I have and always will mulch-mow...15 years. In the spring/fall, I mow 2x a week to 3x a week. In the summer, I slow down to every two weeks and try to time my cuts around when a cool period/rain period will take some of the edge off the stress from cutting.
My take on watering is dependent on how the summer is going. If it's super dry and seems it'll continue that way, I'll let the lawn go dormant because the labor with watering sucks. No irrigation system. However, since this is a first-year lawn, I do not want to let it go dormant due to drought (worried about it dying).
I'm not aware of any chronic lawn diseases in my lawn. I've had grubs bad before, but I now treat for it in the spring and it hasn't been an issue since.
I'm a synthetic fert person and I tend to focus on isolating one nutrient when needed (e.g. Ammonium Sulfate for N, SOP for K, Iron Sulfate for fe, etc.). No objection to organics, but they are more of a pain for me to source.
Goals:
My goal is to have the best looking lawn. Uniform, thick, dark green, and dependable summer health.
I'm happy with my renovation and I started it early enough that I was able to get thick coverage by winter dormancy.
I have a silty top soil with a clay subsoil (quarter-sized rocks galore).
I have been tweaking my pH from 7.0 - 7.5 down to 6.5 as my goal. I use sulfur based fertilizers and elemental sulfur (when needed, front yard is about perfect). Multi-year process. As I land on 6.5/6.6, I don't add elemental sulfur since I don't want to overshoot. Planning to treat backyard with elemental sulfur May 1st. Happy so far.
I have been concerned with the Cal to Mag percentage ratios. Early 2023, I began using gypsum to leach magnesium and add calcium to try to balance the ratios. Seems to be working, but I'm skeptical until I see a multi-test trend. Slow process. I've never limed. Last gypsum treatment was March 2023 at ~50 lbs per 1k. Planning to do another one soon, but will break the gypsum treatments into smaller batches. The back still needs more treatment, but the front is balancing out, so may not do any there. Happy so far.
I believe the potassium levels should be higher for optimal health. Probably losing some K from the gypsum reactions. I use SOP to add K. Planning to add SOP 2 lbs per 1k monthly while skipping July/Aug (summer stress/drought).
Iron levels seem to be moderate, more-so in the back. At a pH of 6.5, which is my goal, I should be able to take advantage of the iron in the soil. I want to push the ppm up for both front/back.
My OM levels are decreasing rapidly over the last couple years. Don't understand why. Not sure if Logan Labs changed their process or if tons of OM have left my soil...grass is growing great though.
I'm open to micros tweaking.
Questions:
- What Phosphorous levels should I be shooting for?
- Is 4-5% the right amount of K to shoot for in my case?
- What iron ppm should I shoot for? I love deep dark color.
- When does too high of an iron ppm become a problem for my soil?
- Iron Sulfate granules (30% fe) are what I use, how often can I apply 2 lbs per 1k? Monthly except July/August and of course frozen ground?
Historical tests for each yard: