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Although Northern lawns may have to wait two or three months to get back on their lawns, gardeners in the South, the Transitional States and Pacific NW can use this time to their advantage by working on their soils. This you can do even if the grass and gardens are not actively growing right now. As long as daytime temperatures are generally not close to freezing, soils you can be treat your soil with beneficial amendments. Though your lawn, trees and plants may be dormant, the soil is still very much alive. Moreover, it is very capable of improving in structure, aeration and beneficial microbial growth. When the grass and other plants start to re-grow in the spring, they will get off to a much better start in an improved soil.

Characteristics of good quality soil

Appearance– Few recognizable components of original material remain. Structure is light and crumbly.

Color – Dark brown to black

Texture or particle size– Fine texture, particles smaller than 1/2 inch for incorporation, smaller than 1/8 for topdressing.

Odor– Earthy aroma, no smell of ammonia or sulfur.

Temperature– Not warm to the touch.

Moisture content– 30 to 50%

Carbon to nitrogen ratio (C:N ratio)– 15:1 to 20:1

Soil pH

Adjust pH. The soil pH should be adjusted during the lawns dormant time. Soil amendments such as Aerify and Nature’s Magic tend to buffer pH so adjustment should be performed first. For best overall results, adjust to your lawn turfs ideal pH.

Grass pH Ranges	pH Low	pH High	Ideal
BAHIAGRASS ARGENTINE, PENSACOLA, TIFTON	6.0	7.5	6.7 – 6.8
BENTGRASS COLONIAL & CREEPING	5.6	7.0	6.3
BERMUDA HYBRIDS & COMMON	5.6	7.0	6.3
BLUEGRASS	5.7	7.4	6.5 – 6.6
BUFFALO	5.6	7.0	6.3
CARPETGRASS	4.5	5.5	5.3
CENTIPEDE	4.3	5.8	5.0 – 5.1
FESCUE RED & CREEPING	5.6	6.8	6.2
FESCUE TALL	5.6	7.0	6.3
ST. AUGUSTINE	6.3	7.8	7.0 – 7.1
ZOYSIA	5.5	7.0	6.2 – 6.3

pH Control Products

Liquid Lawn Sulfur

Liquid Lawn Lime

Pelletized lawn or garden sulfur and lime can take as long as two years to lower soil pH. Liquid lawn sulfur and liquid lawn lime can do the job in a few weeks.

Liquid Sulfur can be used both as a plant food to provide the nutrient sulfur that restores dark green color to plants and as a soil amendment to correct the problem of alkaline soil (it lowers soil pH). The lower pH of the soil helps make the iron naturally in the soil more available to the grass as a nutrient. Iron helps provide a deep green color. It also improves water penetration and retention. An additional benefit is control of most mites as well as common fungus problems such as powdery mildew, blackspot, scab, brown rot, brown canker, leaf spot and rust. Sulfur is also an excellent moss controller.

Note: Most broadleaf weeds like soil pH above 7.0. With the exception of St. Augustine grass, ideal pH is a deterrent to broadleaf weeds such as crabgrass. Weed Alert

Organic Matter %

Natural organic material is classified into two categories according to their carbon and nitrogen content: Green organic material and Brown organic material.

· “Green” materials, such as fresh grass clippings, manure and other living plants (weeds) and plant products contain large amounts of nitrogen.

· “Brown” materials such as dried leaves and plants, branches, and woody materials (leaf stems) have high carbon content but are relatively low in nitrogen.

Basically, “Green” materials supply food for the biolife (bacteria, fungi, and small invertebrates such as worms) which intern manufacture, supply, and facilitate nutrient uptake for the plants. The “Brown” materials provide a home for the “Green” material biolife. When both “Green” and “Brown” organic materials decompose they become organic matter or “Humus”

Table 1. Organic matter in native and cultivated soils (per cent)

Soil zone	Virgin	Cultivated
Brown	3-4	2-3
Dark Brown	4-5	3-4
Black	6-10	4-6
Dark Gray	4-5	2-3
Gray	1-2	1-2

Most turfs will do well with organic matter of 4 – 5%. Higher percentages offer little improvement to turf nutrition but will aid in moisture retention.

Chemical Components of soil

Chemical	Function	Ideal Median Range PPM
Nitrogen	Nitrogen is always listed first in the fertilizer grade (or N-P-K ratio) on nutrient product bags, boxes, and bottles because it is one of the biggies. (For example, if the ratio on your nutrient package reads “11-13-3″, that means it contains 11 percent nitrogen.) Plants use nitrogen to produce new, green growth. Different turf grasses have different nitrogen requirements. Gor example, Centipede should not get more then 9% nitrogen more than twice a year; Zoysia should not get nitrogen more than 16% twice a year.
Prosperous P₂O₅	Phosphorus is listed second in the N-P-K ratio. (That nutrient package with the “11-13-3″ ratio contains 13 percent phosphorus.) Phosphorus is essential to turf grass root growth. When you supplement the amount of phosphorus, you’ll likely notice more vigorous growth overall.	535
Potassium Oxide K₂O	Potassium takes up the last spot in the N-P-K ratio. (So an “11-13-3″ nutrient ratio contains 3 percent potassium.) Because grasses use potassium to build cells and tissue, supplementing this nutrient contributes to overall grass hardiness. Stronger, more durable plants are usually more tolerant of temperature extremes and are more pest- and disease-resistant.	100
Calcium	As with sulfur, grasses also need calcium to make proteins. Calcium promotes new root growth and facilitates overall plant vigor.	1,250
Magnesium	In short, manganese makes things happen. Manganese is necessary for chlorophyll formation, and without it, grasses would not be able to carry out essential cellular functions.	2.5
Sodium	Soils that contain high levels of sodium coupled with low levels of soluble salts produce a condition known as sodic soil. Sodic soil can negatively impact the growth of your plants and be toxic to sodium-sensitive vegetation.	100
Sulfur	One of the secondary macronutrients, sulfur helps plants maintain their dark green color. Mainly, plants use sulfur to create essential proteins. In grasses, sulfur is essential for nitrogen-fixing nodules, and necessary in the formation of chlorophyll. Plants use sulfur in the processes of producing proteins, amino acids, enzymes and vitamins. Sulfur also helps the plant’s resistance to disease, aids in growth, and in seed formation.	50
Aluminum	Aluminum is not a plant nutrient however high concentrations in soil with a pH of less than 6.5 is toxic to turf roots.	<100
Iron	Iron makes for healthy, dark green growth. As with magnesium, iron is essential for photosynthesis. Iron is necessary for chlorophyll formation, and without it, plants wouldn’t be able to carry out essential cellular functions.	6
Manganese	In short, manganese makes things happen. Manganese is necessary for chlorophyll formation, and without it, grasses would not be able to carry out essential cellular functions.	7.5
Copper	Copper contributes too many natural processes including plant metabolism and reproduction.	.5
Zinc	Plants use zinc in conjunction with other elements to carry out many natural processes including forming chlorophyll.	7
Boron	Grasses don’t need much of it, but boron does facilitate nutrient uptake and it helps plants to grow new tissue.	1.5
Nitrate		50
Molybdenum	Grasses need molybdenum to produce essential proteins. Make sure the nutrient solution is well aerated and not too hot or too cold. A good temperature range for most solutions is 60 to 65 degrees F.
Base Saturation		%
K		2 – 5%
Na		0.70%
Ca		60 – 70%
Mg		10 – 20%
Exchangeable Hydrogen H+		10 – 15%

Lawn Soil and the Importance of Biolife

Most soils are teeming with life — microbial life — that is as important to our lives as the more visible flora and fauna we see around us. Just imagine if there were no decomposers in the soil. In a matter of years, we would be buried in organic debris that no longer breaks down. Nutrient cycles would grind to a halt and plants would not survive without our constant feeding. And soil microbes have been the source of life-saving compounds such as antibiotics (e.g. penicillin) that we have come to rely on.

As small as they are, soil microorganisms are the real giants in your lawn, and your lawn soil is swarming with millions of these microorganisms. This “living-soil-life” helps keep your soil healthy, decompose organic matter, replenish soil nutrients, form humus, store and regulate water, promote root growth, increase nutrient uptake, and (over time) the breakdown of herbicides and pesticides. These microorganisms include bacteria, fungi, and protozoa.

Bacteria –What bacteria lack in size, they make up in numbers. They are tiny, one-celled organisms. A teaspoon of productive soil generally contains between 100 million and 1 billion bacteria.

Bacteria have four functional groups.

1. Most are decomposers that consume simple carbon compounds. By this process, they convert energy in soil organic matter into forms useful to the rest of the organisms. A number of decomposers, over time, can break down pesticides and pollutants in soil. Decomposers are especially important in stopping or retaining, nutrients in their cells, thus preventing the loss of nutrients, such as nitrogen, from the rooting zone.

2. A second group is the mutualists that form partnerships with plants. The most well-known of these are the nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

3. The third group is the pathogens.

4. A fourth group, called lithotrophs (literally meaning rock eaters) or chemoautotrophs (which are able to synthesize all of the organic compounds they need from inorganic raw materials in the absence of sunlight), obtains its energy from compounds of nitrogen, sulfur, iron or hydrogen instead of from carbon compounds.

Functions

· They perform important services related to water dynamics.

· nutrient cycling

· Disease suppression.

· Many organisms will compete with disease-causing organisms in roots and on aboveground surfaces of plants.

Important Bacteria

Nitrogen-fixing– The plant supplies simple carbon compounds to the bacteria, and it converts nitrogen (N2) from air into a form the plant host can use. When leaves or roots from the host plant decompose, soil nitrogen increases in the surrounding area.

Nitrifying– change ammonium to nitrite then to nitrate – a preferred form of nitrogen for grasses and most row crops.

Denitrifying– convert nitrate to nitrogen (N2) or nitrous oxide (N2O) gas. Denitrifiers are anaerobic, meaning they are active where oxygen is absent, such as in saturated soils or inside soil aggregates.

Actinomycetes– are a large group of bacteria that grow as hyphae like fungi. They are responsible for the characteristically “earthy” smell of freshly turned, healthy soil. Actinomycetes decompose a wide array of hard-to-decompose compounds and are active at high pH levels. A number of antibiotics are produced by Actinomycetes such as Streptomyces.

Fungi – Basically there are two types of fungi – Mycorrhizal and normal. Fungi thrive in well-drained, neutral to acidic, aerated soils. Normal fungi help decompose the organic matter in litter and soil but play less of an overall role. Mycorrhizal fungi help develop healthy root systems by growing on plant roots. The fungus is actually a network of filaments that grow in and around the plant root cells, forming a mass that extends considerably beyond the plant’s root system. This essentially extends the plant’s reach to water and nutrients, allowing it to utilize more of the soil’s resources.

Protozoa These microorganisms are present in almost all soils. They feed on bacteria and other protozoa. Protozoa are classified into three types based on their mobility: Amoebae, Flagellates, and Ciliates. Good protozoa feed on bacteria and release nitrogen and other nutrients to the soil. Since they live in and around roots the plants benefit from this supply of food.

Protozoa are a major part of the living soil.

· Protozoa are single-celled animals that feed on bacteria, other protozoa, organic matter, and sometimes fungi.

· They are several times larger than bacteria.

· The numbers of protozoa in the soil vary – from a 1,000 per teaspoon in unfertile soils to a 1,000,000 per teaspoon in some fertile soils.

Protozoa are divided into three groups based on their shape:

1. Ciliates

· Are the largest of the protozoa and are mobile by means of hair-like cilia.

· They eat the other two types of protozoa, also bacteria.

· They eat up to 10,000 bacteria per day, and make nitrogen available to plants.

· Ciliates are least numerous of the 3 groups.

· Ciliates move rapidly through soil using the cilias like boat oars.

2. Amoebae

· They can be large and they move by means of a pseudopod.

· Amoebae are divided into testate amoebae and naked amoebae.

· One group of amoebae, like vampires, eat fungi and root pathogens.

3. Flagellates

· They are the smallest of the protozoa and use whip-like flagella to propel or pull its way through soil.

Functions of Protozoa

1. Protozoa help mineralize nutrients, which make them available for use by plants and other soil organisms.

2. Protozoa regulate bacteria populations as they graze on bacteria and it seems to stimulate growth of that bacterial population.
3. Protozoa is a food source for other soil organisms.

4. They help to suppress disease by feeding on pathogens.

5. Protozoa release excess nitrogen as they eat bacteria that will then be used by plants and other members of the food web.

Fungi

A gram of garden soil can contain around one million fungi, such as yeasts and molds. Fungi have no chlorophyll, and are not able to photosynthesize; besides, they can’t use atmospheric carbon dioxide as a source of carbon, therefore they are chemo-heterotrophic, meaning that, like animals, they require a chemical source of energy rather than being able to use light as an energy source, as well as organic substrates to get carbon for growth and development.

Many fungi are parasitic, often causing disease to their living host plant, although some have beneficial relationships with living plants as we shall see below. In terms of soil and humus creation, the most important fungi tend to be saprotrophic, that is, they live on dead or decaying organic matter, thus breaking it down and converting it to forms that are available to the higher plants. A succession of fungi species will colonize the dead matter, beginning with those that use sugars and starches, which are succeeded by those that are able to break down cellulose and lignin’s.

Fungi spread underground by sending long thin threads known as mycelium throughout the soil; these threads can be observed throughout many soils and compost heaps. From the mycelia the fungi is able to throw up its fruiting bodies, the visible part above the soil (e.g., mushrooms, toadstools and puffballs), which may contain millions of spores. When the fruiting body bursts, these spores are dispersed through the air to settle in fresh environments, and are able to lie dormant for years until the right conditions for their activation arise or the right food is made available.

Liquid Organic Soil Amendments

All of our products are packaged in 32 oz. hose end applicators. If you can water your lawn with a garden hose, you can greatly improve your soil. Amendment coverage is posted on every sprayer.