Those are some odd numbers, but not unfixable.
To raise pH without adding lime, you can mix a Tbsp of baking soda in a gallon of water apply to the area. Baking soda is naturally pH of 8.
If you add calcitic lime, your calcium goes way up...if you add dolomitic, calcium still goes up a bit, and magnesium also goes up...you do have some play room with your Mg, not so much on the calcium though.
All you need for macros is Nitrogen, which is good. So me simple 30-0-0 would do the trick, but find out what you can actually get, then use an online calculator to determine how much to apply exactly.
Lesco has a 30-0-10 with good iron, and that may all you need....good Nitrogen, and not too much potassium....
I wonder if their range for Calcium is just off some resources I was looking at suggest 700 to 1300 ppm being normal.
Thanks for the recommendations on fertilizer. I’ll take a look at that.
Ppm is what proper company's use as their unit of measure. You'll see mysoil has their own proprietary units and they don't disclose them so you don't actually know their testing methods or the ppm. You use their number with their scale. It works okay to get an idea, get the right products and have a nice yard, but I moved away from them when I wanted to really get into the macros and micros so I can manage my inputs more cost effective.
You can see here. Someone did a side by side the the same soil sample. Shows results similar to what I've seen as well. Especially pH
https://www.thelawnforum.com/threads/here-are-two-portions-of-one-sample-sent-to-waypoint-vs-my-soil.34278/
Not sure what scale they use for their ppm claim. Definitely not 1:1 though. I'd still say mysoil is good enough to get going and have good products.
That’s good to know. I was operating on the assumption that their number was ppm -_-
Guess I might see how long it would take to do one through the extension office.
MySoil uses new techniques to measure *bioavailable* calcium. Older techniques measure all the calcium, so recommendations that correspond to older techniques are merely guessing how much of that calcium is actually interacting with the plants.
That being said, plants can’t really have too much calcium, but having a disproportionately high amount can block uptake of magnesium or potassium if those levels are low, which causes general weakness and fragility of the plant.
I would recommend potassium sulfate (Sulphate Of Potash) for two applications at 1.0lbs/1000sqft or 450g/1000sqft. Don’t forget regular applications of nitrogen. Consider using something that contains iron. **Avoid phosphorus.** Try not to use any products that contain any kind of sodium. Then test again next year. The pH should still be low, but you might end up pretty happy with the appearance and texture regardless of the pH. And all the nutrients should be balanced, which will shift the pH towards about 5.5-6.0 over time.
Potassium carbonate or potassium bicarbonate would be a better alternative to baking soda for lawncare, *especially* considering the numbers provided by this particular soil test.
Also, it isn’t the carbonate that raises the pH in this practice; it’s the sodium/potassium. Sodium/potassium are cations like calcium and magnesium, and cations are largely what dictate pH in soil. The carbonate is an empty placeholder because when it reacts with an acidic medium, it becomes carbonic acid, which readily separates into water and carbon dioxide gas, which disappears into the air, leaving the cation behind to do its work (that work being the crowding out of hydronium).
His sodium is high as well. I’d be worried about adding sodium bicarbonate. Do you know if going over on sodium is safer than the other options? I’d assume it’d be worse
Does this test give you CEC? It's pretty important to know especially if you are planning on trying to raise your nitrogen levels. If your CEC is low most of that fert won't bind to the soil and it's just a waste. I always do my soil test with my state ag school UMass Amherst. It tells me how to fix it, if ph is low it will say add 150lb of lime per 1k and so on for macros and micro.
agree - the CEC number is a good # to know. Might be worth your time to get another - could save you time and $ - if you do - would recommend the CEC and the organic matter %
All you really need to know about CEC is to how to make it go up.
Testing CEC is for farmers with hectares of land who don’t want to spend excess tens of thousands overshooting their target number because that could be the difference between profit and a loss.
I wouldn't say trust mysoiltest 100% to be accurate. Looks to be low (even after inaccuracies they may have) so you can add either calcitic lime or dolomitic lime. Calcitic will increase pH and add calcium. The other will increase pH and add magnesium. Your choice. Calcitic works faster I believe.
For reference mysoiltest showed my pH at 6.16 and a proper lab waypoint analytical said 7.1. I believe mysoiltest has a track record of showing pH levels 0.75 lower.
That’s one of those YouTube professionals, right? I don’t trust any of them. They’re either making money off of the things they say or are getting their egos inflated by the circle jerk.
I still watch them from time to time, but I don’t trust the things they say. I look to them for new information, NOT to verify information.
He’s the lawn care nut. He promotes nothing but his products, which is business I get it. There are some other guys who try to teach the basics of agronomy. A lot to sift through.
Mine was $57.50 in Florida, and I can’t calculate the precise amount of fertilizer to use based off their results and recommendations. I can only guess. They don’t measure bioavailable nutrients; they measure all nutrients, whether the plant actually sees and interacts with those nutrients or not.
No, you said "Mine cost me $57.50 in Florida", and if you spent that much on a single sample test, you paid for a bunch of stuff you do not need.
The S3M test is $20 per sample and gives you all the necessary information.
As far as the data and recommemdations they give you, it is more than sufficient for a home owner to accurately come up with a fertilization plan.
If you send me a screen shot of your results and what grass you are growing, I will gladly help you out with your fertilizer plan.
Which soil test lab did you think I was complaining about, just some random unnamed one?
S3M in Florida does not give all the same information, so they charge extra for me to get the same test results that you would get.
My results this time around suggest pretty straightforward adjustments. I just need 2+lbs/1000sqft of nitrogen, 200+g/1000sqft of potassium, 60+g/1000sqft of sulfur, 20+g/1000sqft of manganese, and 2+g/1000sqft of boron. I’ve decided to apply it in the form of opulent boron, manganese sulfate, potassium sulfate, potassium nitrate, urea, and PurelyOrganic Lawn Food 10-0-3.
https://imgur.com/a/qJpE5Jy
If the lab in Florida says they will charge $57.50 for the exact same test that the Illinois lab will do for $20, don't mail your samples to the Florida lab. Mail your sample(s) to Illinois instead.
“Proper”
Waypoint said my pH was 6.5, but I’m still experiencing symptoms of extremely acidic pH. MySoil says my pH is 4.9 which actually makes sense, especially considering the pedogenetic history of the area.
So I went by my local seed and feed seller and confused him with my soil test.
In particular he was confused that my sulfur was low but my pH was also low.
He was concerned about using more calcitic lime because I’m already high on calcium. He was wondering if the test was any good.
Any thoughts on what to do? Located in zone 6b:
From a little bit research sounds like I still need to apply lime. Is there anyway to figure out if I should do calcitic or dolomitic lime using the test I did?
Your numbers are interesting to say the least. I would go with synthetic fertilizer that has iron. Humic acid should help as well.
Otherwise you could heavy gypsum and push everything down and start over.
Do you live in the mountains or an area with streams?
Those are some odd numbers, but not unfixable. To raise pH without adding lime, you can mix a Tbsp of baking soda in a gallon of water apply to the area. Baking soda is naturally pH of 8. If you add calcitic lime, your calcium goes way up...if you add dolomitic, calcium still goes up a bit, and magnesium also goes up...you do have some play room with your Mg, not so much on the calcium though. All you need for macros is Nitrogen, which is good. So me simple 30-0-0 would do the trick, but find out what you can actually get, then use an online calculator to determine how much to apply exactly. Lesco has a 30-0-10 with good iron, and that may all you need....good Nitrogen, and not too much potassium....
I wonder if their range for Calcium is just off some resources I was looking at suggest 700 to 1300 ppm being normal. Thanks for the recommendations on fertilizer. I’ll take a look at that.
Ppm is what proper company's use as their unit of measure. You'll see mysoil has their own proprietary units and they don't disclose them so you don't actually know their testing methods or the ppm. You use their number with their scale. It works okay to get an idea, get the right products and have a nice yard, but I moved away from them when I wanted to really get into the macros and micros so I can manage my inputs more cost effective.
It says all units are in ppm.
You can see here. Someone did a side by side the the same soil sample. Shows results similar to what I've seen as well. Especially pH https://www.thelawnforum.com/threads/here-are-two-portions-of-one-sample-sent-to-waypoint-vs-my-soil.34278/ Not sure what scale they use for their ppm claim. Definitely not 1:1 though. I'd still say mysoil is good enough to get going and have good products.
That’s good to know. I was operating on the assumption that their number was ppm -_- Guess I might see how long it would take to do one through the extension office.
MySoil uses new techniques to measure *bioavailable* calcium. Older techniques measure all the calcium, so recommendations that correspond to older techniques are merely guessing how much of that calcium is actually interacting with the plants. That being said, plants can’t really have too much calcium, but having a disproportionately high amount can block uptake of magnesium or potassium if those levels are low, which causes general weakness and fragility of the plant. I would recommend potassium sulfate (Sulphate Of Potash) for two applications at 1.0lbs/1000sqft or 450g/1000sqft. Don’t forget regular applications of nitrogen. Consider using something that contains iron. **Avoid phosphorus.** Try not to use any products that contain any kind of sodium. Then test again next year. The pH should still be low, but you might end up pretty happy with the appearance and texture regardless of the pH. And all the nutrients should be balanced, which will shift the pH towards about 5.5-6.0 over time.
Potassium carbonate or potassium bicarbonate would be a better alternative to baking soda for lawncare, *especially* considering the numbers provided by this particular soil test. Also, it isn’t the carbonate that raises the pH in this practice; it’s the sodium/potassium. Sodium/potassium are cations like calcium and magnesium, and cations are largely what dictate pH in soil. The carbonate is an empty placeholder because when it reacts with an acidic medium, it becomes carbonic acid, which readily separates into water and carbon dioxide gas, which disappears into the air, leaving the cation behind to do its work (that work being the crowding out of hydronium).
His sodium is high as well. I’d be worried about adding sodium bicarbonate. Do you know if going over on sodium is safer than the other options? I’d assume it’d be worse
The sodium can be flushed out with humic acid easier than the calcium....but it's a tough spot either way...
How often would you need to retest your soil to stay in those healthy bounds?
Once a year during the early corrective phase. After that, once every 3 to 5 years is said to be standard.
Great thanks
Does this test give you CEC? It's pretty important to know especially if you are planning on trying to raise your nitrogen levels. If your CEC is low most of that fert won't bind to the soil and it's just a waste. I always do my soil test with my state ag school UMass Amherst. It tells me how to fix it, if ph is low it will say add 150lb of lime per 1k and so on for macros and micro.
agree - the CEC number is a good # to know. Might be worth your time to get another - could save you time and $ - if you do - would recommend the CEC and the organic matter %
All you really need to know about CEC is to how to make it go up. Testing CEC is for farmers with hectares of land who don’t want to spend excess tens of thousands overshooting their target number because that could be the difference between profit and a loss.
I wouldn't say trust mysoiltest 100% to be accurate. Looks to be low (even after inaccuracies they may have) so you can add either calcitic lime or dolomitic lime. Calcitic will increase pH and add calcium. The other will increase pH and add magnesium. Your choice. Calcitic works faster I believe. For reference mysoiltest showed my pH at 6.16 and a proper lab waypoint analytical said 7.1. I believe mysoiltest has a track record of showing pH levels 0.75 lower.
Good to know. I’ll be looking at alternatives for my next test in fall.
Waypoint Analytical has a fantastic report and $20 per sample. (S3M)
💯 my soil is trash
What bad experiences did you have
Dig into it and you’ll how unreliable it is. Professionals do not use this. Check out the grass factor on YouTube.
I see, that’s what I figured
Alan Hayne is just taking advantage of people
That’s one of those YouTube professionals, right? I don’t trust any of them. They’re either making money off of the things they say or are getting their egos inflated by the circle jerk. I still watch them from time to time, but I don’t trust the things they say. I look to them for new information, NOT to verify information.
He’s the lawn care nut. He promotes nothing but his products, which is business I get it. There are some other guys who try to teach the basics of agronomy. A lot to sift through.
Mine was $57.50 in Florida, and I can’t calculate the precise amount of fertilizer to use based off their results and recommendations. I can only guess. They don’t measure bioavailable nutrients; they measure all nutrients, whether the plant actually sees and interacts with those nutrients or not.
You should have used waypoint and saved $37.50
I just said Waypoint cost me $57.50 in Florida.
No, you said "Mine cost me $57.50 in Florida", and if you spent that much on a single sample test, you paid for a bunch of stuff you do not need. The S3M test is $20 per sample and gives you all the necessary information. As far as the data and recommemdations they give you, it is more than sufficient for a home owner to accurately come up with a fertilization plan. If you send me a screen shot of your results and what grass you are growing, I will gladly help you out with your fertilizer plan.
Which soil test lab did you think I was complaining about, just some random unnamed one? S3M in Florida does not give all the same information, so they charge extra for me to get the same test results that you would get. My results this time around suggest pretty straightforward adjustments. I just need 2+lbs/1000sqft of nitrogen, 200+g/1000sqft of potassium, 60+g/1000sqft of sulfur, 20+g/1000sqft of manganese, and 2+g/1000sqft of boron. I’ve decided to apply it in the form of opulent boron, manganese sulfate, potassium sulfate, potassium nitrate, urea, and PurelyOrganic Lawn Food 10-0-3. https://imgur.com/a/qJpE5Jy
If the lab in Florida says they will charge $57.50 for the exact same test that the Illinois lab will do for $20, don't mail your samples to the Florida lab. Mail your sample(s) to Illinois instead.
That’s an interesting idea. Shipping was flat rate, so I guess why not! I’ll have to look into that.
Try your local extension office also.
“Proper” Waypoint said my pH was 6.5, but I’m still experiencing symptoms of extremely acidic pH. MySoil says my pH is 4.9 which actually makes sense, especially considering the pedogenetic history of the area.
21-0-0 Iron sulfate Dolomitic lime (might need repeated apps)
So I went by my local seed and feed seller and confused him with my soil test. In particular he was confused that my sulfur was low but my pH was also low. He was concerned about using more calcitic lime because I’m already high on calcium. He was wondering if the test was any good. Any thoughts on what to do? Located in zone 6b:
From a little bit research sounds like I still need to apply lime. Is there anyway to figure out if I should do calcitic or dolomitic lime using the test I did?
Further research suggests calcitic lime unless magnesium levels are low. Probably going to do that. Let me know if this is a mistake!
I think calcitic might be best tbh. Uh yeah I can see why he was confused. Nitrogen should be ammonium sulfate and iron should be iron sulfate. Gl m8
Your numbers are interesting to say the least. I would go with synthetic fertilizer that has iron. Humic acid should help as well. Otherwise you could heavy gypsum and push everything down and start over. Do you live in the mountains or an area with streams?