Learning to 'read the leaves, nee, blades"

[UrbyTuesday]

On Sep 28, I put down 1#/k of Lesco 32-0-8 and on Oct 12th when it was time to mow, the top growth was amazing. I had to mow at 3.5 inches because the grass was so long. I was thinking I would be needing to mow the same forest just a few days later, but as it turns out, topgrowth slowed substantially. It took another full week and the grass, while still healthy, wasn't nearly as long as before. The weather was about 10 deg cooler during that week.

Anyway I am trying to keep things simple my first year taking over my lawn but it seems to get pretty complex very quickly. As I learn to read the grass, is the slowed growth telling me it is ready for another round of N even though I am shy of a month for the standard 1#/k? I have a dose of Milorganite ready to go as well as the 32-0-8 and even bought some urea to test an area in the back with if I go 'aggressive' next year. Wondering when and what to apply.

I'm a newbie with a tendency to overanalyze and always end up on forums like this with a bunch of experts I worry about bothering with my piddling issues - without much to provide in return. But at this point I kinda have some analysis paralysis. I may just wait until next weekend to apply more N, but I want to get that Milorganite in place as well as promote some more top growth while the weather is ideal. Is my lawn asking for more N? Incidentally, I have definitely had some more clover pop up during the past few weeks although I have killed a lot of it too. I also know there are nearly infinite variables in play here (soil, weather etc) and it is just hard to say. So i am left to come up with my own routine based on a rookie 'hunch.' Would rather seek the advice of a mentor. Suggestions are welcome! Thank you in advance.

[andy10917]

Assuming that you wrote it up right, I see your problem. You state that you applied 1 lb/K of 32-0-8. Ummm, that's 0.32 lbs/K of Nitrogen - and that would fade out in 2-3 weeks, especially if the soil is sandy and doesn't hold nutrients well. The "Aggressive Program" puts down 1 lb/K of 46-0-0 Urea (0.46 lbs/K of Nitrogen) weekly. The final winterizer is 2 lbs/K of Urea for (0.92 lbs/K Nitrogen).

Putting down a standard fertilizer to get 1 lb/K of Nitrogen would take 100/32 of 32-0-8. That's 3.125 lbs/K of that fertilizer to get the job done to 1 lb/K N.

[UrbyTuesday]

I should have been more clear. I put down 1lb of N/k. So roughly 3lbs (or 3.1) of the 32-0-8 per 1000sf.

[andy10917]

I suspected that, and hence the "if you wrote it up right" comment.

OK, that should not have happened in two weeks. But without TEC and other data, I won't guess at what's doing on.

A soil test would provide more data if you want ST6 to help with the interpretation, but the soil test season shuts down 10/31. We pick up again in early February.

[UrbyTuesday]

ok. I'll have to do a logan labs submission then. Quick question about that. My NC State soil tests were free so I divided my 25k sq ft yard (15 front,10 back) into 8 zones and took 4 or 5 samples from each zone. Differences were striking depending (particularly with P & K content...acidity to to an extent) or if the area was in full/partial/no sun, under trees, front yard, back yard, areas where there is some bermuda, etc etc. CEC was generally 6-8 ish across the board though.

Is all the extra zoning/testing unnecessary? I hope it us because developing an individual remediation plan for 8 zones has been nightmare. But I've got an 800 sf spot under some trees on the side of the house where the soil is MARKEDLY different than in the front near the road (for example).

[andy10917]

I wrote up another similar question just yesterday, and I said that it's a balancing act - you want enough testing to know where differences need to be made, yet few enough to keep your work manageable. Only you can draw that line, and we'll follow it.

A 6-8 CEC/TEC is a somewhat sandy, but generally doesn't special regimens. Read the Sticky thread at the top of the Soils forum - we recommend some adaptations for depth, etc for grass-only interpretations.

[UrbyTuesday]

Thank you. On to the Soils forum!