Fall Nitrogen Regimens

[HoosierLawnGnome]

I def still need to cut once more. Not that it's grown much in the last few weeks, but it looks uneven and needs it regardless. Definitely seeing the loss of color and yellowing. Still need to winterize, but not sure it's done here. 60s tomorrow for instance, and the unevenness tells me things are still going on out there in the last few weeks.

[MorpheusPA]

I actually managed to hit it perfectly! I dropped on Saturday, used the mower to do a leaf cleanup the following Sunday (8 days) and cut absolutely nothing off the grass.

It's always fun watching the neighbors' slide into winter dormancy while mine stays dark green...

[NCSU]

Any advice for those of us in the transition zone? Not real sure how to navigate the pause. I'm done with N for the year except for winterizer, but I reckon it could be damn near January before growth stops completely.

[andy10917]

None from me (the author). All of my testing was performed in Upstate NY, and it would take some better signals, etc from testing in the Transition Zone - that's at least 2-3 years to make and test adaptations.

[DeanLI]

Still needs time here on the south Shore of Long island. Just mowed with the bag and still had enough clippings from my mixed south facing backyard to know it is not done. My north facing front had less but still enough to wait.

Soil Temps averaged 46 deg F throughout the lawn with my meat thermometer. A nice confirmation but I will still get out there in one week with the bagged mower to see what the lawn is telling me.

Color is the best ever. Aggressive fall regimen convert.

[wis99ski]

I actually managed to hit it perfectly! I dropped on Saturday, used the mower to do a leaf cleanup the following Sunday (8 days) and cut absolutely nothing off the grass.

It's always fun watching the neighbors' slide into winter dormancy while mine stays dark green...

This is awesome, replying to a new Morph post. Same region as you. I just put down the final 2 lbs of urea per k today. Before a good two day soaking. Last year I did a modified plan not as aggressive and like the guys said, I didn't show signs of needing any N well into late spring. But also last year was an anomaly where we had 70F here in Dec and the last app was weeks later than this year.

[MorpheusPA]

This is awesome, replying to a new Morph post. Same region as you. I just put down the final 2 lbs of urea per k today. Before a good two day soaking. Last year I did a modified plan not as aggressive and like the guys said, I didn't show signs of needing any N well into late spring. But also last year was an anomaly where we had 70F here in Dec and the last app was weeks later than this year.

Given that tomorrow's temperatures will surge into the middle sixties, I'm hoping growth does not resume. But it's only for two days.

Honestly, I know Andy's all touchy an' stuff on it ( ), but my observations have shown a fairly wide window on my lawn where winterization is OK.

I have a suspicion that, the further south you go, the more adaption the grasses make to dealing with slightly off-cycle feedings. And all-winter snow cover simply never happens here anyway (when it does, winterizer or no, you get gray snow mold, but it fades harmlessly in March and no damage done).

[andy10917]

I guess YMMV, but the single largest variable in the testing of the documented regimen was the management of "The Pause" period. Too late to start the Pause or too soon to end the Pause were tied to maybe a 10% higher chance of Winter Kill and/or Snow Mold (in PR and KBG). I no longer have a PR lawn to continue the testing on.

Laugh if you want to, but in my opinion the careful use of aggressive Nitrogen in the Fall can be the biggest weapon in the homeowner toolbox. I'll be damned if a few idiots are going to scare people that they are opening up the door to damage that is 100% preventable, just because they're too lazy to take out a hose one more time.

[mirak]

I'm in Wichita. Got my 50lb bag of 46-0-0 Urea from a nearby co-op (holy smokes is it so much cheaper than buying Scotts or the like from the big box stores!) When should I winterize?

My grass is still green but I haven't mowed the past two weekends and it does not appear to have grown. We've had a few light frosts, but daytime temps are still generally in the 50s and nighttime temps generally haven't dropped below freezing. But in about a week the weather forecast is calling for a dip into the teens and several inches of snow.

Should I winterize this weekend?

[andy10917]

I'd encourage you to read and understand the entire first posting of this Thread, but the bottom line is that the Urea "winterizer" is applied AFTER the grass has ceased growing, and before root growth stops. That's generally a period of about three weeks.

Read about how to leverage the Urea even farther next year, as described in the Thread as the "aggressive regimen".

[mirak]

Thanks - I read the first post and a lot of this thread before I posted. I know I have to wait until the top growth stops. I just can't tell for sure whether that has happened. It sure seems like it has - I haven't mowed the past two weekends and the height does not appear to have changed - but maybe it's just growing really slowly? How do you tell?

I was mainly hoping I could get some opinions from someone in my region who can give me some on the ground intel.

[ericgautier]

mirak, here's how I usually check.. --- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6h2d6KjcPU hope that helps.

[BoatDrinksQ5]

Mirak - if it has been two weeks since you mowed....sounds done to me. get out the mower and mow.... can you tell if grass is being cut? are clippings falling on your driveway, walkway, curb? Have a bagger, anything in it?

However...southern Kansas.... done already...? seems awfully early, 500+ miles south of me in MN...? You're almost (or are) in 'Warm Season Grass'-Land lol

Fertilize very little or none in August-Oct?? That makes my neighbors 'normal' yards really slow to a halt in the mid-fall

[andy10917]

I want someone to kill me about 10 minutes before I need a Youtube video to instruct me on how to see if the grass has stopped growing.

[mirak]

Ok Andy sorry to have wasted your time, and thanks for being so nice about it. Nothing better than coming to an enthusiast message board as a relative novice and being sneered at....

Thanks to everyone else for your helpful responses!

[andy10917]

Don't overcomplicate things! You have all the skills you need to know when the lawn isn't growing. Geez, you don't need a professional and an instructional video to handle the absolute basics of a lawn - give yourself some credit.

[HoosierLawnGnome]

I want someone to kill me about 10 minutes before I need a Youtube video to instruct me on how to see if the grass has stopped growing.

I'm there for ya, bud! Happy to oblige!

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I plan to mow in another week before the next big rain system. If nothing comes off, out goes the winterizer, then one long, last hug of my turf before tucking it in for the winter. Apparently my wife called Santa to make sure he doesn't drop off an in ground turf heating system this year.

[HoosierLawnGnome]

Ok Andy sorry to have wasted your time, and thanks for being so nice about it. Nothing better than coming to an enthusiast message board as a relative novice and being sneered at....

Thanks to everyone else for your helpful responses!

The New Yorker is strong with andy!

Sometimes that rubs us midwesterner / southernor types the wrong way, but I can assure you it is meant to instruct quickly and unmistakenll, not insult

[BoatDrinksQ5]

LOL HLG....spot on

[redcoat]

At the risk of getting my head bitten off I'd like to ask if the suggestion to use the *soil temperature* to gauge the Pause is a valid option? What are the pros and cons?

I read earlier in the thread that, for tall fescue, it should start when soil temperature at 4" stays around 40 degrees - top growth should stop, and root growth should continue til it reaches 33 degrees?

There didn't seem to be much feedback on whether this was a valid approach or not?

I have been watching the temps using this: https://climate.ncsu.edu/map/ and have been surprised to see it stay around 50 degrees...

Thanks!