Soil Sampling Project Update

In the early part of 2022, the LQEC surveyed the membership of the Lake Club regarding their lawn fertilization practices. The results of the survey helped guide further research into the best practices for lawn fertilization on lakefront lawns.

In order to determine the current status of the essential lawn nutrients – nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium – the LQEC offered to take soil samples from members’ lawns and submit these to the Kansas State University Soil Testing Lab in Manhattan. Fifty members’ lawns were sampled in November 2022. These samples were analyzed by the lab for the following: soil pH, nitrates (usable nitrogen), phosphorus, potassium and organic matter. Each member who requested soil testing received a comprehensive report from the lab that suggested both a fertilization schedule and which nutrients to supply for a healthy lawn.

In addition, the LQEC received a copy of the report for each sample site. These reports were aggregated and then sorted in a number of ways. The results were compared to KSU Soil Lab recommended levels for each nutrient. The results were separated where possible into vendor-specific graphs looking for trends that might suggest over or under fertilization practices. The KSU Soil Lab recommendations for fertilization practices were reviewed for each sample site. Recommendations were made by the Soil Lab for not only when to fertilize but also how to fertilize and with what suggested nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium ratios. The