Could your lawn use some magic?

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Many homeowners across America yearn for the perfect, rich-green lawn.  However, many lawns do not come close to that reality.  There are many things that are omitted in lawn care but perhaps your lawn just needs some magic?

Does your lawn need a healthy dose of calcium? Why is calcium so important to lawns, flowers and vegetables?  Calcium is as essential to lawns as it is to the development of human bones.  Calcium is essential for healthy, vigorous plant growth and the proper development of strong cell walls, roots and leaves.  It improves the lawns’ tolerance to the stresses of heat, drought and disease.  Calcium also controls the plants uptake and utilization of water, the availability of phosphorous and micro-nutrients and improves soil structure. We spend too much time concerned with applications of N-P-K, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, the three numbers on fertilizer bags, and yet calcium does not get the same respect. 

Jonathan Green’s MAG-I-CAL is a pelletized calcium product that spreads like fertilizer and provides a readily available source of calcium to lawns and gardens. MAG-I-CAL stimulates root mass without contributing to top growth.  Many of you have applied limestone as a source of calcium over the years, however, it takes too long to break down and change the soil structure.  Why lime when you can use MAG-I-CAL?  MAG-I-CAL can rapidly raise soil pH faster than traditional limestone and MAG-I-CAL also releases “tied-up” nutrients in the soil, particularly phosphates.  You can use one bag of MAG-I-CAL in place of up to ten bags of lime! 

Many larger lawns would require 500 to1000 lbs. of lime. Few cars can carry that heavy a payload.  Who would want to take the time to spread that much lime, much less the wear and tear on your spreader?  The reality is that even if your lawn requires a lot of limestone, most homeowners will not bother or only buy 2-3 bags when they really need 10 bags to do the job right.  Buy one bag of MAG-I-Cal and be done with it.

Over the years many homeowners have applied limestone and yet they are not sure why?  Limestone, which contains calcium, will raise soil pH levels.  Most of you probably do not know what your soil pH levels are on your property. It can vary greatly between the lawn area, landscape beds and the garden.  Cool season lawn grasses thrive best when spoil pH levels are between 6.0 and 6.8.  Many pH values are below this desirable level and thus lawn growth is stunted. 

Soil pH represents the “power of hydrogen” or the “percentage of hydrogen”, on the soil colloid. The higher the hydrogen, the lower the pH value. CEC or cation exchange capacity is a measure of the capacity of a soil to hold exchangeable cationic nutrients such as hydrogen (H+), calcium (Ca++), magnesium (Mg++), and potassium (K+).  Cations are positively charged ions. Base saturation is the composition of cations in the soil.  If the soil base saturation is properly balanced, the pH will always fall in the 6.0 to 6.8 range, which is where the most nutrient availability is found. Applications of MAG-I-CAL replace detrimental cations, while balancing the base saturation level of soil cations.

How do I know what my soil pH is?  There are various soil test kits available at retail stores in your area.  Investing in a Jonathan Green Soil pH Test Kit is inexpensive and only costs $.99. This test may yield worlds of information about your soil.  Just like a doctor trying to analysis what is wrong inside of you with a blood test, the proper soil health insures better success rates when growing plants.  

Why not get your soil tested so you can have a great lawn this year?  MAG-I-CAL could be the missing link to your lawn and garden success.

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