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Nice lawn! The no sprinklers, water, or rain sure would be nice, but that's just not going to happen in Texas..
Thanks! Oh for sure, not gonna happen in the south but Typically it goes brown with the heat we get here especially in the hot sun.. but as I said.. it takes years of constant care. When you realize why your neighbors turns brown and yours doesn't, then it makes you feel good you're doing something right..
I have to say 75% of lawns have turned brown here because it's been one of the hottest & driest summers on record. The other 25% are constantly watering them.
Trick is to avoid Rye Grass around here and maintain it constantly and feed at the right times and most importantly...DONT BAG!! There is moisture in the grass blades + its natural fertilizer with nutrients so let the clippings just fall back down. Saves you time as well. Win Win Win.
No offense, but that "lawn" is full of weeds. If the OP titled the thread "Ultimate Weed Program..." it might be a great entry.
Couple of things to correct in this thread.
- The use of soil test to correct nutrient deficiencies cannot be over emphasized. Not a single person has comment on correcting P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, Boron, Copper, Zinc.
- The vast majority of people will need lime. Not all lime is the same. Calcitic lime dominates dolomitic lime for most people.
- Mulder's chart - look it up.
- Milogranite is leaps and bounds better than Ironite. There really is no reason to use Ironite at all, Milo is just plain a better product. Use it at twice the bag rate.
- No one has mentioned using animal feeds as fertilizer yet. Come on people, look it up! Protein is nitrogen baby!
- The single largest difference between professional looking grass and homeowner grass is fungus control. Has anyone mention fungicides yet?
- OP starts a thread on a cool season grass and doesn't mention Tenacity herbicide? Massive fail dude.
- Increasing organic matter in the soil. Yes, do this, for like the next five lifetimes.
- Chemical aeration and/or wetting agents????
- Winterization??? Yes please.
- Granular weed control is a joke compared to liquid herbicides, including pre-em.
Fungus Control
Winterization = Most fertilizing of nitrogen should occur in fall
Please go on and on...
Quote:
Originally Posted by LTCM
No offense, but that "lawn" is full of weeds. If the OP titled the thread "Ultimate Weed Program..." it might be a great entry.
Couple of things to correct in this thread.
- The use of soil test to correct nutrient deficiencies cannot be over emphasized. Not a single person has comment on correcting P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, Boron, Copper, Zinc.
- The vast majority of people will need lime. Not all lime is the same. Calcitic lime dominates dolomitic lime for most people.
- Mulder's chart - look it up.
- Milogranite is leaps and bounds better than Ironite. There really is no reason to use Ironite at all, Milo is just plain a better product. Use it at twice the bag rate.
- No one has mentioned using animal feeds as fertilizer yet. Come on people, look it up! Protein is nitrogen baby!
- The single largest difference between professional looking grass and homeowner grass is fungus control. Has anyone mention fungicides yet?
- OP starts a thread on a cool season grass and doesn't mention Tenacity herbicide? Massive fail dude.
- Increasing organic matter in the soil. Yes, do this, for like the next five lifetimes.
- Chemical aeration and/or wetting agents????
- Winterization??? Yes please.
- Granular weed control is a joke compared to liquid herbicides, including pre-em.
No offense, but that "lawn" is full of weeds. If the OP titled the thread "Ultimate Weed Program..." it might be a great entry.
Couple of things to correct in this thread.
- The use of soil test to correct nutrient deficiencies cannot be over emphasized. Not a single person has comment on correcting P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, Boron, Copper, Zinc.
- The vast majority of people will need lime. Not all lime is the same. Calcitic lime dominates dolomitic lime for most people.
- Mulder's chart - look it up.
- Milogranite is leaps and bounds better than Ironite. There really is no reason to use Ironite at all, Milo is just plain a better product. Use it at twice the bag rate.
- No one has mentioned using animal feeds as fertilizer yet. Come on people, look it up! Protein is nitrogen baby!
- The single largest difference between professional looking grass and homeowner grass is fungus control. Has anyone mention fungicides yet?
- OP starts a thread on a cool season grass and doesn't mention Tenacity herbicide? Massive fail dude.
- Increasing organic matter in the soil. Yes, do this, for like the next five lifetimes.
- Chemical aeration and/or wetting agents????
- Winterization??? Yes please.
- Granular weed control is a joke compared to liquid herbicides, including pre-em.
I could go on and on.
I don't know if fungicide has been discussed or not. You sound like you know what you're talking about, so I'll just ask here. Do you recommend treating for fungus even if you see no signs of it in your yard? I've read that if you have healthy grass, you probably won't have a problem with fungus, true? What product do you recommend? I live in East Texas and have st augustine grass.
All depends on your location, summertime weather, etc.
Here in the Northeast with hazy hot humid summers, granular fungicides such as Bayer Advanced are a necessity.
I start in mid May every year with one application and follow every 4 weeks thereafter. Prevention is key far easier than dealing with after you have fungus established.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PennyLane2
I don't know if fungicide has been discussed or not. You sound like you know what you're talking about, so I'll just ask here. Do you recommend treating for fungus even if you see no signs of it in your yard? I've read that if you have healthy grass, you probably won't have a problem with fungus, true? What product do you recommend? I live in East Texas and have st augustine grass.
I expected someone to say once a year but not every four weeks . The last time I used fungicide on my lawn, I used Scotts. I just looked and the Scotts and Bayer are the same price for the same amt of coverage. Maybe I need to switch brands.
No unfortunately a granular fungicide in the summer time is good for about 4 weeks. The trick light Crabgrass Preventer in my area is to get it down before you start to notice the problem. Most people tend to wait till they see an issue with their lawn then try to address it .
If using as a preventive though you only typically have half the dosage of what the Curative rate would be. Personally I prefer and I've had better experience with Bayer Advanced fungus control over Scotts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PennyLane2
Thanks for the information, m2R.
I expected someone to say once a year but not every four weeks . The last time I used fungicide on my lawn, I used Scotts. I just looked and the Scotts and Bayer are the same price for the same amt of coverage. Maybe I need to switch brands.
Movin has given you some pretty good advice. In the context of this thread (Ultimate plans for the best lawns), you do need to treat for diseases before they appear. I'll break with movin a tiny bit and say you only need preventative fungicide when the conditions are favorable for fungus growth. I don't know St. Augustine grass or east Texas well, so it's up to you to discover when that is. One treatment a year might be enough for your lawn, two is most likely enough. In general, disease is a much, much greater concern for cool season grasses, so that is why movin applies every 4 weeks. In my area, the time of highest risk for fescue is late spring-early summer. You don't really want anything stressing the plant so you certainly cannot apply tons of nitrogen to outgrow the fungus at this time - an outbreak can ruin an entire summer. On the other hand, with some of the warm season grasses, you can simply pound the nitrogen and outgrown many diseases as these grasses love the heat going into summer.
I also like Bayer over Scotts in general as well. But take comfort in knowing you've already done more than 95% of people.
I'll add a few things more things beyond movin as well.
If you want to go really top shelf ultimate, you need to look for fungicides outside of what you buy at big box stores. Eagle and Heritage are common names. You just need to know what diseases are common for your area and grass. If you get an outbreak, find the fungicide tailored for that one specifically for best results. I also slightly prefer liquid over granular, but that's a minor difference. I strongly prefer liquid herbicides.
If you want to go a route which is more friendly to the soil, look into using cracked corn and Serenade fungicide. Corn, which is botanically a grass, contains a fungus in it which helps fight off bad stuff in turf grass. Serenade is a OMRI listed product which contains some kind of bacteria which eats fungus. Mix the two and you get a supercharged bacteria eating everything in sight. Serenade does smell absolutely horrible, however.
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