Question
How can you find out your soil's PH? And can it be done cheaply?

I live in Kansas City, MO, and just moved into my first house. It has the generic grass all around, and I want to dig a "frame" flower bed all the way around the yard, to plant flowers, shrubs, etc next to the fence. Do you have to use different fertilizer on plants compared to grass? What's the best type and kind of fertilizer to use for the money? When do you fertilize?

Thank you for your time!

Answer
Susie, just wanted to make sure my answer was clear..

your local county extension office is the preferred place for a soil test. They will give you fertilizer recommendations also, in aditition to testing your soil, and it is not much more expensive (typically $7-10 plus postage). It is recommended.

A lawn in your area would consist of so-called 'cool season' grass plants which should not be fertilized during hot summer months (only in the cooler periods of late spring and fall).

Summer annuals and perennials, however, are typically "warm season" plants and should be fertilized during the summer season, but not too late as it can damage their growth for next year. Annuals need the most fertilizer and are fertilized in heavier doses from planting until they die in fall. The easiest way to fertilize summer flowers are using slow release fertilizers (1-2 applications). If you use the powdered fertilizers which dissolves in water then you need to water frequently (every 2-3 weeks).


e.g. fertilizer the lawn in spring, fall and late fall. fertilize the flowers during the main part of summer.

Kenneth
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You can buy pH soil test kits at garden centers (small glass containers you fill with a small amount of soil and distilled water). They cost $4.99 per 6 pack. Unfortunately they are not always extremely reliable and even if you know your pH it is not always clear now much lime to use to correct any problems (depends on the soils existing buffer capacity etc)

A better option is to send in a soil sample to your local county extension office (missouri university extension). See below links:
http://www.soiltest.psu.missouri.edu/

how to perform a soil test:
http://muextension.missouri.edu/explore/agguides/hort/g06954.htm

Fertilizers are no different whether formulated for lawns or flowers, but lawn fertilizers generally are more concentrated and have much more nitrogen (comparably to phosphorus/potassium). This is because grass plants consume large amount of nitrogen, whereas flowering plants and vegetables use more phosphorus and potassium. Therefore, I do not recommend that you use lawn fertilizers for flowers.

Good flower fertilizers include OSMOCOTE 14-14-14 (slow release), Miracle grow 15-30-15, Peters 20-20-20.

Lawn fertilizers will primarily have high nitrogen (33-3-3, 28-4-14, 6-2-0, 10-2-6), etc. Only use lawn fertilizers on lawns. Buy flower fertilizers for flower beds.

I recommend fertilizing most flowers with OSMOCOTE 14-14-14 or NUTRI-COTE 14-14-16 which are slow release and feed gradually. for quick results use miracle grow and peters.

A lawn in your area should be fertilized in late spring, early fall and late fall. DO NOT FERTILIZE DURING HOT SUMMER MONTHS. E.g. memorial day, labour day, and one time in november between halloween and thanksgiving. The last application of the year (november) should be done AFTER the top growth stops, but before the roots go dormant. If you mow weekly in late fall then wait until you have not had to mow two weeks in a row (because the grass has stopped growing) and then fertilize. Don't wait too long until the root growth is stopped by a heavy freeze, but typically this last application is made after first frost. If you follow above guideline, you should be ok. Do not fertilize too early in spring and avoid fertilizing during hot summer months.

Flowers should be fertilized after green growth starts in late spring. If you use Osmocote 14-14-14 (or nutri-cote) then you only have to fertilize one more time in early august. If you use soluble (dissolves in water) fertilizers such as peters, or miracle grow, then you may have to fertilize, according to description on the lables, every 2-3 weeks through the active growing season.

Shrubs are usually fertilized in early spring just as they start to leaf out.

Avoid fertilizing shrubs and perennials in late fall as they can be damaged by frost. Stop fertilizing these in august (e.g. rhododendron, roses, hostas, perennial flowers). Annual flowers you can fertilize every two weeks until late frost (or twice per year if you use OSMOCOTE). A lawn should be fertilized as stated above.