# J Rich Soil Test Results Centipede/Zoysia



## Jrich (Jul 9, 2018)

Just got my soil test reports in from Waypoint Analytical. This is my first time using them. Sent the package via USPS on a Tuesday and got results back that Saturday, pretty crazy turnaround time.

This report seems to include some numbers that I am not too familar with: Organic Matter, Cation Exchange Capacity, % Saurations. K/Mg Ratio, Ca/Mg, Ratio etc., so I am going to have to do some research on those numbers.

Would appreciate any feedback on any glaring issues or things that I need to work on.

Thanks

*Centipede Report*


*Zoysia Report*


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## gpbrown60 (Apr 7, 2018)

Here are some readings I have found useful:
http://www.waypointanalytical.com/Docs/technicalarticles/howtointerpretasoiltestreport.pdf and the book "Ideal Soil v2.0" by Michael Astera. The Ideal Soil is a handbook that provides a worksheet to create your improvement prescription using your soil test results.

While I am just a novice at this myself the only thing that jumps off the page is the need for Potassium. I would use a fertilizer with 0 Phosphorus and plenty of potassium like a 15-0-15. A minimum of 100 ppm is needed in the soil.


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

That is a great link from Waypoint that @gpbrown60 provided. Concise, but quite informative. If you have any questions or need clarifications after reading it, ask, and I'll do my best to provide explanation.

Nothing glaring. Nothing is deficient or so excessive, that it draws concern. With the exception of K, everything falls within recommended or sufficiency ranges. That makes for a nice repository of nutrients for the turf to draw from.
pH is likely to continue falling, but 5.8 is fine. If next year, it is nearing 5.5 of lower, you will want to consider lime, but that's next year.
OM at 3% is pretty decent for your climate, most southern soil reports have less.
CEC at 6 is capable of banking sufficient nutrients. Spoon feeding is not required.
It is best to attain a K level of 110 ppm or greater if the CEC will hold it. I foresee no issue with increasing your K to about 150 ppm. Every 1#/M of K2O will add approximately 18 ppm.

Consider adopting a maintenance program: For every 1#?m of N you apply, add .25#/M of P2O5 and .75#/M of K2O. That is, If you are going to apply 4#/m of N this year, apply one pound of P2O5 (you can divide it up and spoon feed it weekly or monthly or add the whole pound at once in the Spring), and apply 3#/M of K2O (I suggest that you apply no more than 1# at a time per month)
and employ a build program for the K:
In addition to the 3# of K2O being applied for maintenance, apply an additional amount to build reserves for the bank. If current level is 70 ppm and you wish to increase to 150 ppm and every 1# of K2O will add about 18 ppm, then you will need an additional 4.4#/M of K2O (Spread out over the year-no more than 1#/M of K2O per month and no more than 6-8#/M total K2O in one year-it serves no purpose to flood the soil, the plant isn't going to use the extra and the extra could create imbalances. Better to build slowly, even over a couple of years.)Although the total 7.4#/M of K2O could be applied in one season, I'd be more inclined to apply 6#/M total this year, retest and adjust rates again next year to get to 150 ppm. Besides the H+ in your soil may interfere with increasing K levels.


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## LawnDrummer (Jan 16, 2019)

That seems like a lot of 'N' per month for centipede..I thought centipede liked lower N rates?


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

@Jrich In my haste, I assumed that the reports were for front and back. I did not catch one was for centipede rather than zoysia. I know very little about the requirements of warm season grasses. As @LawnDrummer points out, I do believe centipede has some unusual condition requirements from other grasses, low N, low pH and I believe, low P. Otherwise it performs poorly. I'd seek the advice of the centipede growers here at TLF for guidance and avoid lime and P until then.


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## LawnDrummer (Jan 16, 2019)

The only thing I did to my centipede lawn last year was apply 15-0-15 in the spring and then milorganite the rest of the season. I know milo has no 'K' and it has 'P' - reverse of what centipede likes. I applied it at around 1/2lbs 'N' once a month. It grew thick and did great. This year I'm laying off the 'P' completely, using more 'K' with less 'N'. I applied RGS and Humic12 a few weeks ago and so far it's very green while all the other centipede lawns are still pretty dormant.


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Reason why the Milorganite did not tank your centipede is because there was enough Iron in it to offset what high P normally does to centipede. High P will cause problems with uptake of Iron and other micronutrients. A long time ago, before I knew better, I use to use soluble 20-20-20 on centipede. Did not get into trouble doing that because the formula included chelated micronutrients. I know of instances where 1-1-1 ration AG and garden fertilizers were spread on centipede and the lawn reacted badly. Those normally contain no Iron or other micronutrients.


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