The key to getting the best out of your lawn is to nurture the health of your soil. Soil is a living, breathing ecosystem composed of soil particles, water, and air. You can set yourself up for your best looking lawn ever by correcting your soil’s pH level and fortifying it with natural microbes that unlock the nutrients it needs to thrive.
Soil Chemistry
A pH level measures the acidic or alkaline composition of your soil. If your soil pH is too low or too high, then nutrients will not transfer properly from soil to grass plants. Because of imbalanced pH levels, many traditional fertilizers are often wasted. If you aren’t sure which one you should be using, then you should consider checking out topsoil so you can see how it can help your lawn grow perfectly.
The ideal pH level for your lawn is between 6.1 and 6.8. This is because key nutrients like Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sulfur, Calcium, Magnesium, and Iron are more readily available to your grass plants when soils are in the slightly acidic range.
Soil is constantly acidifying, thanks to microbial waste and synthetic fertilizers. Overly acidified soil means trouble because weeds LOVE acidic soils. Weeds will block your grass seedlings from receiving the sunlight and nutrients they need to grow and flourish.
Test Your Soil’s pH
At Koopman Lumber, we carry Jonathan Green’s Soil pH Test Kit®. It is an easy to use product that’s also an inexpensive way for you to determine your soil’s pH level, which can be the difference between a great or mediocre lawn. It can also be used to test the soil pH level for flowers, vegetables, and shrubs.
Begin by taking a sample of loosened soil from about 4″ below the surface. Remove the cap from the test tube and remove the capsule inside of it, then fill the tube with soil up to the first line. Next, carefully twist and open the capsule and pour the powder into the tube. Add water (preferably bottled or filtered) to the fourth line. Replace the cap on the test tube and shake thoroughly. Allow the soil to settle for about 5 minutes. Finally, compare the color of the soil and powder solution in the test tube to pH color chart on the front of the product packaging. This will give you an accurate reading of your soil’s current pH level, and give you an idea how you need to treat your soil.
Correcting Soil pH and Feeding Your Soil
The best way to correct overly acidic soil is by applying lime. Lime contains calcium, which is an essential nutrient for plants. Traditionally, lime was sold in either pelletized or pulverized form. However, these products can take up to 6 months to move your soil’s pH level.
Jonathan Green’s Mag-I-Cal® is a dramatic improvement on the traditional lime products. It contains highly soluble calcium, which is readily available for plant uptake and pH adjustment. It helps to build stronger cell walls in your grass plants, leading to improved disease, insect, and drought resistance. Mag-I-Cal® also contains humates which increase soil microbial activity, reproduction, and metabolic function.
Best of all, ONE bag of Mag-I-Cal® covers the same amount of square feet (5,000) as 5 bags of lime! So not only is it a more efficient way to adjust your soil’s pH level but Mag-I-Cal® also only costs you HALF of what using traditional lime would.
Feed Your Soil
Jonathan Green’s Love Your Soil® is a natural, organic soil food that will help you to grow better grass by creating better soil!
Love Your Soil® feeds your soil microbes and stimulates microbial activity by fortifying soil with humates, molasses, amino acids, Calcium, Sulfur, and Iron. Microbes are the engine that break nutrients down that are locked up in soil.
Love Your Soil® also loosens heavy and compacted soil with gypsum. Gypsum releases tied-up soil nutrients so that they are readily available to your grass plants. It also enhances root development and root mass, leading to healthier, hardier plants!
Love Your Soil® is an organic, environmentally friendly product that is safe to use around people and pets.
Wrap Up
That’s all there is to it! By taking some time to make sure that your soil is in optimal health, you have set the stage for a healthy, vibrant lawn.
Here at Koopman Lumber, we have the products you need to ensure your soil is as healthy as can be. Our friendly, knowledgeable staff will be glad to help you out with all things soil and lawn, and we’ll even load them into your vehicle for you! So stop by your local, conveniently located Koopman store and gear up for lawn season.
