How "high" is high?

I also have a high iron content of 171 according to soil report.

171 what? Lbs per acre or ppm? Any idea how that much Iron got into the soil? Is the whole area around you like that?

171 ppm.

I really have no idea how it got that way. I been here 8 years new construction. Oh wait I just thought of something,part of the land was on a old rubber factory.

Would that have something to do with it. The only thing I've don't over the years is synthetic fert. Which I am trying to get away from alittle at a time.

171 what? Lbs per acre or ppm? Any idea how that much Iron got into the soil? Is the whole area around you like that?

PPM maybe? Soil tests list micro/macro nutrients in PPM. The lbs / acre unit is used in application rates.

Skizot: Nah - many labs report some of their results in lbs/acre. I'm looking at a report from Cornell right now that does.

Hogan_NJ: Eh. 171 ppm is very high, but that shouldn't cause any problems. The ratio of Iron (Fe) to Manganese (Mn) can be important to Iron utilization. Do you have the Manganese number in PPM? PS: Manganese (Mn), not Magnesium (Mg). What area of NJ are you from? It wouldn't happen to be a red-soil area, would it?

andy,

Using lbs./acre is not a good means of measurement. Those that do it like that should not be. Why? The reason for this is that not all soil has the same bulk density. So, there is no direct conversion from 350 lbs./acre to X ppm, because of this difference. Even in the same town you could have different soil densities.

Note the asterisks in table 13 of this document:

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pdf/ec/ec1478.pdf

As I mentioned in a previous post it ppm,171ppm.

The manganese is 25ppm.

Is it possible that increasing the organic matter and adjusting the pH in the soil would help the grass be better able to utilize the iron that exists in the soil?

Yes esp when you have high numbers of earthworms.

mrpeach, iron is an essential element in the chlorophyll molecule and therefore must be available to the plant. Availability depends mainly on soil pH. Too high and the iron is unavailable; too low and the iron can be available to the point where it becomes toxic. I do not know of an easy way to reduce the iron content of the soil but that is only one of my shortcomings. If it was a matter of concern I would try to limit iron availability by raising the pH. That is not so easy either.

Wow. I found this thread from googling with my own problem. I charted at 217 ppm. I tested over 200 last year and tested again this year at a different lab because I hardly believed it. I can only guess it's the previous owner's synthetic fertilizers (a bag of Scott's was left in the garage). This is my third year there, second going organic. I'm glad to hear it's not toxic for the lawn like it would be for a human and that, over time, the pH and other adjustments I'm making anyway can help the grass use out the overabundance of iron.

My 1st dumb answer is:
Don't add any more Iron.... It has probably been there for at least the last 10,000 years -- without doing too much harm to everything growing on it...

Then, make sure you maintain your soil PH within the recommended ranges for what you are trying to grow.

Most plants won't take much more of something than they can really use unless the PH is way out of whack.... So the main concern with overabundance is runoff... The perfect example is too much soluble Phosphorous in the fertilizer washing into your waterways....

In your case, the iron will probably just stay in the soil.... Don't add any Ironite. Buy fertilizer that doesn't have any extra iron in it... You get the picture...

Thanks

John

Would it complicate things if I threw in that it makes a difference whether the iron is ferrous or ferric?

last Fall when I planted pansies, it was still warm. The snails and slugs started eating them right away. I did several application of a product that contains iron. The pansies never did well The foliage is very pale ---some of it almost yellow I think the treatment I did thi as every year I have had beautiful flowers with dark green foliage. Soon it will be time to plant for Spring/Summmer. Is there anything I can add to the soil to serve as an antidote to the iron.

The iron in the slug bait is different than the iron plants can use.

kimmq is kimmsr

Do you think the reason the foliage is yellow is from the slug bait? Also, do you know what I should do to make it green again?

webuser, The yellowing of that foliage most likely is not from the slug bait. Yellowing of plant leaves (Chlorosis) has many causes ranging from soil pH to nutrient deficiencies to a too wet or too dry soil limiting a plants ability to uptake nutrients. Perhaps this article may help.

http://extension.illinois.edu/focus/index.cfm?problem=chlorosis

kimmq is kimmsr

Don't worry about high iron levels. I have never seen iron toxicity in person or in pictures. Iron toxicity is a phantom problem - it doesn't exist.

Plants need iron to make chlorophyll but too much iron, a micro nutrient, can cause stunted growth, bronzing of leaves, and just poor health. Excess amounts of iron in soil can also interfere with a plants ability to properly utilize manganese, another micro nutrient, which can exhibit signs and symptoms similar to deficiencies of iron.

Iron toxicity is not a phantom problem.

kimmq is kimmsr

I am reading through the comments and I never really saw an answer for the problem if your soil has very high levels of Iron. Is there a way to bring those levels of Zinc down by bringing the PH levels down? Or do I need to worry about it if it is 77ppm when it should be in the range of 3.9-10.9? I am planning to add peat moss to the beds to lower the PH levels. Any help is much appreciated. Thanks!

Has your local Extension service reported tissue analysis results showing plant pathological issues caused by excess iron? If not - it's present but not in a form which is quickly absorbed by plants.

Iron becomes tied up in the soil very quickly - just because a lab test says there is iron in the soil doesn't mean the plants can readily get it.

kimmq - Can you provide legitimate references?

Any good botany text.

kimmq is kimmsr