman can you explain the guaranteed analysis percentages? CaCO3 is 85% of what and CaO is 46% of what. Likewise MgO and CaO is 7% and 46% of what? How do you calculate/determine the amount of oxide and/or carbonate in the bag? A local salesperson told me it's percent of calcium and Magnesium in those forms, but some bags list total % oxides and carbonates and as they always add up to greater than 100%, I don't see the connection.


All of the analyses are not based on the weight of the bag but rather, the liming strength of each compound based on pure CaCO3 being the standard. So anything evaluated is rated on a percentage basis to the liming strength of CaCO3. For instance, dolomitic lime contains CaCO3 AND MgCO3, which when coupled together, represent a liming strength roughly 18% higher than pure CaCO3. In this situation, you would see a label list it at 118%.

In this case, @g-man is correct that it's going to take a LOT of lime to buffer the backyard soil. This might be a good situation to aerate with coring tines or solid tines then incorporate a higher volume of lime in spring or fall as opposed to multiple applications of 10-20 lbs/M through a spreader. Those two tactics together would get you there faster. I would aerate and incorporate in April 2019 and then plan to make one more application by September 2019, then do another soil test on the backyard. Measure what you manage.


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## Apapknarf (Oct 3, 2018)

Thank you very much for the info. I'll incorporate the changes in the spring and report back.


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