Understanding Your Lawn Begins with a Soil Analysis
When customers notice their lawns aren’t greening up, especially after fertilization, they often wonder why this is happening and how to fix it. A lack of green up is usually a sign that the lawn is not responding because the fertilizers are bound in the soil and unavailable for the plant to use. However, it’s important to confirm the diagnosis just like a doctor would before prescribing a treatment. That’s why a soil analysis is a good place to start so we know what’s happening with your lawn and how to treat it.
Why Take a Soil Analysis?
When we first begin working with a new customer, we’ll pull a soil sample that will tell us the soil's pH level. This provides the baseline diagnosis so we know how to treat your lawn to ensure the best results for a lush, green lawn. The soil’s pH can be affected by factors such as precipitation and vegetative cover, which can directly correlate to whether the soil is more acidic or basic. The pH level can mean that certain nutrients are less likely to be absorbed by the plant or are less available. When this happens, you start to notice it in the plant’s physical appearance.
When and Why Lime Applications are Advised
The optimal pH for a turfgrass lawn is 6.5. If a soil test indicates the pH is lower than desired, a lime application is usually the plan of action for getting your lawn back to where it should be. The soil analysis will let us know the amount of lime needed to amend the soil and get your lawn back in shape. In some cases, one application may be enough, but in other cases, we may recommend more applications spread several months apart to ensure optimal results.
Once lime is applied, it’s important to know improvement won’t happen overnight. Much like other lawn treatments, it takes time for a lime application to yield results. Usually, it will take a few weeks to a couple of months for the soil amendment to start adjusting the pH, which will make the nutrients applied more available to the plant for use.
The Got lawn? Difference
We often have customers ask if lime applications are included in our service plans. While other companies at best put out what we would call a “maintenance lime application” whether you need it or not, we know every lawn is different and treat them that way. That means starting with a soil analysis to see what’s happening with your lawn and building our plan for lime applications or other amendments based on what your lawn needs. This will tell us exactly how much product to apply so we will start seeing improvements.
For new customers, a soil sample is pulled upon enrollment so we can determine your soil’s pH and make sure your lawn is properly balanced with a personalized treatment plan. Our goal for all clients is a thicker, greener, and healthier lawn for the long term.
Curious to know more about how we can help you achieve a greener and more lush lawn? Learn more about our lawn care services or call us at 470-785-8855.