2021 Soil Test Results - Thoughts and Strategies
My 2021 soil test results are here, and in the last couple of weeks that I’ve spent reviewing the results, consulting advice from trusted friends, and researching products to use, I’ve had several thoughts that I think are important to share.
Let me start by sharing my fall 2019 results and my spring 2021 results.
2020 Strategy
During the year of 2020, my biggest target was lowering the phosphorous level. Since I started testing my soil, that was always something that stood out to me, and I knew that I could work on that pretty easily by using products that didn’t contain P.
I’ll admit that I could have easily incorporated a couple of applications of elemental sulfur to bring the pH down, but things got pretty busy last year, and in all honesty it just slipped my mind.
2021 Results Impressions and Strategies
Overall this year’s results were a bit surprising. To put it simply, I basically maintained the state of the soil over the past year. That’s going to hopefully change over the course of this season.
As I said before, pH wasn’t the top focus, and it will be considered more this year. I’m planning one application of elemental sulfur in the spring, and another one in the fall. I’m planning to apply around 5lb/1000 for each application.
The typical suspect in the macronutrients is phosphorous, and it’s still giving me a run for my money. Even after going an entire season avoiding it, it’s levels still increased. The plan this year is simple - continue to avoid it. The middle number in the analysis of each of the products I choose to apply this year will be zero.
Another interesting macronutrient item to mention is potassium. I was doing my best to use products with as much K as possible, but even after a conscious effort, the levels dropped. That was surprising. I genuinely thought it would have increased. This year, I plan to hit it harder and get 4-5lb of K applied this year.
Last thing I want to touch on is iron. I put more effort into iron that is absorbed through the grass blades, rather than through the soil and roots. That’s going to change this year. I’ll plan on a couple of full applications of ironite in the spring and the fall to attempt to get those levels up.
Final Thoughts
The most important thought I want to leave here is that the results can never indicate if you have a beautiful looking lawn. I was extremely happy with the way my lawn looked over the last year, regardless of the soil test results. So with that being said, before you decide you really need a soil test, answer the questions, “Am I happy with how my lawn looks?” and “Is it obvious that my lawn is responding to the products I’m applying to it?” If you can answer yes to those questions, you probably don’t need a soil test. Just keep doing what you’re doing. On the flip side, if you answer no to either of these questions, then you should consider a soil test and use the results to help correct any imbalances.
Soil tests are really interesting for me. I truly believe in providing the lawn and the soil the things that it needs, rather than just random products. But at the same time, I’m learning that getting too deep into the rabbit hole isn’t always necessary, either.
For whatever that’s worth, I hope it’s helpful.