[Lambo]

New to this forum thanks to the YouTube channels of @GrassDaddy and @wardconnor. I finally have an underground sprinkler system this year and am determined to have a nice yard. I still have a long ways to go to catch up to the likes of Connor Ward, but at least my grass is green. Here is the equipment that I am working with for my 8,000ish sq ft lawn. You will notice the home made roller filled with sand on the back that I copied off of GrassDaddy. Thing rolls beautifully and the stripes it leaves aren't bad for a small Honda mower:







Being motivated to have a nice yard, I turned in a soil sample to my local extension office to be tested this morning. We get one free test per year in the county I live in. I just mainly want to know my PH level, so I have a baseline on where to start. What tool does everyone use to pull soil samples from their yards? I didn't want large shovel holes all over the yard, and I couldn't quickly find a plug puller in any local stores, so I made one out of an old piece of 1/2" black pipe. I simply cut one end at an angled point and welded on a handle. I am not a good welder, but, hey, the metal is connected. We have very clay dense soil where I live, so I had to cut out a front section to pull the plugs and I drilled a hole in the top to assist in unplugging the pipe. It worked great, but the clay level of the soil was a pain to get out of the pipe. See below:





Anyways, happy to be part of the forum and looking forward to keeping my yard progress going.

 

[chrisben]

The tubular soil probes that you see have a smaller diamater at the bottom, then they do 1" or so up. That way, the plug isn't so tough to get out. (the sample is a slightly smaller diamater than the majority of the probe)

One tool that might be easier for you to use is a bulb planter,

 

[MarkAguglia]

Welcome to the forum!

Lawn already looks great and you are off to a great start getting the soil test done locally. You'll see there are great people here that will help you along the way.

 

[Gorgonzola17]

http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/product_pages/products.php?mi=43231&itemnum=76971&redir=Y
I purchased this one and it worked pretty well and I have hard clay soil.

 

[wardconnor]

Welcome

Whatever you do... Do not add sand to clay soil. It might turn into concrete. 😉

 

[Lambo]

Isn't your soil heavy clay @wardconnor? Am I sensing sarcasm?

 

[wardconnor]

Yeah... I am being sarcastic. Sorry. Good on you for sensing the sarcasm.

See this thread.

 

[GlennBlake]

@Lambo your lawn already looks fabulous :thumbup: You will really like the guys on here. I see that the YouTube phenom @wardconnor has already chimed in, and with a touch of humour :lol: Connor has been able to grow his fine turf on Utah's best "concrete" clay with a touch of sand and dispel all myths that this is not possible.

 

[Austin]

Your lawn looks really nice!!!

 

[Lambo]

My yard is mainly tall fescue, so no 1/2 cuts for me. My motto is "set it high and let it fly," which is basically the opposite of Connor. Would be fun to be his neighbor and compete ***/PRG vs tall fescue.

My future plans include leveling bumps and dents with pool sand (very fine) over time from a local supplier I know and possibly laying down some surfactant to aid in keeping the yard watered. Other than that just excited to get my soil test back and see what condition my soil is in. Still so much to learn!

 

[Lambo]

Finally got my soil test results in the mail yesterday, and I'm shocked. See screen shot below. My clay soil is actually really good. No micronutrient data included in my free test, but they recommend that I do "nothing" apart from continue mulching clippings and watering smart.

 

[kur1j]

Based on the look of the lawn I could believe it is accurate. Very nice looking lawn.