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Soil test results

Posted on 8/7/23 at 9:37 pm
Posted by OneAyedJack
Watson
Member since Sep 2019
219 posts
Posted on 8/7/23 at 9:37 pm
So, the results are in:



I am admittedly no good with this kind of stuff. Please excuse my ignorance.

I've got about 6,000 sq ft of area I would have to cover. Think I could go ride out to one of these co-ops and grab these things or is this something Clegg's would have on hand?

Would it be more cost effective to cover the ground with a thin layer of good soil rather than purchase all of these fertilizers?

Thanks for any help in advance!
This post was edited on 8/7/23 at 9:40 pm
Posted by bbvdd
Memphis, TN
Member since Jun 2009
25078 posts
Posted on 8/7/23 at 9:46 pm to
1st step I’d start to tackle is the lime.

6.88lbs per 100 sq ft means your super acidic (5.13 ph).

That will take a few months to start working.
This post was edited on 8/7/23 at 9:51 pm
Posted by OneAyedJack
Watson
Member since Sep 2019
219 posts
Posted on 8/7/23 at 10:12 pm to
quote:

1st step I’d start to tackle is the lime.

6.88lbs per 100 sq ft means your super acidic (5.13 ph).

That will take a few months to start working.


Can I do that now?

At 6.88/100sq ft, I'd be at 4,000lbs of lime!!!! Could that be right???? That seems insane to me! (by the way, I didn't see that line in the results until you mentioned it, hence why I'm so shocked)

Where does a person purchase 2 actual freaking tons of lime?
Posted by MoarKilometers
Member since Apr 2015
18065 posts
Posted on 8/8/23 at 5:30 am to
quote:

At 6.88/100sq ft, I'd be at 4,000lbs of lime!!!!

No, you wouldn't.
quote:

Could that be right???? That seems insane to me! (by the way, I didn't see that line in the results until you mentioned it, hence why I'm so shocked)


quote:

Where does a person purchase 2 actual freaking tons of lime?

It's pretty easy, but you actually need to buy a fricking calculator. 6000 sq ft yard divides in 60 100 sq ft portions. 60×6.88 = 412.8 pounds of lime.
Posted by Sir Saint
1 post
Member since Jun 2010
5327 posts
Posted on 8/8/23 at 8:10 am to
Agree with others regarding addressing pH first. Gonna probably take a while to get that pH up.

Regarding this point:
quote:

Would it be more cost effective to cover the ground with a thin layer of good soil rather than purchase all of these fertilizers?
LSU ag’s soil sample results are really confusing for your average homeowner. You’re not the first person to be confused by this. To clarify - you don’t have to purchase those specific fertilizers mentioned. Essentially (for the maintenance schedule, 2nd one) it’s telling you to apply 4lbs nitrogen, 1.5lbs Phos, 2.5lbs K+ per year. You can get 1 bag of fertilizer from any home/garden store that will satisfy your fert needs in all 3 categories. Something with a NPK of 25-5-10 or similar.
Posted by CrawDude
Baton Rouge
Member since Apr 2019
5285 posts
Posted on 8/8/23 at 10:03 am to
Good soil chemistry for growing centipede.

Start with liming to raise soil pH and you want to use agricultural limestone or dolomite (calcium carbonate/calcium magnesium carbonate) and not hydrated lime (calcium hydroxide) or burnt lime (calcium oxide).

As stated by others it will take several months to raise soil pH - slow chemical process. Read this paper. LINK

As also stated LSU AgCenter soil test results printouts are not user friendly for homeowners as they are designed for farmers who use the fertilizers recommended in bulk (tons) for the specific crops they grow.

As Sir Saint stated you can use lawn fertilizer of an an appropriate composition containing NPK - it will contain the same compounds as stated in the soil test results.

As for now I’d personally use a high nitrogen lawn fertilizer, lime the soil as recommended, re-test the soil in late winter (Jan/Feb), to see if you’ve achieved the target pH for Bermudagrass, which will be around 6.5 to 7 or so, and re-visit the topic with the H&G board next spring with the new results following liming. .
Posted by OneAyedJack
Watson
Member since Sep 2019
219 posts
Posted on 8/8/23 at 7:32 pm to
quote:

4lbs nitrogen, 1.5lbs Phos, 2.5lbs K+ per year.


I'm covering 6,000 square foot though. It reads per 1000 sq ft, so I figured, multiply the amounts by 6...?
Posted by OneAyedJack
Watson
Member since Sep 2019
219 posts
Posted on 8/8/23 at 7:34 pm to
quote:

6000 sq ft yard divides in 60 100 sq ft portions. 60×6.88 = 412.8 pounds of lime.


Sorry, math is not my strong suit. I added a 0 in there.

quote:

It's pretty easy, but you actually need to buy a fricking calculator.


Feel better about yourself now, a-hole?
Posted by bbvdd
Memphis, TN
Member since Jun 2009
25078 posts
Posted on 8/8/23 at 8:53 pm to
Two years ago I bought lime to put out at my place on dove field and deer plots.

Bought 13-14 tons. But it was pretty cheap. Like $40 per ton delivered.
This post was edited on 8/8/23 at 8:55 pm
Posted by CrawDude
Baton Rouge
Member since Apr 2019
5285 posts
Posted on 8/9/23 at 12:20 am to
quote:

I'm covering 6,000 square foot though. It reads per 1000 sq ft, so I figured, multiply the amounts by 6...?

That is correct, but there is one other confusing issue on the soil test recommendation - the amount of N P K to be applied is the annual amount to be applied, not per application. So if you make 4 applications of lawn fertilizer per year (Bermudagrass likes fertilizer) that 4 lbs of N per 1000 sq ft should be 1 lb of N per 1000 sq ft per application.

If you received your results by email, you should receive a copy soon by “snail mail” and it should contain some additional fact sheets explaining this.
Posted by MoarKilometers
Member since Apr 2015
18065 posts
Posted on 8/9/23 at 6:21 am to
quote:

Sorry, math is not my strong suit. I added a 0 in there.

I agree, it was a very sorry attempt at 5th grade math.
quote:

Feel better about yourself now, a-hole?

I saved you from buying an additional 3600 pounds of lime and I'm the a-hole??? What an ungrateful count you are
Posted by OneAyedJack
Watson
Member since Sep 2019
219 posts
Posted on 8/9/23 at 11:07 pm to
Thanks!

So, seems like everyone agrees I should "lime" first. Is that just one big application of the 400 lbs of lime and then wait to do anything else until....when?

And, this lime that I found out I can buy from a co-op, do I need to worry about my dogs getting in this stuff on the ground? Could it hurt them by breathing it in?

Should I "water in" lime? Or just spread the stuff and walk.....?
Posted by CrawDude
Baton Rouge
Member since Apr 2019
5285 posts
Posted on 8/10/23 at 5:28 pm to
quote:

So, seems like everyone agrees I should "lime" first. Is that just one big application of the 400 lbs of lime and then wait to do anything else until....when? And, this lime that I found out I can buy from a co-op, do I need to worry about my dogs getting in this stuff on the ground? Could it hurt them by breathing it in? Should I "water in" lime? Or just spread the stuff and walk.....?


Yes -apply it all at once and ideally water it - you can do that over days. Agricultural limestone is not toxic to dogs etc but you probably don’t want them carrying into the house if they are also house dogs. Just make sure it’s ag limestone or dolomite you are buying - people at the co-op should be selling you the right product.

I don’t think you need to do anything until next spring, fertilization wise, unless you want to give the Bermudagrass another shot of high nitrogen this month, in which case do that, wait until Oct or so before you apply lime.

The purpose of the lime is to raise soil pH, so that nutrients, primarily phosphorus, is readily available to the turf grass. At low, acidic soil pH, much of the phosphorus is sequestered in very insoluble aluminum and iron mineral complexes and not readily available to the grass, liming functionally increases the availability of soil phosphorus.
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