help me interpret the FSH numbers?
llmoyer123
22 years ago
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catherinet
22 years agoRelated Discussions
How would you interpret this...
Comments (28)With the email my service provider gives me, they filter off the first layer of spam and I can view it for a short time if I sign on to my email on their internet site. In general, I pull up Outlook Express and receive my mail, along with some more spam that got past the service provider's filters. But I have dial up and if you have DSL that changes. Does that make sense? I don't know any other reason that you wouldn't be getting them. Have you been able to get Yahoo mail from other people before?...See MoreNeed Help Interpreting Soil Report from Logan Labs
Comments (6)This one's interesting. What's your location and what type of grass do you have? The soil either shows severe over-liming or a naturally high-lime soil. The higher sodium level implies the latter, but... The grass type will determine the phosphorus setting. Most nothern lawns and some southern lawns require more fiddling here than a few southern ones do. The EC of nearly 15 says you have a good soil that holds lots of resources. Exactly what it is, you'd have to do a jar test. pH 8.0: Extremely high, but a lawn will still grow in this. Organic matter 3.55: In the good range, although I'd still try to push this much higher due to your high pH (and consequent very high calcium, Phosphorus 45: Short to extremely short due to the pH locking it up, but it's going to depend on your grass type. Let me know on that. Calcium 81%: High, but certainly not toxic or anything like that. We'll want to avoid lime and most calcium sources, however, simply because you don't need them. Magnesium 12%: Optimal. Again, we'll be avoiding sources of these to avoid pushing up your pH any further. Potassium 1.39%: Lower than I like (I prefer potassium levels of 3% or a little more for most lawns, and I go much higher in my own). Sodium 1.86%: Nudging a little high, but not a problem for grasses. This goes into the "keep an eye on" column and if it continues to head up we do something about it then. Most trace elements: Good to excellent, with no adjustments required. I'd be hesitant to adjust most of these with the pH that high and with two major nutrients requiring adjustment anyway. Iron 191: Very low for your pH, but not deficient. Lawns are likely to be a paler green than they would otherwise be. High pH binds up iron, and at that pH even chelated sources of iron simply won't work. Fortunately, using MIlorganite over time will work and add a lot of iron to the soil over time. Over the shorter term, you can spray iron (Bonide iron or 4 oz ferrous sulfate per thousand square feet) for color if you really want to. Current Recommendations: Now: Let me know your locale and grass type. September, as soon as you can: Apply any starter fertilizer at bag rate. Starter fertilizers have large middle numbers, like 20-27-5 or 18-24-5 or that range. Get the cheapest, the differences in that middle number aren't enough to matter and bag rate will target around 1 pound phosphorus per thousand square feet. September, one good rain or irrigation post the starter Locate potassium sulfate (most garden shops will order it for you, as will many landscapers, but this is not a common nutrient). Apply at 2 pounds per thousand square feet. Buy plenty, you're going to need it. I'll hold off on October recommendations until I know your locale and grass type; I don't want to risk ground freeze too early, nor overdoing things for your grass....See MoreSoil Test Results...Finally...help interpret please
Comments (17)I am a dedicated proponent of nutrient-dense foods, and belong to a community-supported co-op to get those foods. But... You're writing this in a LAWN forum, and making numerous assumptions that I don't feel are valid. I reviewed what was on the linked site, and have these comments: (1) the depth at which soil is tested for lawns/turf is not optimal for lawns. Food plants are deeper-rooted than typical turf. This requires adjustments to be made. (2) There is an assumption that the nutrients and minerals can be worked into the soil. Again, the FAQ on the site has a section for adjusting for surface-only applications, but that requires additional adjustments. The adjustments are not minor, and are real problems for the soil biology if the amounts are not adjusted - if the full amounts recommended are applied to the surface all at once, they can cause toxic levels of items like Copper and Boron to be created in the top 1"-2" of soil shortly after application is made. When treating lawns, surface-applications are typically the ONLY way to make nutrient applications to mature turf. (3) I don't see anything that makes adjustments for the season/climate of the area for applications. It's a one-size-fits-all plan. There are numerous nuances that need to be accounted for - people should not apply some nutrients at certain (stressful) times of the year, like mid-summer. We spread out applications to minimize sudden changes in soil chemistry and biology. (4) There are large differences in care regimens for different grasses - a Bermudagrass lawn has a very different care regimen than a Kentucky Blue Grass regimen. (5) The linked calculator recommends that a Soil Analyst be consulted if Lime has been applied in the past three years. In areas where Lime is useful, my experience is that 75% of the lawns have had Lime applied in the past three years -- rightly or wrongly. My experience is that errors very rarely come from Soil Analysts -- they come most-often from bad sampling techniques, taking a sample just after applying nutrients and mistakes during entering the data into things like calculators (PPM/lbs-acre mistakes, etc). An experienced soil test interpreter will spot errors like that pretty often, but a calculator will not -- it will make the calculations based on what was entered. It's garbage-in, garbage-out like all automated products are. Those of us that work as "soil crazies" at the other site build a full annual program based on grass types, whether the owner wants to use synthetics or organic sources, the owner's goals (nice vs showplace), soil types, seasonality and climate. The plans minimize soil disturbance, and maximize the use of soil biology and remineralization to achieve goals. We review each other's work to minimize any potential for errors. I didn't find the site that you linked to valuable to lawn owners - it's great for organic garden owners, but there are far too many adjustments that need to be done for lawns....See MoreNeed Help with Soil Test Interpretation
Comments (4)I am not a soil guru, but I will give you a general overview. (I am assuming this is a Logan Labs test) Your results look very good. Your pH is on the lower end of the perfect range for cool season grasses, but still very good, especially since most western soils are basic. If you do want to lime to bring it up a bit, use calcitic lime, and use the lower rate (5 lbs. per 1000 I think). Low potassium is an easy fix, and yours is borderline low. The best thing to use to raise K is potassium sulfate. It can be hard to find however, and potassium chloride is cheaper and usually what you find in fertilizers. If you don't find it, then use high K fertilizers, like 28-0-11. Your P is high, which isn't a problem, all your fertilizers can have a zero for the middle number for a long time. Your micros look OK, except your boron is low. There is another site I frequent that can give you a detailed analysis if you want. Let me know....See Moredrrazzle
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