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5 Late-Summer Mowing Mistakes That Can Stress Your Greenville Lawn
Late August in Greenville can be rough on grass. Your lawn has already endured months of heat, humidity, thunderstorms, dry stretches and regular foot traffic. At this point in the season, something as ordinary as mowing can either help the turf finish summer strong—or add another source of stress. Here are five mistakes worth avoiding. 1. Cutting the Lawn Too Short A freshly cut lawn can look great, but shorter isn’t automatically healthier. Removing too much leaf tissue at once can stress turf and reduce the grass’s ability to support its root system. Taller grass can also provide more shade over the soil surface. Avoid dramatically lowering your mower just because growth begins slowing as fall approaches. 2. Mowing With Dull Blades Look closely at the tips of your grass after mowing. A sharp mower blade produces a relatively clean cut. A dull blade tears and shreds the grass. Those ragged tips can leave a lawn looking brown or dull shortly after mowing even when the turf itself is otherwise healthy. Keeping mower blades sharp is one of the simplest improvements homeowners can make. 3. Removing Too Much at Once If summer travel, rain or a busy week causes the lawn to get away from you, don’t immediately scalp it back to its normal height. A useful rule is to avoid removing more than roughly one-third of the grass blade in a single mowing. If the lawn has become significantly overgrown, gradually bring it back down over multiple cuts rather than taking everything off at once. 4. Mowing on Autopilot “Saturday is mowing day” doesn’t necessarily mean the lawn needs to be cut every Saturday. Grass growth changes with temperature, rainfall, irrigation, fertility and grass type. As Greenville moves from August toward September, growth patterns will begin changing. Mow based on the lawn—not simply the calendar. 5. Treating Every Grass Type the Same This becomes especially important as fall approaches. Fescue is a cool-season grass and grows vigorously during cooler periods. Clemson notes that tall fescue is well adapted to South Carolina’s upper Piedmont, which includes the Greenville area. Bermuda and zoysia are warm-season grasses moving gradually toward their fall slowdown. The mowing schedule and seasonal lawn-care strategy shouldn’t be identical for all three. Mowing Is Only One Piece of Lawn Health Good mowing practices help, but they can’t correct every lawn problem. If grass remains thin, weedy or unhealthy despite proper mowing, something else may be happening. Soil conditions, pests, irrigation, disease and nutrient availability can all affect turf performance. Turf Boss offers free soil samples and yearly pH testing, professional fertilization and weed control, grub and ant pest control, mosquito treatments, and other seasonal lawn services throughout the Upstate. Fescue Owners: Fall Is Almost Here For homeowners with fescue, late August is also the time to prepare for the upcoming establishment season. Clemson identifies mid-to-late September as the preferred establishment period for cool-season turf in South Carolina. Turf Boss’s fescue aeration and overseeding program uses blue-tag .000 weed-free seed at approximately 6 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Customers enrolled in its 8-Round Fertilization and Weed Control Plan also receive a lawn audit and weed-removal application before aeration and overseeding. So the mowing decisions you’re making now are happening right before an important seasonal transition. Finish Summer Strong Great lawn care isn’t always about adding another product. Sometimes it’s simply doing the fundamentals correctly. Mow at an appropriate height. Keep the blade sharp. Don’t scalp the turf. Pay attention to your grass type. And adjust your routine as the season changes. Turf Boss serves homeowners throughout Greenville, Greer, Taylors, Mauldin, Simpsonville, Five Forks and surrounding Upstate South Carolina communities, with free estimates and no contracts. When your lawn needs more than good mowing habits, let Turf Boss build the right program for it.
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Bermuda Grass in Late Summer: What Greenville Homeowners Should Do Now
A healthy Bermuda lawn can look fantastic during a Greenville summer. But August 23 isn’t June 23. As summer winds down, the way you manage Bermuda should begin changing too. The goal isn’t to push as much new growth as possible before fall. It’s to help the turf finish its growing season healthy and transition toward dormancy properly. Here are several things Greenville homeowners should be thinking about right now. 1. Stop Pushing Bermuda With Nitrogen This is one of the biggest late-summer mistakes. More fertilizer doesn’t automatically mean a healthier lawn. For Bermudagrass in Upstate South Carolina, Clemson Extension recommends stopping nitrogen applications after approximately August 15. The reason is simple: continuing to stimulate tender growth too late can interfere with the lawn’s natural transition into fall dormancy and potentially increase disease problems. A seasonal fertilization program should change as the grass’s needs change. That’s exactly why Turf Boss uses an 8-Round Turf Care Program rather than applying the same treatment every visit. 2. Keep Mowing While Bermuda Is Actively Growing Your lawn hasn’t entered fall dormancy yet. Continue mowing while the grass remains actively growing, but avoid removing too much of the blade at once. Scalping Bermuda during late-summer stress can weaken the turf just when you’re trying to send it into fall in good condition. Keep mower blades sharp and maintain a consistent mowing schedule rather than allowing the lawn to become excessively tall between cuts. 3. Don’t Automatically Water Because It’s Hot Late-August afternoons can still feel like peak summer in Greenville. That doesn’t necessarily mean the lawn needs irrigation every day. Water based on what your property actually needs and account for rainfall. Deep, appropriate watering is generally more useful than constantly wetting the surface. Overwatering can create its own problems, including shallow rooting and conditions favorable to some turf diseases. 4. Watch for Late-Summer Pest Damage Brown turf isn’t always drought. August is an important month for several lawn pests. Grubs feed beneath the surface on turf roots, and Clemson’s turf guidance recommends checking lawns for grub activity during August. Turf Boss provides professional grub control and prevention treatments throughout the Greenville area. Its program can address active infestations as well as preventative protection. Late summer is also when homeowners should continue watching for armyworms and other pest activity. If an area suddenly declines, identify the cause before treating it. 5. Start Thinking About Fall Weed Prevention While Bermuda is still green, winter weeds probably aren’t top of mind. That’s exactly why now matters. Many winter annual weeds begin germinating during the transition into fall. Your fall weed-control strategy should be planned before those weeds become visible, not after they’ve established themselves throughout dormant Bermuda. Turf Boss’s year-round program incorporates pre-emergent weed control and seasonal treatments designed for warm-season turf such as Bermuda and zoysia. 6. Know What’s Happening in Your Soil A lawn can look good on the surface while underlying soil conditions quietly limit its potential. Soil pH affects nutrient availability, which means blindly adding products isn’t always the answer. Turf Boss provides free soil samples and yearly pH testing to help determine what a lawn actually needs rather than relying entirely on guesswork. 7. Don’t Treat Bermuda Like Fescue This becomes particularly important as fall approaches. Fescue is a cool-season grass and is entering one of its most important growth and establishment periods. Bermuda is a warm-season grass heading toward dormancy. Those lawns should not receive identical treatment. For example, Clemson identifies mid-to-late September as the preferred establishment period for cool-season grasses such as fescue. Meanwhile, your Bermuda lawn is preparing to slow down. Knowing your grass type is the first step toward giving it the right seasonal care. Let Your Bermuda Finish Summer Strong A beautiful Bermuda lawn isn’t created by treating it aggressively every month of the year. It’s created by knowing when to feed, when to protect, when to control weeds—and when to let the grass begin preparing for its next seasonal phase. Turf Boss’s 8-Round Turf Care Program provides fertilization, weed control and seasonal treatments tailored to Upstate lawns. Turf Boss serves Greenville, Greer, Taylors, Mauldin, Simpsonville, Five Forks and surrounding Upstate South Carolina communities, with free estimates and no contracts. Brown Patches in Your Greenville Fescue? It Might Not Be Heat Stress
By late August, seeing brown areas in a Greenville fescue lawn isn’t unusual. After months of Upstate heat, the natural assumption is that the grass simply needs more water. But sometimes adding more water is exactly the wrong response. One problem worth watching for is brown patch, a fungal disease Clemson Extension identifies as the most common and important disease affecting tall fescue in the Southeast. Why Brown Patch Shows Up During a Greenville Summer Brown patch thrives when conditions combine warm temperatures with extended periods of moisture on grass blades. That makes a humid Upstate South Carolina summer an environment where the disease can become noticeable. Clemson says brown patch commonly occurs in fescue during June, July and August, although it can appear earlier or continue into September. What Does Brown Patch Look Like? Brown patch doesn’t always look identical from lawn to lawn. One common sign is a roughly circular area of thinning, light-brown turf. Patches can range from only a few inches across to several feet and may eventually merge together. Sometimes the center begins recovering, producing something resembling a ring or doughnut. Looking closely at individual fescue blades can reveal another clue: irregular tan spots with darker brown borders. Early in the morning, actively affected areas may also show a smoky-brown perimeter. The Watering Mistake That Can Make Things Worse When homeowners see brown grass in August, the instinct is often: Turn on the irrigation. But prolonged leaf moisture can encourage brown patch. Clemson recommends watering lawns early in the morning and avoiding unnecessary irrigation because disease can spread rapidly when grass remains continuously wet for extended periods. This is why identifying the problem matters. Heat stress and fungal disease can both produce brown turf—but they shouldn’t automatically receive the same response. Mowing Matters Too Your mowing habits can influence lawn disease. For tall fescue, Clemson recommends maintaining approximately 2½ to 3½ inches. Cutting substantially below the appropriate height can increase stress and disease severity. If disease is present, mowing after the morning dew has dried and mowing affected areas last can also help reduce the chances of moving fungal material around the lawn. Don’t Force Summer Growth With Too Much Nitrogen A stressed fescue lawn may look like it needs a big feeding. More isn’t necessarily better. Clemson advises avoiding high rates of nitrogen on cool-season grasses during late spring and summer because lush, tender growth can be more susceptible to brown patch. The right fertilizer program should account for the grass type, season and condition of the lawn rather than treating every application identically. Soil Health Is Part of the Picture What’s happening beneath the grass matters too. Clemson recommends soil testing as part of brown-patch prevention and management because soil conditions and nutrient balance influence turf health. That’s one reason Turf Boss offers free soil samples and yearly pH testing rather than relying entirely on what can be seen from the surface. Brown Patch Now Can Affect Your Fall Plans Late August is also when many Greenville fescue homeowners begin thinking about fall aeration and overseeding. Before investing in seed, it makes sense to understand why existing turf became thin. Turf Boss’s fescue aeration and overseeding program uses blue-tag .000 weed-free seed at 6 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Customers enrolled in the 8-Round Fertilization and Weed Control Plan also receive a lawn audit and weed-removal application before aeration and overseeding. That preparation helps make fall lawn work part of an overall turf-management plan rather than simply throwing seed onto damaged areas. Don’t Guess at the Brown Spots Brown grass can result from heat, irrigation problems, insects, disease, soil conditions and several other issues. The important part is figuring out which one you’re dealing with before trying to fix it. Turf Boss provides professional lawn care throughout Greenville, Greer, Taylors, Mauldin, Simpsonville, Five Forks and surrounding Upstate South Carolina communities, including fertilization and weed control, soil testing, pest control, and fescue aeration and overseeding. If your fescue has developed suspicious brown areas this summer, let Turf Boss help determine what your lawn actually needs If your fescue lawn looks tired after another hot Greenville summer, August isn’t necessarily the time to give up on it.
It’s the time to start preparing for its comeback. Unlike Bermuda and zoysia, fescue is a cool-season grass. Upstate South Carolina summers can be especially stressful on it, leaving lawns thin, patchy and vulnerable to weeds. Fall gives fescue an opportunity to recover. And two of the most important tools for rebuilding it are core aeration and overseeding. Why Fall Matters for Fescue Fescue performs best when temperatures become cooler. That makes the transition from late summer into fall an important period for homeowners who want to rebuild density lost during summer. Overseeding introduces new grass plants into thin areas, while core aeration creates openings in the soil that can improve seed-to-soil contact and help relieve compaction. But successful overseeding doesn’t begin the day seed hits the ground. Preparation matters. August Is Preparation Season One of the biggest mistakes homeowners make is waiting until their lawn is ready to be seeded before thinking about weeds and existing turf problems. If weeds are occupying large portions of the lawn, new grass seedlings will immediately be competing for space, moisture and nutrients. That’s why Turf Boss customers enrolled in the 8-Round Fertilization and Weed Control Plan receive a lawn audit and weed-removal application before aeration and overseeding. The goal is simple: prepare the lawn before asking thousands of new grass plants to establish themselves. Seed Quality Matters Not every bag of grass seed is equal. Lower-quality seed can contain unwanted weed seed or other material you didn’t intend to introduce into your lawn. Turf Boss uses blue-tag .000 weed-free seed for its fescue overseeding service. When you’re intentionally spreading seed across thousands of square feet of lawn, starting with quality seed matters. Seed Rate Matters Too Using quality seed doesn’t help much if there isn’t enough of it. Turf Boss applies approximately 6 pounds of seed per 1,000 square feet during its fescue aeration and overseeding service. That higher seeding rate is intended to help create a thicker lawn rather than simply filling a handful of bare spots. Don’t Forget What Happens After Seeding The job isn’t finished when the equipment leaves. New fescue seed needs proper moisture and continued care while germinating and establishing. Turf Boss provides customers with follow-up instructions and even leaves additional touch-up seed after service so small areas can be addressed afterward. That follow-through can be particularly useful when you’re establishing thousands of new seedlings across an entire lawn. A Thicker Lawn Helps Fight Future Weeds Overseeding isn’t just about making the yard greener. Density matters. Thin turf leaves open areas where unwanted plants can establish. Building a thicker stand of desirable grass reduces some of that available space. That makes aeration and overseeding part of a broader lawn-care strategy—not simply a cosmetic fall project. Should Every Greenville Lawn Be Overseeded? No. Grass type matters. Fescue lawns and warm-season lawns such as Bermuda and zoysia have different seasonal growth patterns and shouldn’t automatically receive identical treatments. Turf Boss specifically provides fertilization and weed-control programs for fescue, Bermuda and zoysia, helping homeowners match lawn care to the turf actually growing in their yards. If you aren’t sure what kind of grass you have, identifying it should come before deciding on a treatment plan. Get Your Fescue Ready Before Fall Arrives September shouldn’t be the first time you think about your fall lawn. Late summer gives you an opportunity to evaluate weed pressure, identify problem areas and get your fescue ready for aeration and overseeding. Turf Boss serves homeowners throughout Greenville, Greer, Taylors, Mauldin, Simpsonville, Five Forks and surrounding Upstate South Carolina communities, with free estimates and no contracts. If your fescue took a beating this summer, now is the time to start planning its comeback. August can expose every weakness in a Greenville lawn.
After weeks of heat, humidity, thunderstorms, foot traffic and periods of dry weather, even a lawn that looked great in spring can begin showing signs of stress. Thin areas appear. Weeds become more noticeable. Color fades. Some areas may even turn brown. The temptation is to simply add more water or fertilizer. But getting a lawn ready for fall starts with understanding why it’s struggling in the first place. 1. Determine What’s Actually Causing the Damage Not every brown area is drought stress. Several problems can produce similar symptoms, including:
For example, repeatedly watering an area damaged by grubs won’t fix roots that have been eaten. 2. Don’t Assume More Fertilizer Is Always Better Fertilizer is an important part of maintaining healthy turf, but timing and formulation matter. Different grasses have different nutritional needs throughout the year. Turf Boss uses an 8-Round Turf Care Program designed around seasonal treatments rather than applying the same product every visit. The program combines professional fertilization, weed control and seasonal applications based on what the turf needs at different points of the year. 3. Pay Attention to Your Grass Type Greenville homeowners commonly have both cool-season and warm-season lawns. That distinction becomes especially important as summer ends. Fescue is a cool-season grass and often looks particularly stressed after a hot Upstate summer. Bermuda and zoysia, meanwhile, are warm-season grasses and are still actively growing during summer. The right August strategy therefore depends partly on what’s growing in your yard. Treating every lawn exactly the same doesn’t make sense. 4. Get Late-Summer Weeds Under Control Weeds love opportunities. When summer stress creates thin areas in turf, weeds suddenly have additional room, sunlight and access to resources. That’s one reason weed pressure can become especially noticeable toward the end of summer. But weed control shouldn’t simply mean spraying everything in sight. A strong lawn-care strategy combines targeted weed treatments with practices designed to improve the health and density of the desirable turf. Healthy grass is one of your best long-term defenses against weeds. 5. Check What’s Happening Below the Surface Sometimes the lawn tells only half the story. Soil conditions can affect how well grass uses the nutrients you’re applying. Soil pH is particularly important because an unsuitable pH can interfere with nutrient availability. Turf Boss provides free soil samples and yearly pH testing, giving homeowners additional information about what’s happening underneath their lawns. Understanding the soil allows lawn care to become more strategic instead of simply reacting to whatever appears above ground. 6. Start Preparing Fescue for Fall If you have fescue, August is when fall planning becomes especially important. Core aeration and overseeding can help restore turf density lost during summer. But preparation shouldn’t begin on overseeding day. Existing weeds and lawn conditions should be addressed beforehand. Turf Boss uses blue-tag .000 weed-free seed for fescue overseeding and applies approximately 6 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Customers enrolled in the 8-Round Fertilization and Weed Control Plan also receive a lawn audit and weed-removal application before aeration and overseeding. 7. Don’t Ignore Lawn Pests Summer damage isn’t always caused by weather. Grubs, fire ants and other pests can create problems above and below the soil. If grass suddenly becomes loose, develops unusual brown areas or attracts animals that are digging into the turf, investigating for pests may be worthwhile. Turf Boss provides grub, fire-ant and other lawn pest-control services in addition to its fertilization and weed-control programs. August Isn’t the End of Lawn Season A tired-looking August lawn can make spring feel like a long way away. But this is actually an important transition period. What happens now can influence how your lawn enters fall. The goal isn’t to force a stressed lawn to look perfect overnight. It’s to identify problems, correct what can be corrected, control weeds and pests, and prepare the turf for the next stage of its growing cycle. Let Turf Boss Build a Plan for Your Lawn Turf Boss provides professional lawn care throughout Greenville, Greer, Taylors, Mauldin, Simpsonville, Five Forks and surrounding Upstate South Carolina communities. Our approach combines professional fertilization and weed control with soil testing, lawn education and seasonal services designed around the needs of Upstate turf. Don’t guess at what’s wrong with your lawn. Find out what it actually needs. Contact Turf Boss today for a free estimate. We’ll show your turf who’s boss By mid-August, Greenville lawns have been through a lot.
Weeks of heat, humidity, summer storms and heavy use can leave turf stressed and thin. Unfortunately, those conditions can also create opportunities for weeds. And there’s an important reason homeowners shouldn’t simply ignore them until next spring. The condition of your lawn at the end of summer can influence how well it transitions into fall. Why Are Weeds Showing Up Now? Healthy, dense turf naturally makes it more difficult for weeds to establish. Summer stress can change that. When heat, drought, insects, disease or traffic cause grass to thin, additional sunlight and space reach the soil surface. Opportunistic weeds can take advantage. That’s why a lawn that looked relatively clean earlier in the year can suddenly look much weedier by August. Don’t Confuse Killing Weeds With Building a Healthy Lawn This distinction is important. Weed control addresses unwanted plants, but a truly healthy lawn requires more than repeatedly spraying whatever appears. Turf density, soil conditions, nutrition, grass type, mowing practices and seasonal timing all matter. That’s why Turf Boss combines fertilization and weed control rather than treating them as completely separate problems. The company’s 8-Round Turf Care Program uses targeted treatments throughout the year based on what the lawn needs during each season. The goal isn’t simply fewer weeds. It’s healthier turf that is better able to compete with them. Why August Weed Control Matters for Fescue For Greenville homeowners with fescue lawns, August is particularly important because fall renovation season is approaching. If you’re planning to aerate and overseed, you don’t want to begin thinking about weeds on the same day the seed goes down. The lawn needs to be evaluated beforehand. In fact, Turf Boss provides customers enrolled in its 8-Round Fertilization and Weed Control Plan with a lawn audit and weed-removal application before aeration and overseeding. That helps prepare the existing lawn before introducing new seed. Bermuda and Zoysia Lawns Need Seasonal Attention Too Warm-season lawns have different needs than fescue. Bermuda and zoysia thrive during warm weather, but weeds can still exploit weak or thin areas. Proper seasonal fertilization helps support dense turf while appropriately timed weed-control applications target unwanted growth. A one-size-fits-all lawn program doesn’t make sense when different grass species behave differently throughout the year. Knowing what’s actually growing in your yard matters. Soil Health Is Part of Weed Management Sometimes what homeowners see above ground is connected to what’s happening underneath it. Soil pH can influence how effectively turf accesses nutrients. Turf Boss offers free soil samples and annual pH testing, helping provide more information about the environment in which the grass is growing. That information can help guide a more complete lawn-care strategy rather than simply reacting to symptoms. Should You Pull or Spray Weeds Yourself? Pulling an occasional weed isn’t necessarily a problem. The challenge begins when weeds are widespread, repeatedly returning or appearing throughout large sections of turf. Different weeds respond differently to control methods, and incorrect product selection or application can damage desirable grass. Professional lawn care also provides something DIY treatments often lack: a year-round strategy. Instead of treating each new weed as an isolated problem, seasonal treatments can address both existing weeds and future pressure while supporting the turf itself. August Is About Preparing for What’s Next It’s easy to mentally write off a lawn in August. Spring feels far away, summer has been tough, and the grass may not look its best. But lawn care is a cycle. What you do in late summer helps determine what you’re working with as fall arrives. For fescue owners, that means preparing for fall growth and potentially aeration and overseeding. For Bermuda and zoysia owners, it means continuing to support healthy warm-season turf while controlling unwanted competition. Either way, ignoring weeds isn’t much of a strategy. Ready to Get Your Greenville Lawn Back Under Control? Turf Boss provides professional fertilization and weed control throughout Greenville, Greer, Taylors, Mauldin, Simpsonville, Five Forks and surrounding Upstate South Carolina communities. If weeds are taking advantage of your lawn this August, now is the time to start addressing the problem—and preparing your turf for the season ahead. Don’t just kill weeds. Build a lawn that’s better equipped to keep them out  Spring is right around the corner! Are you and your lawn ready? Here are a few tips on how you can get your lawn in shape before spring arrives!
Prepare the soil- Late winter is a great time to prepare your flower and garden beds. Soil can become compacted during the winter months, so the first thing that should be done is to loosen the soil by tilling. This is also a good time to mix in compost or mulch. This is also a great time to test the pH and determine whether it is in a good spot for what you are planning to plant. Level Your Lawn- The biggest reason why you may need to level your lawn is because you have a drainage issue. This is a task that can be done during winter. You can level your lawn by adding a layer of topsoil. Adding topsoil improves the soil’s health, structure and the capacity in which it holds water. Look for Standing Water- Standing water is harmful in more ways than one. It can be harmful to your lawn because grass can’t handle being underwater. It can completely damage your lawn’s root structure. If the standing water gets really bad, it could even damage your home’s foundation. It’s important to get to the root of the problem and create a drainage system before it causes damage! Clean Out- Late winter & early spring is a great time to clean out your flower beds and gardens. Get rid of any weeds that have popped up, any dead plants and remove any debris! This will give you a nice clean slate to beginning planting for spring! Prune- Late winter & early spring is also the perfect time to prune because you can see the branch structure well and you can shape the plant before the buds break dormancy and the plant starts investing energy in its branches. However, make sure to do some research to make sure that the plant doesn’t bloom on old wood. Several plants bloom on old wood and shouldn’t be pruned until after blooming such as Camellia, Rhododendron, Forsythia, Hydrangea, Lilac, Magnolia, and Mountain Laurel. We are always here to help! Give us a call at (864) 777-8873! By: Hannah Raines Copyright Turf Boss 2022  Is your soil alkaline, acidic or neutral? In this case, let’s dig deeper into what it means for your soil to be alkaline.
Let’s start at the beginning, what is pH? pH is a gauge of the hydrogen concentration in a substance. pH is measured on a scale of 1-14 with 7 as the neutral mark. pHs of 1-6 are acidic, while pHs of 8-10 are alkaline. The pH of acidic soil is raised by adding lime and the pH of alkaline soil is lowered by adding sulfur. Sometimes alkaline soil can be referred to as sweet and has a pH of more than 7. Alkaline soil can typically be found in areas with little rain fall such as desert areas. Soil could also become more alkaline due to lime in hard water. Alkaline soil contains heavy amounts of sodium, calcium and magnesium. It can lead to stunted growth and nutrient deficiency in plants. pH can be lowered to create less alkaline soil by adding sulfur. pH can be raised to create more alkaline soil by adding lime. Several weeds thrive in alkaline soil. If certain weeds pop up, it could signal that the soil is alkaline. Weeds that grow in alkaline soil include Dandelions, Chickweed, Goosefoot & Queen Anne’s Lace. Some vegetables & flowers also thrive with slightly alkaline soil. These include Asparagus, Okra, Cucumbers, Zinnias, Hostas & Lavender. If you are curious about what your soil’s pH there are several DIY testing kits available at home & garden stores. You could also have a soil sample sent off to a lab for the most precise reading. We also offer free soil testing and yearly pH testing here at Turf Boss! Give us a call at (864) 777-8873 with any questions! By: Hannah Raines Copyright Turf Boss 2022  Is your soil alkaline, acidic or neutral? In this case, let’s dig deeper into what it means for your soil to be acidic.
Let’s start at the beginning, what is pH? pH is a gauge of the hydrogen concentration in a substance. pH is measured on a scale of 1-14 with 7 as the neutral mark. pHs of 1-6 are acidic, while pHs of 8-10 are alkaline. The pH of acidic soil is raised by adding lime and the pH of alkaline soil is lowered by adding sulfur. Sometimes acidic soil can be referred to as sour and has a pH of less than 7. Acidic soil can normally be found in wooded areas and is the reason why several woodland plants thrive in acidic soil. During decomposition, organic matter breaks down and makes the soil more acidic. Soil could also become acidic due to the use of chemical fertilizers or the leaching out of calcium & magnesium during a big rain. pH can be lowered to create acidic soil by adding fertilizers that contain ammonium-N. pH can be raised to create less acidic soil by adding lime. Several plants not only prefer, but thrive in acidic soil. Hydrangeas, Daffodils, Azaleas & Tomatoes are just a few plants that prefer acidic soil. If you are curious about what your soil’s pH there are several DIY testing kits available at home & garden stores. You could also have a soil sample sent off to a lab for the most precise reading. We also offer free soil testing and yearly pH testing here at Turf Boss! Give us a call at (864) 777-8873 with any questions! By: Hannah Raines Copyright Turf Boss 2022  Is your soil alkaline, acidic or neutral? In this case, let’s dig deeper into what it means for your soil to be neutral.
Let’s start at the beginning, what is pH? pH is a gauge of the hydrogen concentration in a substance. pH is measured on a scale of 1-14 with 7 as the neutral mark. pHs of 1-6 are acidic, while pHs of 8-10 are alkaline. The pH of acidic soil is raised by adding lime and the pH of alkaline soil is lowered by adding sulfur. For plants, it is important to know whether your soil is alkaline, acidic or neutral to know if the soil is healthy enough to grow certain plants. While most require neutral soil, there are certain shrubs and flowers that perform better when the soil is more alkaline or acidic. If the soil’s pH doesn’t fall into an acceptable range, no amount of fertilizer will improve plant health until the pH is balanced. Most plants prefer a more neutral soil with a pH level of 6-7! If you are curious about what your soil’s pH there are several DIY testing kits available at home & garden stores. You could also have a soil sample sent off to a lab for the most precise reading. We also offer free soil testing and yearly pH testing here at Turf Boss! Give us a call at (864) 777-8873 with any questions! By: Hannah Raines Copyright Turf Boss 2022 |
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