Soil testing is often overlooked when planting a fescue lawn or bluegrass lawn. We often overlook our soil’s needs when we just want to maintain an existing lawn. Here is why an annual soil test is important.
The most important thing a soil test will provide for you is your soil’s pH value. The perfect pH for fescue grass, bluegrass, and ryegrass is 6.5. While grass will grow in a pH value from 6.1 to 6.9, as the value gets closer to 5.9 (very acidic) or near 7.1 (very alkaline), the more difficult it is to grow a beautiful lawn. The closer the soil pH is maintained at 6.5, the better fescue grass, bluegrass, and ryegrass take nutrients from the soil and grow into healthy lush green plants.
How to collect a soil sample
Take a freezer bag and fill it with about ¾ full of soil from the top six inches of your lawn. Try not to get too much leaf blade tissue in the sample. Take a small amount of soil from all parts of your lawn until your freezer bag is ¾ full.
Do a Google search for your County’s Agricultural Extension service and deliver to them. You can deliver in person or through the mail. They will have you fill out a form and will be able to e-mail you your test results, complete with fertility recommendations to help you apply the correct fertilizers for optimum growth of your fescue grass and bluegrass.
Have some questions about soil samples and pH levels? Feel free to reach out to me at mbrown@genesisfarms.com or give me a call at (317) 658-4783. I love to talk about all things turf!
