Question
I contacted you about a year ago explaining my whole situation about a lawn I had overseeded, put down orgrow and had come out beautifully Spring '07 but due to the Maryland drought and a bad case of Japanese bettles had
unfortunately succumbed and died.It now looks pretty bad!

All that hard work and lots of money down the tube for NOTHING. I know you preach until you are
blue in the face about getting a soil test....and let me tell you...drum roll please....I HAVE MY SOIL TEST RESULTS!

So I did 2 tests, one for the front yard and one for the back yard. I have to admit that the results are not at all user friendly. I can't make sense of them, perhaps you can help.

FRONT YARD  Results:  Soil pH is 5.7

Phosporus: 68 lbs./A
Potassium: 64 lbs./A
Magnesium: 219 lbs./A
Calcium: 1,935 lbs./A
Buffer pH: 7.60
Zinc: 11.9 lbs./A
Manganese: 29lbs/A

Base Saturation as follows:
K: 0.9% but normal values are 3-5%
Mg: 10.1% but normal values are 12-15%
Ca: 53% but normal values are 55% - 65%
H: 35.4% don't see the normal ranges for this one

The graphical results show that Magnesium, Calcium and Manganese are high to
very high while the rest of the elements are low to medium.

Waters Agriculturall Laboratories recommends that I "split application of
nitrogen and potassium. Plant samples should be taken during the growing
season. Additional or supplemental nutrients may be needed."

In addition, they break down soil fertility recommendations as follows:

Lime: 1 ton per acre
Nitrogen: 90 lbs per acre
Phosphate: 40 lbs per acre
Potash: 80 lbs per acre

Ok, so the front yard seems to be a little better than the back yard. Here are
the results for the BACK YARD:

Soil pH: 4.2

lbs./Acre

Phosporus:  40 lbs./A
Potassium:  102 lbs./A
Magnesium:  99 lbs./A
Calcium:  429 lbs./A
Buffer pH:   7.60
Zinc:  3.3 lbs./A
Manganese:  4 lbs/A


Base Saturation as follows:
K:  2.7% but normal values are 3-5%
Mg: 8.6% but normal values are 12-15%
Ca: 22% but normal values are 55% - 65%
H: 66.4% don't see the normal ranges for this one

Here is the soil fertility breakdown for the backyard:

Lime: 3 tons per acre
Nitrogen: 90 lbs per acre
Phosphate: 50 lbs per acre
Potash: 70 lbs per acre
Magnesium: 10 lbs per acre

The graphical results show that all elements are very low to medium with
manganese being the lowest of them all. It appears my backyard is in worse
shape than my front yard and I抦 not surprised. The front yard, though still
with weeds is better looking than the back yard. The back yard is a total
disappointment, as it is mostly weeds, but I did have nice looking grass at one
point, before the drought, then it all died last summer. What # of soil pH do
lawns thrive in?

My apologies for the long message, but since I know you are full of knowledge I
wanted you to have the full picture. So my question is, now what do I do with
these results?  I live on 1/4 of an acre and the house probably takes up about
half that. So how will I know how much of this stuff to put down and will I
have to buy each element (nitrogen, phosphate, potash, etc.) separately and
apply separately? Can I do that now or do I have to wait. Do I reseed in the
fall or not? Do I apply orgrow again or not? Orgrow was expensive so I don抰
know if I can afford that in these times. I await your always entertaining and
informative response.

Thanks for your time!

Answer
This is going to be an abbreviated answer for you, Claudia, because I don't want to gloss over this.  It must have taken you the entire afternoon (or longer) to put that question together.  I am impressed.  If everyone worked as hard as you do we would have cured cancer and landed on Pluto by now.  We need more people like you.

So here is my short answer.  And in a few days, after I have had time to sit down and look over your entire 12 page report on your Lawn (I have already spent an hour pulling up and reading the 15-odd Q&A thread from last year about this), I'll be able to give you a solid understandable answer that makes sense and can be read in plain English.  At least, I HOPE I'll be able to do that.

For starters, the 'bad case of Japanese Beetles' you mention ... I seem to recall several questions about Grubs I asked you.  So let's clear this up in case there is a misunderstanding: Grubs are mainly the larvae of Japanese Beetles.  You may know this, but I want to make sure.

We discussed Milky Spore Disease as part of the solution to the Grubs.  I can understand completely how a person might feel uncomfortable buying a can of a Disease.  They just named this so badly.  But it is a very helpful Disease, good Bacteria, a biological weapon, which is so WONDERFUL.  Bacteria abound in Yogurt, right?  And we eat Yogurt!  Why?  Because it's one of the HEALTHIEST foods around!  Those 112-year-old people in Russia eat it every day, according to the Dannon commercials.  And they are eating millions of Bacteria with it.  I think the Dannon containers even tell you, 'LIVE cultures' on the side.  Those 'cultures' are population explosions of good Bacteria.  Milky Spore Disease is another Bacterial culture, but it targets ONLY the larvae of Japanese Beetles aka Grubs.  And it takes time.  So keep looking for those Blue containers, and sprinkle it around your Lawn according to package directions as soon as you pick it up.  FYI: If you sprinkled Milky Spore Disease on your toast in the morning, you would not be healthier, but you would not get sick either.  This ONLY hurts Grubs.  No one else.  Not Ladybugs, not Moths, not Cats, not Snakes, not Birds.  ONLY Grubs.

Next:  Did you ever get up the nerve to put down the Pelletized Lime I recommended?  That rec sticks.  Your Grass is going to be gasping for air until you move that pH up.

As a rule, plant roots have difficulty absorbing Phosphorous below a pH of 6.5.  Just try growing anything at pH of 6.0 -- Phosphorous is rendered useless to plants.  Nitrogen, Potassium, Calcium and Magnesium are next to worthless below 6.0.  So your pH concerns are a big deal.

And while we're on the subject, let me make another point on this:  It takes YEARS to correct a Soil pH with Lime.  This stuff works about as slowly as the sands of time.  It does not get slower than Pelletized Lime.  Apply with a spreader, then turn the Lime 2 inches deep into your Soil.  This is a necessary step.  Lime is not water soluable; it will not incorporate into Soil as a top-dressing.  You have to till it in.  After that, you have to add Water -- moisture is essential for the Lime to take effect.

I like Pelletized Lime because it causes a lot less dust.  That way you don't breathe it as much.  Talcum-grade Lime is cheaper and it works quickly, but it has to be moistened in the bag to avoid puffs of lime smoke when you open the bag.  Pellets work slowly to correct soil and are more expensive.  You can apply Lime any time of the year.  In your case, the sooner the better.

A watched pot will boil faster than Pelletized Lime will perfect your Soil pH.  So get that show on the road.  Put it down and get it over with.  Do this twice a year.  Eventually, by the year 2525, hopefully before we die, the Soil correction will be successful.  

I am wondering how that Soil got so nasty.

Did someone mix in a lot of Peat in it?  Are you in an evergreen forest location?  Did the previous owners use truckloads of Ammonia Fertilizer every year for the Nitrogen? (That would REALLY lower the pH of a plot's Soil.)  Any clues?

Next: You never did mention the kind of Grass you used.  I could not find it, in any event.  Since you are practically starting from scratch here, I would plan on putting down Tall Fescue in the Fall.  Tall Fescue will make your life much, much easier.  For one thing, it has the best tolerance to low pH conditions of any Cool Season Grass.  It's drought tolerant, too.  It's low maintenance and if you mow it a certain way it gets so thick that it out-grows Weeds.

It is not the velvety swathe that a perfect Bluegrass Lawn is, but it can be beautiful, and it will be easier than high-maintenance Bluegrass.  I strongly recommend it.

As I said, you can mow Tall Fescue -- a quality hybrid will look and perform best -- just right, feed with your Orgrow, water or not (it's highly drought tolerant), and Weeds are eliminated.  No Weedkiller or pre-emergents (which is tricky) needed.  Tall Fescue.  You can see some pretty Tall Fescue Lawns on the Seedland.com website:

www.seedland.com

The West Virginia Extension posts a page on 'Tall Fescue Management':

www.caf.wvu.edu/~forage/tallfesc.htm

'Tall Fescue is a vigorous, perennial, bunch grass which may have short slowly spreading rhizomes...  deep-rooted and forms a dense sod.  Tall Fescue tolerates wet Soils and short periods of flooding, but is also drought tolerant.  It is tolerant of low Soil pH but is most productive when the Soil pH is 5.8 to 6.5, Phosphorus and Potassium are medium to high, and Soil Nitrogen is readily available.  Because of its wide range of site adaptation and its vigorous seedling growth, Tall Fescue is often used to seed roadsides and disturbed areas.'  As long as you have lots of Sun in the front, Tall Fescue is going to give you the results you want and deserve at this point.

I must add that I disagree with some of the recommendations you have.  As you know, I am not big on chemical fertilizers due to the damage to the Soil and the Creatures living in it.  Soil Science is more complicated than just adding more chemicals to fix every problem -- you will find symptoms of Iron deficiency in Grass that is growing in Iron-rich Soil, for example, because other factors induce the Chlorosis.  Usually it's a high soil pH -- clearly not your problem.  But it is also seen in Grass with excessive levels of Zinc, Phosphate, or Manganese.  We hear all the time about the risks of taking too many Vitamins.  But no one tells us about the risks of too much Fertilizer.

Finally, there is yet another point I have made in the past about Grubs and where you usually find too many: In recently tilled Soils.  All the normal controls that keep the population down vanish when you roto-till a plot.  Houses with Grub problems are almost always new construction or heavily tilled Soil with new Grass.  With time, ab underground network develops that is hostile to Grubs.  But it takes time.  Repeated tilling reboots the computer.  Every time you put a shovel in the Soil, you are breaking the network up in the part of your yard.  Over time, increasing numbers of people are advising against roto-tilling Soil for this reason.

I do hope you have a Birdbath or two in your yard.  The water feature is more important than Seed stations for attracting Birds.  Besides, during the Summer, most Birds turn into carnivores and eat every bug in sight.

For now, after you Lime your Soil, sprinkle a good cover crop over the brown areas to fill the void and keep Weeds from attacking.  That should be Clover (which POURS Nitrogen into your Soil).  But you can also do several others.  The idea is to fill up any space that is not used so that it does not become a playground for homeless Weed Seeds.

Now it's my bedtime.  I'll review this as time permits over the weekend and try to make sense out of this madness.  Thanks for writing.

THE LONG ISLAND GARDENER