Goedjn writes:
On Tue, 29 Aug 2006 15:30:28 GMT, blueman wrote:

I have a relatively small lawn (maybe 5 thousand square feet spread
across a couple of patches) that has developed seemingly more brown
than green spots, including a bit of a mat of dead grass.


- Finally, is this the right order of operations:
Aerate
Dethatch
Fertilize/lime
Seed/overseed
Water
Water
Water...

Thanks


Nope. You left out "soil test".

OK - I just looked up our state lab and they offer a long list of
tests, including the following. Am I right in assuming I just need
either the "Standard Soil Test" or the "Standard Soil Test with
Organic Matter"?

1. Standard Soil Test: $9
Includes pH, Buffer pH, Extractable Nutrients (P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn,
Zn, Cu, B), Extractable Heavy Metals (Pb, Cd, Ni, Cr), and Extractable
Aluminum, Cation Exchange Capacity, Percent Base Saturation.

2. Standard Soil Test w/ Organic Matter: $13
Same as Standard Soil Test with the addition of Percent Organic Matter
by Loss on Ignition.

3. Soluble Salts: $4
Includes a measure of the Electrical Conductivity of a 1:2
(soil:water) extract.

4. Soil Textu $50
A determination of USDA Textural Classification by combined
Hydrometer Analysis of silts and clay and Dry Sieving of
sands. Title 5 Parameters also determined upon request at
submittal. Results presented in Tabular Format.

5. Total Soil Metals: $30
A determination of the Total Soil Contents of K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn,
Cu, Pb, Cd, Ni, and Cr. Also included are the non-metals P and
B. Analysis by ICP Spectrometry of Nitric/Perchloric Acid Digest.

6. Total Soil Nitrogen: $10
A determination of the Total Nitrogen in the soil by catalytic
combustion