Not so dark Kentucky Blue Grass

[mdxers]

Hello,

New to the forum. I have spent hours online researching all grasses and I came up on this site, which is great. Not sure if many will reply to a newbie or not, but I have a question. I got some bluegrass installed two years ago. 1 acre of sod. In the second summer now, and it doesn't look dark green. In fact, although it is soft and a good looking bluegrass lawn, the color isn't what I expected. The sod is supposedly made up of Bluemaster, Frontpage, Arrowhead, and Corsair. Living smack dab in the middle of the US, apparently this is the blend best for Midwest lawns( not my opinion, theirs). Anyway, I want to start building in the darkest, bluegreen colors I can. Probably overseed, and also redo small sections year by year. Is there a good blue/green KBG out there, or perhaps a couple I could add?

I had a soil test done and these are the results:

Organic Matter 3.6%
Nitrate-N 7 ppm
Phosph. 29 ppm
Potassium 411 ppm
Mangesium 487 ppm
Calcium 3214 ppm
Sodium 41ppm
Soluble Salts 0.6 mmhos/cm
Excess Lime Rate L
pH 7.5
C.E.C 21.4

This was prior to last fall feeding when I applied most of the Nitrogen from Scotts fall fertilizer. I mean 3 applications from September through end of October. Lawn looks great this year compared to last but still on the lighter green side and brown stems and blades throughout, especially after mowing. I am up to a 3.25 inch mowing height now and I mulch. I make sure 1 inch of irrigation per week @ 50% every 3 days. I appreciate any suggestions.

[andy10917]

Not sure if many will reply to a newbie or not, but I have a question.

Yeah, I'm kinda new around here too and not many posts, but let's see if I can help...

First, the soil test isn't from the lab that the ST6 guys will analyze (use Logan Labs for that if you want a plan).

What was the color of the sod when they first put it down? Darker? Was the lightening slow and steady or rapid?

[bpgreen]

You may get a darker green if you apply Milorganite. It has iron in it that should be available even in a high ph soil.

Where in the Midwest are you? Midwest covers a huge area with very different conditions.

[HoosierLawnGnome]

Yeah, we love to help newbies and oldies A fairly specific location is definitely needed.

With the right feeding and maintenance, you may be really impressed with what you already have - a diamond in the rough if you will

We had a beautiful, pure, elite KBG monostand at our last home we sold. Two summers later it doesn't look anything like it did because the people that bought it didn't maintain it to the level I did - and they had EVERYTHING going for them to be successful - including my pages of notes

Lawn looks great this year compared to last but still on the lighter green side and brown stems and blades throughout, especially after mowing. I am up to a 3.25 inch mowing height now and I mulch. I make sure 1 inch of irrigation per week @ 50% every 3 days.

If you are seeing yellowing after a mow, you may be taking too much off at one time. The general rule is not to take of more than 1/3 of the blade when mowing. That means a more frequent mowing than average Joe Homeowner does - often twice a week for several weeks during the growth flush in spring and fall.

On the irrigation - try to stretch it out a bit more - an inch a week all at once is the general guideline, adjusted for situations of course - but try to stretch it out longer between waterings and water more deeply. "Deep and Infrequent". Also, apply it in the early morning so it has time to dry out- avoiding fungus. On over an acre of turf, you may have to split it up - do the front an inch one day, the back the next, etc.

Deep roots are an important part of grass not going dormant as summer heat stress sets in, which - at least in my area of the midwest - is setting in with temps in the 90s.

[ezael]

1 acre of sod.

Holy Moly i bet that cost a pretty penny.

But yeah as the others proper watering feeding and practice can go very far for any type of grass.

And welcome to ATY

[mdxers]

Sorry for the late reply to more info. To Andy 109017 the sod was laid at the end of October, early November and was watered for a couple weeks. It was very green then. However, I applied nothing for the winter. I started applications in spring time. Looks great up until late May, then looks weak. I started just now using Milorganite and Ringer Restore.

Is the thatch layer always between the crown and topsoil? Or does thatch look like normal vertical blades but brown in color. Seems like for every 4 green blades, there is a brown one growing.

[mdxers]

Ohh, Location is Lincoln, NE.

[andy10917]

MDX: put the location in your profile. Otherwise, this question will repeat again and again.

If the grass was dark when you got it, then something related to your treatments or soil is causing the problem - the sod has the genetic potential to be dark. If you'd like us to try to locate any potential soil problems (and a plan to fix them), you'll have to do a Logan Labs test and post the results.

[ClintB]

I would follow Andy and Hoosierlawngnomes advice. In the meantime I would also pick a small section of yard and go heavy with the milorganite or try some spray iron (you can research how to make your own with the search function or the easier route would be to buy some bonide brand foliar iron amd try that first). This would let you know if the iron uptake is what is holding your grass back color wise and see what its potential for darkness is. With a ph over 7 that would seem to be the most likely thing to rule out first. This way you could also compare the test section to the rest of the yard.

[ClintB]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000BX4R ... ref=plSrch

Looks like the bottle labeling changed but this is the spray iron i would try first. Cheers and good luck.

[andy10917]

What makes that Iron at $15 (when you include shipping) any better than a few ounces of Ferrous Sulfate and water?

[ClintB]

I was thinking simplicity. I would go that route if you like the results. Not sure what the minimum amount is for ferrous sulfate as I did a bigger order and split it with a friend over a year ago. First time I did spray iron I bought the Bonide stuff and then moved on to mixing my own.

[NJDan]

The more I read the more it seems this is a universal "problem" with KBG, namely lighter green blades, lots of brown blades mixed in. In my case the grass is dark green in spring and lightens with stronger sun and heat. Grass in the shadier areas is greener than the sunnier areas.

[mdxers]

Thanks for suggestions so far. I am ordering a logan labs test now so I can get the best advice.