Fall Nitrogen Regimens

[gwlbe]

Ground temp is down to 42 with lows in the 20s at night. One more mow and I’ll drop urea. Only problem is timing with rain in the forecast. With no daylight after work that leaves only weekends to put it down. My understanding is the urea will loose its effectiveness if it sits a couple days without being watered in.

[osuturfman]

[quote=gwlbe post_id=318791 time=1510487690 user_id=2177]
Ground temp is down to 42 with lows in the 20s at night. One more mow and I’ll drop urea. Only problem is timing with rain in the forecast. With no daylight after work that leaves only weekends to put it down. My understanding is the urea will loose its effectiveness if it sits a couple days without being watered in.
[/quote]

At those temperatures, you don't have much to worry about in the way of volatilization.

[Methodical]

There are no special requirements for storing Urea. I store it in an unheated barn, and put the paper bags inside of a plastic garbage bag to keep it somewhat dry. Works fine.

Thanks. That's good to know. I typically fold the bag and tape it so no air gets to it. I will also place the product in a plastic bag, too.

FYI. My responses may be a bit slow because all of my posts have to go through an administrator for now since I am new to the boards.

[Methodical]

There are no special requirements for storing Urea. I store it in an unheated barn, and put the paper bags inside of a plastic garbage bag to keep it somewhat dry. Works fine.

I see you have Bewitch grass. I would like to plant some now that I have a bit more shady lawn (dapple shade).

1. How has this grass withstood the shade, assuming you are using it for shady areas?
2. Where do you get this grass seed?

Thanks...

[JohnP]

There are no special requirements for storing Urea. I store it in an unheated barn, and put the paper bags inside of a plastic garbage bag to keep it somewhat dry. Works fine.

I see you have Bewitch grass. I would like to plant some now that I have a bit more shady lawn (dapple shade).

1. How has this grass withstood the shade, assuming you are using it for shady areas?
2. Where do you get this grass seed?

Thanks...

You might want to do some searching on the boards or even start a new topic to keep this one on track. However I can answer that www.SeedSuperStore.com (sometimes abbreviated SSS on here) carries it. I’m considering it in my lawn and Googled for pics also searched these boards and found lots of good feedback and experiences to read through.

When I purchase I will either use SSS or Hogan Seeds.

Welcome to the boards! Lots of smart people on here to learn from!

[andy10917]

Yup, Methodical -- kindly create a new thread when you have a question that is not directly related to the topic of the thread. "Off-Topic" is one problem and "Thread Hijacking" (stealing the thread for your question instead of the original purpose) are strongly discouraged.

All: let's get the thread back to the Topic

[mitten]

I have some 12-12-12 leftover from this summer that I was planning on spreading as my winterizer... to get it out of the shed. But then I read this in the original post... I guess I will be going out to get some Urea...

"(3) I don't recommend the use of a fertilizer containing Potassium after first-frost. There is at least one study that indicates that this can increase Snow Mold occurrence."

[Green]

mitten,

Unless that's all you have access to, I would try to use something with no or low K (speaking as someone who has had snow mold problems no matter what I do). That's of course one reason Andy suggests 46-0-0. I've used stuff with about 10% K in a pinch for the final app once in the past (I got like 3-4 inches of rain after winterizing that year, and was concerned that the fertilizer had washed down a slope and/or gotten pushed past the root zone, so I had to buy more fertilizer the last minute and then water it in in the cold), but it's not my first choice!

[RichS]

At those temperatures, you don't have much to worry about in the way of volatilization.

Articles on the topic.

http://www.extension.umn.edu/agricultur ... izer-urea/
https://www.noble.org/news/publications ... from-urea/

Below 70, especially way below 70, there appears to be not much to worry about.

[gwlbe]

Thanks I put down 25 lbs

[rucraz2]

Do you guys with larger lawns just try and plan to put the last app when there is rain in the forecast? This is my first year in the new place with 1.3 acres. I'm the only lot on the street with a sprinkler system. But obviously that has been winterized. Looks like all the other neighbors have paid someone to do theirs during the pause as most people, "lawn experts" included around here have no clue what they are doing. (Not saying im an expert myself) but just saying.

[ken-n-nancy]

Do you guys with larger lawns just try and plan to put the last app when there is rain in the forecast?

In the years that I've made a final "after top growth stops" urea application, I make the application the day I confirmed that top growth stopped by noting ZERO grass clippings a week after the prior mowing. I then wait for rain. If rain comes within the next 10 days or so, then all is well. If after 10 days there still isn't any rain forecast for within 2 weeks of when I put down the urea (i.e. the next 4 days of forecast) then I would get the hose and sprinkler out and water in the urea the challenging way. So far, I've never had to get the hose and sprinklers out, but that's the fallback plan...

[PSU4ME]

Also, it takes me 22 minutes to blow out my sprinkler system so if there is no rain and I need to water in the Urea, I'll just fire it back up and blow it out again that day. Certainly no magic in blowing out a system....$100 for a company to do it and it takes them 10 minutes with their high powered compressor.

[andy10917]

Same here - with a 4' air tank, I can blow out my 9 zones (over 1.06 acres) in under 30 minutes. If I need it, it comes back into service.

[rucraz2]

$275 is what i was going to get charged for my 17 zones. I did it myself with my 30gal tank. Just blowing one out then refill and do again. Two times through. So that took a good 3/4 of a morning. I dont have that time to do it again, so i will just have to plan accordingly.

[Methodical]

If possible, I'd like to see some photos of the lawns using these techniques. Can some of you post images of your lawn?

Thanks...

[andy10917]

You're showing a tendency to believing that a lawn can be affected by a single technique, application or product. It just doesn't happen - lawns are the product of many, many regimens used together, and a belief that lawn care is a marathon and not a sprint.

[JohnP]

If possible, I'd like to see some photos of the lawns using these techniques. Can some of you post images of your lawn?

Thanks...

That’s kind of asking to see pictures of a body builder because they eat bananas in their diet.

There are some pictures in another thread Andy started about how the regimen worked for members, but as he said there’s also lots of other factors. I overseeded, mowed tower, mulch mowed, used Milorganite, added peat moss, and watered regularly this fall in addition to the weekly Urea. The combination has left my yard looking better than (I hear) it has in nearly 20 years but it’s got a long way to go and the weekly Urea is just a part of that plan.

[PSU4ME]

How much rain do you think is need to sufficiently water in a winterizer app of Urea? .10", .25" etc?

[andy10917]

I dunno. A quarter-inch should be enough, though.