Where to get soil sample probe

No mention of calcium or sulphur.

Should I try to raise the pH with lime? The info sheet says ideally it should be around 6.5 for my type of grass.

 

What grass type do you have?
Do you have Poa annua growing in your grass?

Lime seems to be the in thing at the moment but you need to be careful and the min amount is required.
If you have Poa annua lime will make that grass love it’s new found home and too much lime results in grass being very poor and increasing the risk of disease.

 

When you sent the sample had you applied any fertiliser and had the lawn been watered?

 

I’ve included a photo to show you pH and common grass types.
If say you have fescue and rye then yes 6.5 would be right but if you have AMG then you want it lower to discourage that grass but still keeping the grass healthy.
If you fed your lawn and in a short span afterwards sent in the sample then unfortunately fertilisers alter short term pH levels as does our good old tap water. That why I asked as you don’t want to apply lime and increase pH levels if the results are not correct for your natural soil content.

Notice how AGM likes higher pH levels. On fine lawns you want a lower pH level not only to keep the grass at an optimum level but also discourage other grass types.

 

Not sure about the poa annua but I do know there was quite a lot of undesirable coarse grass in my lawn when I started 12 months ago. I over seeded last autumn with a regular blend so I'm assuming my grass type is standard mix you get from B&Q.

When I took the sample the lawn had been fertilised with westland aftercut the week before and the lawn was also pretty wet as I remember struggling to get the probe in and thinking how difficult it would have been if it had been dry.

The lawn hadn't been watered from the tap.

 

So knowing that fertilisers do alter the pH we need to ask if lime is required due to the sample. Nitrogen lowers pH as does iron which maybe why you have a lower figure.
Soil tests are great, sports industry using them a lot but they pick their times if required.
I would not apply lime, not yet. To gain correct results to insure the fertiliser was not having an influence you would need another sample but let’s take a step back.
RHS having given advice that covers common found grass types, that’s fine. The other readings look fine but we may have found out why the pH is low.
How does your grass look?

We know what symptoms are associated with turf issues if there is a deficiency.

Low nitrogen, leaves lose colour and turn yellow, poor growth.
Sulphur, similar to above.
Phosphorus, dark blue-green leaves with purple along leaf edges (very rare )
Potassium, leaves droop, interveinal areas turn yellow.
Calcium, reddish/brown colour along leaf edge which turns to red. Poor root growth.
Magnesium, similar to Calcuim but it develops on the older leaves.

So if looking at your grass, it’s nice and green, healthy, good growth, no visual problems then we are doing well.

 

Lol. Yes, I probably should have taken your advice earlier in the thread when you said it's unnecessary in most domestic situations.

Still, I enjoyed doing it and gained some experience and knowledge as to what's 6 inches under my lawn. The good news is, the soil looked the same from different areas of my lawn and I didn't hit any rocks.

 

No harm done and you enjoyed discovering what’s there, you can always try again at a later date just to double check.
It’s just with lime if you apply it it’s on for a few years and it’s not something you can rectify easily but a soil test is the only safe option when lime is required.