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bsadler

Lawn Renovation Help

bsadler
9 years ago

To give a brief rundown of where, what, etc, please see the following:

I live in Omaha, NE and have around 20,000 sq ft of Kentucky Blue grass that was sodded around 2.5 years ago for a new house. I am not sure of the variety. I started getting very bright lime green blades throughout my lawn over this past growing season. After a lot of searching and reading on this site and others, I can to the conclusion that I had Poa Trivialis (rough bluegrass) throughout my lawn that I helped spread through aeration over the past couple years.

I am currently on the second application of Certainty at an application rate of .5oz per acre. It looks like the Certainty applications have been helping to rid the rough bluegrass while maintaining the KBG. After I get the last application down which will be around 09/21/2014, I will be overseeding with a monostrand of Midnight KBG (while I am sure everyone will have their opinion on the cultivar and using a blend. I would like to go with this variety). I will be able to overseed the lawn after 21 days of the last application which will be 10/12/2014 or later.

I will probably do the same application (2 times instead of 3) of Certainty next year starting around the end of May, along with overseeding again with the same KBG. Per the studies that I have read on Perdue.edu and other extension offices, this process has shown to be the best to get rid of the Poa Trivialis.

Before I started with the Certainty, I did go out and get soil samples from a local lab and the cover sheet is attached. The other two pages are attached below.

Over the past two years, I have been applying a 6 step fertilizer program from a company that my neighbor down the street owns. If you want to see the sets/rates please go to the following web address:
http://www.nebraskaturf.com/redline-6-step-lawn-program.html

I have read a lot and have tried to do what is right, but I would GREATLY appreciate the forum's assistance in confirming that I am doing what is right for my lawn.

Thanks everyone in advance!

Comments (4)

  • bsadler
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Detailed second page of report

  • bsadler
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Detailed third page of report

  • morpheuspa (6B/7A, E. PA)
    9 years ago

    I had to do a little research on this one. My read here isn't going to be as good as Logan or UMass. This is an unfamiliar test and I'm going to be gentler than I would be with laboratories I know.

    (This is also known as I give you a $50-$200 read for free, and for free, I ain't doing that much research. I've caught some guff for that but, hey.)

    One, for Omaha, if you can rush the seeding, do so. KBG is slow to grow and slow to develop, so try to give it the time to do so before the weather turns. Even here, Zone 7, it's late for KBG.

    This soil has a split personality, which isn't that unusual for new construction. It does mean that reading the below will be a little tough. Sorry about that.

    pH: 6.8, 8.3: I already have a headache and we're barely started. :-) What's interesting is that your percentages support the 6.8, and in no way support the 8.3. This is another reason for me to be gentle with any changes.

    CEC 24, 22: Very close, which I'd expect on soil from the same property. However again, with the numbers and percentages listed, this doesn't support the 8.3 pH reading out front.

    Nitrate: Ignored. Nitrogen levels fluctuate during the course of the day. If the grass is growing fine, it's not a problem.

    Organic Material 1, 2.5: Low across the board here. I set the "Good" percentage at 4%, with excellent at 6%. 2-4% is fair, 0-2% is poor. In your case, if you're sure the roughstem bluegrass is gone, you can mulch mow. If not, bag it until it is. Consider organically feeding to raise this as it's limiting how well your synthetic fertilizers work and how much water your soil holds (probably not much).

    Calcium 70%, 73%: Optimal, no lime required.

    Magnesium 21%, 23%: High, although not unreasonably so. This will tend to lead to a tight, hard soil when dry. There's no reason to dispel any Mg as it's certainly not toxic. The baby shampoo/Suave method we chatter on about will help out a bit here, as will organic material.

    Potassium 4%, 6%: Optimal to a bit high. High K causes no issues within reasonable range (and this is reasonable). None required, however.

    Phosphorus 7, 38: Very low and very high respectively. If you've used starter fertilizer recently in the back, this could account for it. I'm extremely hesitant to suggest anything for the front without a confirming test on this as this kind of discrepancy would be very unusual.

    Minor elements (Sulfur, Zinc, Boron, Manganese, Iron, Copper): Not tested. Next time, I'd suggest having these tested to get a base line. Not knowing sulfur levels would make it difficult to adjust your particular calcium level (as the pH is already optimal), potassium, or other minor elements. Although called minor or trace, most of these are critical to proper plant health (just as you require trace minerals or you get sick).

  • dchall_san_antonio
    9 years ago

    Thanks to anyone who submits a soil test from anywhere. It is interesting to see which labs have which capabilities.

    There are good reasons why Logan Labs is the preferred lab for soil testing. And I might add there are good reasons UMASS is the only backup to Logan Labs. One reason is the test methods but the others are consistency and reliability. Unless there is a reason why one yard would be pure limestone and 50 feet away would have no limestone, then there's something wrong with the testing.