Do you feel like you’re doing everything right out there, but your lawn is still struggling? Frustrating, right?
It might be time for a lawn soil test.
Various types of lawn soil tests exist. One notable test, the lawn soil pH test, serves as an excellent indicator for enhancing the health of your soil and lawn. Conversely, a general soil analysis test proves to be less beneficial.
Maybe you’re not losing sleep wondering, “Is my lawn acidic or alkaline?”
Jump to Section
- First, What Is pH in Soil Testing?
- What Should Your Soil pH Be?
- What Soil pH Does Wisconsin Have?
- How Often Should Lawn Soil Testing Be Done?
- What Plants Do Not Like Acidic Soil?
- A Deeper Dive Into Lawn Soil Science
- Why a General Lawn Soil Analysis Isn’t as Helpful as pH Testing
- Trust Your Lawn Soil Health to RainMaster
Why should you care about the pH of your lawn soil? Soil pH affects how well your grass can absorb nutrients, like that fertilizer that costs you money and time.
When you know your Eau Claire lawn soil's pH, you can make informed decisions about helpful soil amendments (like lime or gypsum) to bring the pH into the ideal range for your lawn.
Continue reading to learn how to effectively balance soil pH.
First, What Is pH in Soil Testing?
Never heard of lawn pH? Don’t feel bad. Lawn soil pH is underestimated. Lots of homeowners shrug it off. But they shouldn’t.
In soil testing, pH refers to a measure of the soil's acidity or alkalinity.
What’s the difference between acidic and alkaline soil?
Acidic soil has a pH below 7, while alkaline soil has a pH above 7.
If your lawn isn’t looking too great, even though you’re staying on top of your fertilizer applications, it could mean its pH is off and needs lime or gypsum to balance it.
Soil pH is measured on a scale from 0 to 14, using a pH meter that sticks a probe into the soil without removing actual soil from the ground.
What Should Your Soil pH Be?
Soil at the midpoint, number 7, is neutral soil - neither acidic nor alkaline. Most grasses thrive at a pH range of between 6.0 and 7.0. You want that perfect balance.
Soil pH influences how easily your grass can absorb nutrients. If the soil pH is too high or too low, essential nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in your fertilizer can be locked up and unavailable to your hungry grass.
That means no matter how much fertilizer you give your lawn, if your grass doesn’t have the proper, balanced soil pH, it won’t do much good.
However, it’s relatively easy to fix.
How to Balance Soil pH?
It boils down to two key ingredients. You need to know which one your lawn needs.
If your Eau Claire lawn soil pH is too low, it’s time for lime, a soil amendment made from ground limestone rock which contains calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate.
Add lime to your soil, and these compounds increase the soil's pH, making the soil less acidic and more alkaline.
Alternatively, if your lawn soil pH is too high, your lawn may require gypsum, a mineral that contains hydrated calcium sulfate.
We call both of these treatments “balancer,” because they both work to balance the pH level of your lawn.
Once your lawn is balanced with the right pH, your soil can use the nutrients in your fertilizer and flourish.
A balanced lawn soil pH is key to a healthy, thriving lawn.
Here at RainMaster, we consider lawn soil pH so important that we include Eau Claire, WI soil pH testing in all three levels of our lawn care programs. We include a pH balancer in our top two lawn care program levels.
You’ll notice the difference between a lawn with balanced soil and a lawn that’s not able to use the fertilizer it gets.
What Soil pH Does Wisconsin Have?
Lawn soil pH varies from city to city, and, oddly enough, even from lawn to lawn in the same neighborhood. Nearly 80% of Wisconsin is covered in glacial deposits, resulting in a wide variety of soil types.
Lawn soil in Eau Claire, WI tends to be acidic. That means lawns here are more likely to need a boost of lime.
Meanwhile, the soil in Minneapolis, MN often leans toward alkaline and is more likely to need gypsum to help balance it.
How Often Should Lawn Soil Testing Be Done?
Soil pH can change over time due to factors such as rainfall, organic matter, and fertilizer application.
So lawn soil pH testing should be done every 2-3 years to monitor any changes.
More frequent testing can be helpful if you have problem areas, are trying to correct nutrient deficiencies in your lawn, or you’re making significant changes to the soil, like bringing in loads of new topsoil for a landscaping project.
What Plants Do Not Like Acidic Soil?
While most lawn grasses happily thrive at a pH range of between 6.0 and 7.0, some plants, like blueberries, bleeding heart, hollies,
azaleas, and rhododendrons, thrive in more acidic soils.
Other plants, such as lilac, forsythia, and clematis, prefer soils with a pH level of 7.0 or higher.
Knowing your soil pH not only helps you maintain a green, healthy lawn, but it also guides you in selecting plants that will thrive in your garden. All the more reason to get a soil pH test in Eau Claire, WI.
A Deeper Dive Into Lawn Soil Science
What do the p and H stand for, anyway?
Pretty handy? Plant hardiness? Potential horrors?
Nope. It stands for "potential of hydrogen," because pH is a measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution.
A high concentration of hydrogen ions means a solution is acidic (low pH), while a low concentration means it’s alkaline (high pH).
Keep this tucked away in your brain if you’re ever on “Jeopardy.”
Why a General Lawn Soil Analysis Isn’t As Helpful as pH Testing
Beyond simply testing your lawn soil pH with a handheld meter that sticks into the ground, a more comprehensive lawn soil analysis involves removing a portion of soil from the ground and having it tested at a laboratory to determine which nutrients are present or absent.
Many communities have a university extension office that will do this lawn soil analysis. There are also at-home or mail-in soil test kits that offer a snapshot of your soil.
Some focus on light exposure, pH, and moisture level, while others offer information on your soil’s composition, including levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Most fertilizers are designed to replenish these three elements.
Chances are, this type of Eau Claire, WI lawn soil test won’t help your lawn.
Why? A few reasons:
- Most homeowners don’t want to spend the money required to fix what the lawn soil analysis results say needs improving. If the lawn soil test reveals that your soil is mostly sand, would you be willing to tear out your lawn and replace it with new soil? Probably not.
- Lawn soil tests tell what’s in your soil on the day of the test. But by the time you get results back from a testing lab, that’s likely changed. Perhaps the lawn soil analysis results indicate that your soil has sufficient nitrogen. However, while you wait for the results, your grass continues to use the soil’s nitrogen, so those results are no longer valid.
- Lawn soil test results often indicate a soil pH issue, telling you that your soil needs lime or gypsum. So why not just do the Eau Claire soil pH test and get that information right away?
In rare cases, a lawn may have a mystery issue that even a lawn care specialist’s expertise cannot resolve. Perhaps a rare fungus or disease is preventing it from thriving, and advanced lawn soil testing can identify the issue.
But in most cases, a lawn soil analysis won’t provide helpful information worth using.
A lawn soil pH test, on the other hand, offers valuable information you can use to realistically improve your soil, and your lawn’s health. It can make a huge difference if your lawn is struggling.
Trust Your Lawn Soil Health to RainMaster
Maybe you don’t have time to ponder hydrogen ions or wonder if your soil needs lime. But you’re paying for fertilizer to help your grass grow green and healthy. Why waste money by letting an off-balance pH interfere with its performance? That makes no sense.
A RainMaster lawn specialist can test your soil’s pH level to see if it needs a soil balancer treatment, lime or gypsum, so your lawn can access that critical fertilizer and thrive.
Quality fertilizer is your lawn’s food. It needs it to grow thick and healthy and attain the rich green color you love. RainMaster uses premium professional-grade formulations of granular fertilizer, which is more expensive and effective than liquid counterparts that some of our competitors use.
Our granular fertilizer breaks down slowly, giving you consistent benefits from fertilization.
A comprehensive and proactive Eau Claire, WI lawn care program will automatically nourish your lawn’s soil with the nutrients your lawn needs to thrive.
Let’s create a custom nutrition plan for your lawn that focuses on replenishing your soil with the essential nutrients it needs to help your lawn grow thick and healthy, while resisting weeds.
We offer three different levels of lawn care programs, based on the results you’d like, how fast you want to see results, and your budget.
When you’re ready to put your trust in us, we can’t wait to meet you and help you make the best choices for your lawn.
Want to boost your soil’s health? Why wouldn’t you? Request a quote today! We’ll review your lawn care options together so you can make a great choice.
