Is my soil really that bad or is it me?

Kentucky bluegrass, Fescue, Rye and Bent, etc
User avatar
PSU4ME
Posts: 1147
Joined: November 29th, 2016, 9:29 am
Location: Metrowest MA
Grass Type: Front: Bewitched/Midnight/Everglade Back: Midnight/Diva/Everest
Lawn Size: 20000-1 acre
Level: Some Experience

Re: Is my soil really that bad or is it me?

Post by PSU4ME » June 14th, 2017, 9:03 pm

So prior to getting into lawn care (dirt farming as my neighbors say) I had some pretty good success growing some pretty delicate sps coral (I'll attach a pic below).

The biggest lesson(s) that I learned were:
1.) nothing good happens fast
2.) when something is wrong, revert back to the basics, limit change to one variable at a time and go from there.

I think #2 is a good idea here. I'd come up with a "stop all except cutting and watering plan" and figure out if you have a fungus or not.

Tough to figure out what's wrong with so many moving pieces.

My corals below :)

Image

Image

Image

User avatar
GeorgiaDad
Posts: 2163
Joined: July 13th, 2011, 2:32 pm
Location: Suwanee, Ga.
Grass Type: Frontyard: Award, NuChicago, Midnight. kbg Backyard: Mutt Fescue with a little Midnight kbg thrown in.
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Is my soil really that bad or is it me?

Post by GeorgiaDad » June 15th, 2017, 10:56 am

HLG-- :rotfl: I guess I should clarify, I "violate" the 1" all-at-once rule mainly in July and August. It's when temps reach the upper 90's and above with no measurable rainfall for weeks. Through trial and error I found this works the best for "me".

One of the first things I was taught here was learn to read your lawn. I use to take 10-12 pic's of the front yard weekly. Tried to take them from the same spots and angles every time. That way I could see the changes happening. Now a days I can just look and see if something has changed.

smast16- My house faces north. I have a large tree on the east and west sides of my lawn. This gives it a nice rolling shade throughout the day. BUT....the center section and a 12' strip along the road gets baked. I water these areas extra.

psu4me gave you some good advice. But I would like to add a rule 3. When things go wrong, they can go bad very fast. Act!

g-man
Posts: 501
Joined: June 29th, 2016, 9:54 am
Location: Fishers, IN
Grass Type: Mix (mostly KBG)
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Is my soil really that bad or is it me?

Post by g-man » June 15th, 2017, 12:54 pm

Casutherland wrote:
June 14th, 2017, 7:05 pm
I just feel like after 3 months of being "by the books" I should be seeing some kind of results.
What is "by the books" in your opinion and who wrote the book? From reading your post:

1) hand water in the evening (promotes fungus)
2) hand water until there was runnoff (why so much?)
3) Looking at a PWS near your location, I cant see why do you need to water at all. (how often are you watering? have you measured how long to get an inch of water?)

Casutherland
Posts: 364
Joined: July 4th, 2016, 8:33 pm
Location: Cane Ridge, TN
Grass Type: TTTF
Lawn Size: 1000-3000
Level: Some Experience

Re: Is my soil really that bad or is it me?

Post by Casutherland » June 15th, 2017, 3:27 pm

g-man wrote:
June 15th, 2017, 12:54 pm
Casutherland wrote:
June 14th, 2017, 7:05 pm
I just feel like after 3 months of being "by the books" I should be seeing some kind of results.
What is "by the books" in your opinion and who wrote the book? From reading your post:

1) hand water in the evening (promotes fungus)
2) hand water until there was runnoff (why so much?)
3) Looking at a PWS near your location, I cant see why do you need to water at all. (how often are you watering? have you measured how long to get an inch of water?)
So what I mean by "by the books" is that I am following all the advice and research that I am finding on these forums, assuming that its as close to a "book" as you can get considering most of this advice is from trial and error.

To answer your questions or statements:

1) I was not hand watering the area where I have noticed the fungus. I actually have not watered this area much at all. If anything, these were just observations.

The area that I was hand watering was my hell strips that get direct sunlight all day. I am assuming that the ground was extremely dry, and that is what was causing the immediate run off associated.

2) While we have received a decent amount of rain up until early June, this past week/week and a half has been VERY hot and dry (mid 90s during the day, and upper 70s at night, with dewpoints in the low 70s during the day). Enough to see very noticeable signs of stress on the lawn. Some areas that were mostly green in the morning were turning almost totally brown by the evening. I have been following the 1" per week. I use small rain gauges that stick in the ground to measure the amount when watering etc. I also have a rain gauge on my deck that I monitor in case we get actual rain.

User avatar
turf_toes
Posts: 6042
Joined: December 17th, 2008, 8:46 pm
Location: Central NJ
Grass Type: 77% Blueberry/23% Midnight Star KBG in front. Bewitched KBG monostand in back.
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Is my soil really that bad or is it me?

Post by turf_toes » June 15th, 2017, 3:48 pm

Casutherland wrote:
June 15th, 2017, 3:27 pm
g-man wrote:
June 15th, 2017, 12:54 pm
Casutherland wrote:
June 14th, 2017, 7:05 pm
I just feel like after 3 months of being "by the books" I should be seeing some kind of results.
What is "by the books" in your opinion and who wrote the book? From reading your post:

1) hand water in the evening (promotes fungus)
2) hand water until there was runnoff (why so much?)
3) Looking at a PWS near your location, I cant see why do you need to water at all. (how often are you watering? have you measured how long to get an inch of water?)
So what I mean by "by the books" is that I am following all the advice and research that I am finding on these forums, assuming that its as close to a "book" as you can get considering most of this advice is from trial and error.

To answer your questions or statements:

1) I was not hand watering the area where I have noticed the fungus. I actually have not watered this area much at all. If anything, these were just observations.

The area that I was hand watering was my hell strips that get direct sunlight all day. I am assuming that the ground was extremely dry, and that is what was causing the immediate run off associated.

2) While we have received a decent amount of rain up until early June, this past week/week and a half has been VERY hot and dry (mid 90s during the day, and upper 70s at night, with dewpoints in the low 70s during the day). Enough to see very noticeable signs of stress on the lawn. Some areas that were mostly green in the morning were turning almost totally brown by the evening. I have been following the 1" per week. I use small rain gauges that stick in the ground to measure the amount when watering etc. I also have a rain gauge on my deck that I monitor in case we get actual rain.
I think you're trying to find a book. The reality is there are many approaches that work. You need to find one that fit your circumstance.

Advice on how to grow KBG in Michigan isn't going to work for folks in the transition zone (is one example)


smast16
Posts: 277
Joined: March 31st, 2017, 8:43 am
Location: Kernersville, Nc
Grass Type: Front: TTTF & KBG Back: Salad Bar
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Is my soil really that bad or is it me?

Post by smast16 » July 13th, 2017, 11:21 pm

smast16 wrote:
June 14th, 2017, 12:52 pm
GeorgiaDad wrote:
June 14th, 2017, 9:54 am
smast16 wrote:
June 13th, 2017, 4:04 pm
How much of summer dormancy and stress just par for the course for cool season grasses at this latitude? Can any transition zone peeps chime in?

Casutherland, let me know if that manual aerator helps for you, as i'd be interested in this as well.
I haven't had any summer dormancy. But I water the heck out of my kbg in July and August. In the hottest months. I will water .75" a couple of times a week if we haven't had any rain. Plus spritz the lawn at sundown on those upper 90+ days.
Do you get decent shade in the afternoon from the trees in your pictures? The part of my yard that goes dormant first is the part that gets no help from shade. It just bakes out there.
I'm digging back to report. Had my fist solid week of straight 90's and no rain for about 9 days now. I followed Georgia Dad's plan of action, and wow. I've been watering ~.6 inches every other day plus a spritz at sundown to cool the grass and soil in the afternoon. I have no signs of dormancy, and still even getting good growth. I now have the greenest lawn in the neighborhood! There is a guy a few houses down who has a good fescue lawn ( :duel: ) with great shade, but he doesn't irrigate and his lawn is going past grey and turning brown. I'll probably be the only person who mows this weekend.

Thanks for the wisdom Georgia dad :hello:

User avatar
GeorgiaDad
Posts: 2163
Joined: July 13th, 2011, 2:32 pm
Location: Suwanee, Ga.
Grass Type: Frontyard: Award, NuChicago, Midnight. kbg Backyard: Mutt Fescue with a little Midnight kbg thrown in.
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Is my soil really that bad or is it me?

Post by GeorgiaDad » July 17th, 2017, 2:19 pm

Be careful with the watering. Too much will cause shallow roots. Instead of every other day. Try watering every 3rd day. Maybe bumping the water to .75". But be ready to act if the old symptoms return. You're learning to read the lawn. We are expecting temps to rise to the mid to upper 90's by the weekend. I think the next 6-8 weeks are going to be sweltering..

Casutherland
Posts: 364
Joined: July 4th, 2016, 8:33 pm
Location: Cane Ridge, TN
Grass Type: TTTF
Lawn Size: 1000-3000
Level: Some Experience

Re: Is my soil really that bad or is it me?

Post by Casutherland » July 17th, 2017, 3:16 pm

GeorgiaDad wrote:
July 17th, 2017, 2:19 pm
Be careful with the watering. Too much will cause shallow roots. Instead of every other day. Try watering every 3rd day. Maybe bumping the water to .75". But be ready to act if the old symptoms return. You're learning to read the lawn. We are expecting temps to rise to the mid to upper 90's by the weekend. I think the next 6-8 weeks are going to be sweltering..
Im outside of Nashville, and am noticing the same thing on the forecast up here. We will be in the mid 90s all week and weekend. Its about to get really tough for our zone to keep the Fescue healthy over the next few weeks and remainder of the summer. This is what separates the men's yards, from the boys. Now that natural precip is not falling, you will start to notice the true "lawn care nuts"

smast16
Posts: 277
Joined: March 31st, 2017, 8:43 am
Location: Kernersville, Nc
Grass Type: Front: TTTF & KBG Back: Salad Bar
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Is my soil really that bad or is it me?

Post by smast16 » July 17th, 2017, 11:06 pm

Temps broke for me Friday - Sunday (only 88, lol) and I stopped watering. Started back up again this morning in preparation for up coming onslaught. No rain here for 14 days and counting and looking slim for the next 7. I'll step back the frequency and increase run times.

I agree, next 6 weeks, summer is coming with all it's might after a cool/wet start. Bring it! :aikido:

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 19 guests