A lab test of your soil every September

We pull cores from across your lawn each September, mix them into one sample and send it to a soil lab. You get a copy of the report.

Schedule your free assessment →

Photo to shootSoil cores from one lawn laid side by side on a kraft sample bag. Put the probe beside them. Shoot from above in soft daylight. Vertical 4:5.

Your soil report can change the phosphorus and potassium in our standard blends. Its pH reading tells us how likely your soil is to lock up iron.

We test your soil at your first visit and again each September. Until the first report comes back, we feed by grass type.

Bear River Turf Co.

Soil report
Results April 28, 2027 · Page 1 of 2

Your soil test

First-visit test · cores pulled April 14, 2027

Sample CustomerHyde Park
Kentucky bluegrass · 6,000 sq ft

Your soil is alkaline. That is normal in Cache Valley. Alkaline soil often locks up iron. Your iron reading is borderline. Liquid iron in June helps keep the lawn green through July. Phosphorus and potassium are both normal. Core aeration in September will loosen the firm soil.

pHAcid or alkaline

7.9pH scale

LowNormal 6.1 to 8.4High

Normal for soil. Above 7.5, grass often cannot take up iron and turns pale in summer.

Organic matterSoil life and water

3.1percent

Low under 2Normal 2 to 5High over 5

Healthy. Clippings left on the lawn add to it.

PhosphorusRoot growth

22parts per million

Low under 15Normal 15 to 30High

Enough. No extra phosphorus.

PotassiumHeat and drought

184parts per million

LowNormal 125 to 400High

Enough. No extra potassium.

IronGreen color

3.6parts per million

Low under 2.5Borderline 2.5 to 4.5Enough over 4.5

Borderline. Your high pH makes iron harder for grass to use.

CompactionMeasured on your lawn

240psi at 3 inches

Loose under 200FirmPacked over 300

Average of eight readings. Firm soil keeps water and roots near the surface.

Your program stays the same

Liquid iron stays at your June visit. Your pH and iron readings say the lawn needs it.
Your winterizer and spring blends stay the same. Phosphorus and potassium are both normal.
Core aeration and overseeding stay in September. They loosen the soil and thicken the lawn.

Water deeper and less often

Longer, less frequent watering pushes the roots deeper. Skip a day after rain.

Page 2 shows every number the lab returned. Iron is the only reading outside its normal range.

Sample record

We keep this with your application records.

Sample IDBRT-27-0414-01

Cores · depth12 cores · 0 to 4 inches

Pulled · sent · results04/14 · 04/15 · 04/28/2027

Lab numberon the lab report

Open both pages of the example report (PDF) →

What each reading means for your lawn

Acid and alkaline balance

The pH shows how acid or alkaline your soil is. Cache Valley soils are alkaline.

Organic matter

Soil life and water

Organic matter is the broken-down plant material in your soil. It feeds soil life and helps the soil hold water and nutrients.

Phosphorus

Root growth

Phosphorus helps grass grow roots. The phosphorus reading matters most on new lawns and on lawns we are about to overseed.

Potassium

Heat and drought tolerance

Potassium helps the lawn handle heat, drought and foot traffic. Potash is the form of potassium on a fertilizer bag. The potassium reading can change how much potash goes in the summer feed.

Iron

Green color

Grass needs iron to stay green. The iron reading shows how much iron the roots can reach. Alkaline soil often holds it back.

Compaction

Packed soil

We read compaction on site with a compaction meter. Packed soil keeps air and water from reaching the roots.

Lawn problems the soil test helps us find in Cache Valley

Many lawns here turn yellow in July

Alkaline soil often locks up iron. The iron is still in the soil, but the roots cannot take it up. The iron sits there like food in a locked pantry. If the lawn turns pale in July even when you feed and water it, locked-up iron is the likely cause.

What we do

We apply liquid iron to the leaf in June so the grass takes it in directly instead of through the soil. The green from each dose fades after several weeks, so Complete Lawn and Pest adds iron at four more visits. Extra nitrogen does not fix locked-up iron. Because the soil test does not measure nitrogen, we set nitrogen by your grass type.

Water runs off the top of the lawn

Soil packs down over the years under foot traffic and mowing. Roots then stay shallow, and water cannot soak in.

What we do

Our compaction reading tells us whether the lawn needs core aeration. If it does, we recommend aerating in September and overseeding where the lawn has thinned.

New sod sits on bare subsoil

Many new homes have sod laid on graded subsoil. That subsoil often tests low in phosphorus, and the grass can struggle to root.

What we do

Starter fertilizer is high in phosphorus. We put it down with the new seed on the fall renovation visit in September. The phosphorus reading guides the feed after that.

All three programs include a soil test each September

The free assessment takes about 20 minutes.

Schedule your free assessment →