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shar_sc

Clemson Soil Test-Any hope for my bermuda lawn!

Shar-SC
9 years ago

I had 2700 sq. ft. of tifway 419 Bermuda installed in Jan. 2014. I just now got a soil test. Is there any hope for it with a ph of 4.8? Is there anything I can do to help my lawn?

Comments (13)

  • dchall_san_antonio
    9 years ago

    How would you characterize your soil? Sandy? Clayey? Loamy? Mix?
    How have you been watering (how often and for how long)?
    How high/low have you been mowing and how often?
    When were the last two times you fertilized and what did you use?
    Have you used any herbicide, insecticide, or fungicide?

    Are you having problems with the lawn? If so can you post a picture or two?

    Also I'm curious as to how much you paid for that soil test. Care to share?

  • Shar-SC
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I would say my soil is mostly sandy. I water when the grass shows signs it needs water. Usually for an hour each area. I mow every 3 to 5 days at 1 inch. Fertilized every month during growing season with Scotts Green Max-26-0-2. I used Grub-ex at the end of August for armyworms.
    Now that its getting cooler it seems like my lawn is having problems. I will post a picture of what it looks like now, tomorrow when it is light. But here is a picture of it at the end of july. I paid $15.00 for my soil test. That included shipping. Thanks

  • dchall_san_antonio
    9 years ago

    You probably know that you're following the Bermuda Bible to the letter. It looked great in July. Thanks for the pic.

    You might try criss crossing your mowing instead of mowing lengthwise all the time. There's a slight scalp look right here in the left foreground. Does your soil seem bumpy when you mow?

  • Shar-SC
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks I learned a lot from this site. I have like a little hill in that area . Its hard to mow without scalping there.

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

    I could make some guesses from this test, but it doesn't contain enough information for me to adjust things in well enough. Although you look calcium short (and magnesium is OK), the relative length of the bars doesn't tell me much about how much to add--and doesn't imply a pH of 4.8.

    What's missing here is saturation percentages, and soil EC (exchange capacity).

  • Shar-SC
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I was just wondering if my lawn will slowly die off with a ph that low since Bermuda likes a higher ph. I will get another soil test from Logan Labs.

  • Shar-SC
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    A little info about my front lawn: total square feet is 4900.
    the middle of the lawn is sod, and the area towards the sidewalk is what was there when we bought the house. I don't know if that is common Bermuda or tifway. Then there is another hill which is not sodded. So I do have a lot of run-off and bumpy soil. This is a picture from today. I will send my soil test tomorrow to Logan Labs.

  • Shar-SC
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Another picture. This area is not the new sod. I had the mower set to low!

  • Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
    9 years ago

    Where in SC are you? I like near Clemson, have bermuda, and there is nothing that will kill it. Ever. ever, ever.

  • andy10917
    9 years ago

    Over the long haul, Bermuda will struggle at a pH below 6.0. At 4.8, it will have real problems - that is 20X more acidic than 6.0.

  • Shar-SC
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    andy10917 - I was afraid of that , I should of done a soil test first, but I thought since Bermuda was there when we bought the house! it would be ok.

    Bumblebeez- I live in Aiken county, just over the river from Augusta, GA

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

    If it's lasted this long, it'll last the few weeks until the test results come back. :-)

    4.8--if accurate--is decidedly non-optimal, but I've noticed that pH sensitivity varies very widely just between individuals of the same species. My starting pH was slightly worse, but some plants did very well (and shouldn't have).

  • Shar-SC
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    OK Thanks I mailed my soil today.