Late May/Early June Fert App

[bentleyvt]

Hey grassheads - I hope everyone is having a great year so far. I haven't been on this site too much this year as my yard is doing great thanks to the help I've gotten here over the past 4-5 years.

Last year, I applied a fert app around Memorial Day, ~1 lb nitrogen/k and it was followed by rainy, humid weather that caused disease and fungus to spread like wild fire.

I wanted to reach out to others, hopefully in the same region (VA) to see what you all do with this app and learn from your successes. I did add irrigation last fall, so I can water in the app immediately, and keep watering in the early AM if I get a dry spell.

Do you put a full 1 lb nit down, or less to limit the rapid top growth, thus hopefully reducing the risk of disease?

Yard is looking good so far this year. Some browning starting in some areas already, probably due to the wet/humid weather recently.

Thanks!

[RockinMyLawn]

Hey grassheads - I hope everyone is having a great year so far. I haven't been on this site too much this year as my yard is doing great thanks to the help I've gotten here over the past 4-5 years.

Last year, I applied a fert app around Memorial Day, ~1 lb nitrogen/k and it was followed by rainy, humid weather that caused disease and fungus to spread like wild fire.

I wanted to reach out to others, hopefully in the same region (VA) to see what you all do with this app and learn from your successes. I did add irrigation last fall, so I can water in the app immediately, and keep watering in the early AM if I get a dry spell.

Do you put a full 1 lb nit down, or less to limit the rapid top growth, thus hopefully reducing the risk of disease?

Yard is looking good so far this year. Some browning starting in some areas already, probably due to the wet/humid weather recently.

Thanks!

I'm in the Midlo area & I put down 10lbs/1K of a 10-10-10 balance fert this spring which is basically all 1 lbs of nitrogen at once.
I just suggested to a co-worker to get his 10-10-10 down ASAP to get the benefits of the below 85° temps & get his lawn fed till mid summer.

Some forecasts say we will be getting a wetter than usual June - so we'll pay for it in July-August I am sure.
That'll buy me some time to read up on lawn disease chems like Serenade or Propiconazole since I've never really cared nor had fungus in prior years.

That said - so far so good - no signs of stress nor disease for me (see pic taken in late May).
Hoping Milo will green it up more consistently.

My regimen this year:

1) Pre_M in mid March.
2) Laid 10-10-10 balance fert in early April to get the grass fed & the weeds growing.
3) Spray WBG+Crab Grass in Early May
4) Spot treat with WBG CCO in latter half of May
5) Planning to lay down Milo in early July & Labor day
6) Overseed in September
7) Urea October & December

[bentleyvt]

Thanks Rockin. We are in Midlo as well. Our regimen is very similar except for the spring fert app. I put a winterizer down in early December, which should have fed my lawn through spring according to what I've read. Sounds like I need to put an app down ASAP of ~1 lb of fert.

Your yard looks great btw!

[Billy]

If you're concerned about brown patch and the upcoming hot weather, you can certainly apply less than 1#N/M. Why not apply a half-pound?

[HoosierLawnGnome]

Yard is looking good so far this year. Some browning starting in some areas already, probably due to the wet/humid weather recently.

Sounds to me like your'e seeing the first sign of disease. Good conditions for it and visual indications.

The first sign of disease is the right time to start treating it. And, doing what you did last year is obviously not a recipe for success. (heavy fertilization at the onset of warm and humid weather)

SO - I'd find out what fungus might be creeping in and treat it quickly. Look not only at killing it, but also at what cultural practices help fight it. Does that disease thrive on fertilization? (Probably based on last year's experience!) Should you bag mow infected areas? (Probably)

I wouldn't fertilizer if it's Brown Patch.

ETA: I'd add that the advice to apply one heavy fertilizer app on Memorial Day here is largely geared towards more cool season zones. You're in a transition zone - so you should likely adjust your schedule accordingly. It's more about applying a dose to carry you for a while before the summer stress / hot / humid weather sets in.

[RockinMyLawn]

Thanks Rockin. We are in Midlo as well. Our regimen is very similar except for the spring fert app. I put a winterizer down in early December, which should have fed my lawn through spring according to what I've read. Sounds like I need to put an app down ASAP of ~1 lb of fert.

Your yard looks great btw!

Sorry I should have finished my thought before hitting the send button (was @ work).

Both Billy & HLG have some great points that I wanted to mention but didn't:

1) HLG is correct - treat the disease first & foremost
2) Like Billy said, you can always lay down 1/2 the rate of Nitrogen to get your yard fed if it looks like winterizer didn't work as well as advertised per the fall nitro regimen. I know I only laid down the winterizer (not the earlier Urea apps) in early December.
Going into the early spring & warm March that we had around here, my lawn was about 2 weeks behind the neighbors' chem lawns.
I'm hearing that June will be wet but not sure about temps - but at least the next week will be at or below 80°.

I think the key take aways are: confirm if it really is disease & feed bare minimum only to get you through July/Aug.
I'll defer to HLG on how to validate/treat disease.