Soil Amendments

Soil needs amending when its pH lowers to the point where your grass begins to start having trouble absorbing nutrients from the soil. While the ideal pH level for your soil will vary depending on the type of grass you have in your lawn, a pH of 5.8 or below will usually begin harming your grass. Adding lime to soil that’s too acidic raises the pH level, which restores the balance in your lawn and creates the optimal conditions for your grass to begin absorbing nutrients again.

If you notice any of the following symptoms of acidic soil in your lawn, there’s a chance that your soil’s pH balance is the culprit.

• Failure to respond to treatments: Chemical treatments like pest control products, herbicides, and fertilizers require your lawn to be within a certain pH range in order to be absorbed by your soil. If you’ve been applying treatments to your lawn on a consistent schedule and you still aren’t seeing the promised results, the answer could be found in the soil itself.

• Pest infestations: Keeping your soil at a proper pH promotes healthy grass, which makes it more difficult for pests to infiltrate your lawn. If you’ve noticed that you’re dealing with more mosquitoes, grubs, or beetles this season when compared to other years, it could be because your soil isn’t strong enough to help your grass fight off predators effectively.

• Development of lawn moss: Lawn moss is a type of fungi that requires a low soil pH to thrive. If your soil’s pH drops, lawn can take this opportunity to fester on your lawn. Before you apply a herbicide, you may want to test the pH of your soil to be sure that it won’t be able to come back after treatment.

• Washed-out color and poor growth: One of the reasons why a low soil pH is harmful to your grass is because acidic soil doesn’t facilitate the transfer of water and micronutrients between the soil and your grass’s roots as effectively as a soil with a neutral pH. Lawns often struggle to grow in soil that’s too acidic, which can leave your property looking bare or patchy. Grass that does manage to grow will often be yellow, dry, and easily breakable due to a lack of proper nutrition.