For those of you managing sand-based putting greens you may have noticed some turf areas that don’t seem to be vigorously growing even with the recent heavy rainfalls or regular irrigation (photo). Looking back, April and the early part of May was a challenging time for turf managers trying to manage water on the golf…Read more about Localized Dry Spot Returns for 2004[Read More]
As turfgrass growth is beginning to slow, it’s time to consider fertilizing your lawn. Applying fertilizer now should not increase vertical growth dramatically as long as moderate rates of nitrogen are used and will help your lawn retain it’s color and health. Apply 0.75 to 1.0 lbs. N/1000 sq. ft. with a product that contains…Read more about May Fertilizer[Read More]
Soil testing is important in turf to help determine the soil pH and fertilization needs, especially for potassium and phosphorus. Acceptable soil pH for turf is between 6.0 and 7.5. Some distributors and soil testing labs will recommend applying sulfur to reduce the soil pH of turf when it is over 7.5. Unfortunately, you can…Read more about Sulfur is not Effective for Lowering pH of Turfed Soils[Read More]
There are literally thousands of fertilizers and fertilizer/pesticide combinations available to homeowners and professionals. Therefore, we can’t recommend how many pounds of fertilizer to apply, but rather we must recommend fertilization rates in pounds of nitrogen per thousand square feet or lbs N/1000ft 2 . Calculating the amount of fertilizer to purchase and apply is…Read more about Calculating the pounds of fertilizer to apply[Read More]
We’ve received a number of emails asking for specific product recommendations for XYZ town in IN or IL, or even as far away as NY. Its very difficult, OK impossible, for us to recommend specific fertilizer/herbicide combinations because there is a large number of brands and an even larger number of fertilizer/herbicide combinations available on…Read more about Why we don’t recommend specific fertilizer/herbicide combinations for homeowners[Read More]
We recommend waiting until mid-May to fertilize for the vast majority of do-it-yourselfers, while professional lawn care operators often apply fertilizer early in the spring with the preemergence herbicide. These two seem to contradict each other. We know that a very low rate of N applied in the spring will green up the turf quickly…Read more about Spring N: Do-It-Yourselfers vs Professional Recommendations[Read More]
For the vast majority of homeowners, resist the urge to fertilize now. Fertilizing now can encourage too much growth and could lead to problems later this summer such as poor root growth and disease. Additionally, since spring rains play havoc with mowing schedules, nitrogen fertilization can further complicate your mowing schedule by causing grass plants…Read more about To Fertilize Lawns or not to Fertilize: That is the Question[Read More]
