Lawn Maintenance Advice Needed

A forum to learn and discuss the importance of lawn care basics
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mstecky
Posts: 4
Joined: March 24th, 2019, 12:02 pm
Location: Central ohio
Grass Type: Kbg, fescue
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Lawn Maintenance Advice Needed

Post by mstecky » April 15th, 2019, 2:23 pm

Hi there,
I'm new to the site but have read quite and bit and now looking for some feedback on a maintenance plan for my lawn. Here are the details:
  • Located in Columbus Ohio
  • Lawn is about 15K sq ft and was newly sodded in fall of 2013 with KBG mix from a commercial builder but now see some thicker bladed clumpy invasive grass starting to find it's way in
  • Have irrigation system with Rachio controller
  • Have used local lawn care company for past few years that fertilize, weed control, etc, but this year trying to do myself. At the end of March I applied Menard's brand fertilizer with crabgrass control at 0.88 N, 0.00 P, 0.10 K pounds per 1000sq ft.
  • Had a soil test done with the following results:
    ---pH level = 7.9 which they call "above optimum"
    ---Phosphorus = 2ppm which they call "below optimum"
    ---Potassium = 91ppm which they call "below optimum"
    ---P lb/A = 4
    Exchangeable Cations (meq/100g)
    ------Acidity = 0.00
    ------K = 0.23
    ------Mg = 4.86
    ------Ca = 29.10
    ------CEC = 20.1
    % Saturdation of the CEC
    ------K = 1.2
    ------Mg = 24.2
    ------Ca = 74.7
    Calculated Nutrient Needs, lb/1000 sq ft/yr
    ------N = 1 to 4
    ------P = 4.5
    ------K = 2.0
All that being said, what do you recommend I apply for the rest of the year & how many applications & in what intervals would you suggest?

Milorganite seems like a good solution to provide Nitrogen & Phosphorus, however doesn't have any Potassium.
Whereas normal Scotts & house brand fertilizers provide Nitrogen & Potassium, however they don't contain Phosphorus.
It appears starter fertilizers have all 3 key ingredients, but are lower in Nitrogen. And would they be safe for an established lawn?

All that being said, I haven't found a single fertilizer available that would deliver the recommended Phosphorus & Potassium needs for the year with only 4 applications.

TIA
-Matt

rockyjames21
Posts: 1
Joined: April 18th, 2019, 3:10 am
Location: Texas
Grass Type: Kentucky Bluegrass
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Lawn Maintenance Advice Needed

Post by rockyjames21 » April 18th, 2019, 8:25 am

15K square feet yard! Wow! That will need a lot of maintenance. I don't usually advice to go for professional help. But in your case the yard size seems to be an exception. I will recommend you to hire a contractor for your lawn maintenance.

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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: Lawn Maintenance Advice Needed

Post by turf_toes » April 18th, 2019, 10:23 am

rockyjames21 wrote:
April 18th, 2019, 8:25 am
15K square feet yard! Wow! That will need a lot of maintenance. I don't usually advice to go for professional help. But in your case the yard size seems to be an exception. I will recommend you to hire a contractor for your lawn maintenance.
Seriously? This advice comes from a guy claiming to be from Texas?

There’s nothing extraordinary about 15,000-square-feet. That’s actually on the smaller size.

15,000 square feet is about a third of an acre. That’s pretty much a typical-size yard for most people. Assuming that measurement doesn’t include the house, that’s still under half an acre of total yard.

The OP can easily handle doing a yard that size.

Google is your friend.

https://www.unitconverters.net/area/squ ... -acres.htm

mstecky
Posts: 4
Joined: March 24th, 2019, 12:02 pm
Location: Central ohio
Grass Type: Kbg, fescue
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Lawn Maintenance Advice Needed

Post by mstecky » April 18th, 2019, 7:29 pm

Correct, total lot is half an acre, yard is 1/3 acre.

Any feedback on what to do for fertilizer?

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andy10917
Posts: 29739
Joined: February 23rd, 2009, 10:48 pm
Location: NY (Lower Hudson Valley)
Grass Type: Emblem KBG (Front); Blueberry KBG Monostand (Back)
Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
Level: Advanced

Re: Lawn Maintenance Advice Needed

Post by andy10917 » April 18th, 2019, 7:54 pm

The people that volunteer to do soil test interpretations do not offer advice for labs other than Logan Labs. Here's an example of why:
Exchangeable Cations (meq/100g)
------Acidity = 0.00
------K = 0.23
------Mg = 4.86
------Ca = 29.10
------CEC = 20.1
The Logan Labs test suite would have Ca (Calcium) at a number (lbs/K) between 500 and 4000, typically.
Mg (Magnesium) would be between 100 and 500.
K (Potassium) would be between 50 and 300.

We's have to know the test and conversions needed, and spend an hour converting everything. In that time, we could do 2-3 other members' tests. And if we let one member submit tests from random labs, we'll bury ourselves in no time.

Sorry. If you decide to submit a test through Logan Labs, we'd be happy to interpret it for you, for free...


mstecky
Posts: 4
Joined: March 24th, 2019, 12:02 pm
Location: Central ohio
Grass Type: Kbg, fescue
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Lawn Maintenance Advice Needed

Post by mstecky » April 18th, 2019, 11:18 pm

Thanks for the feedback. If I were to go simply off the recommended nutrient needs from my test, would you be able to suggest fertilizer(s) for my next 3 applications?

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HoosierLawnGnome
Posts: 9591
Joined: May 22nd, 2013, 5:59 pm
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Grass Type: Blueberry KBG
Lawn Size: 1 acre-2 acre
Level: Advanced

Re: Lawn Maintenance Advice Needed

Post by HoosierLawnGnome » April 19th, 2019, 8:06 am

You can totally manage 15k.

Milorganite is a great tool. I would definitely recommend incorporating it.

Get an ID on that unwanted plant. Wide bodied grassy weed could be fescue or quackgrass.

mstecky
Posts: 4
Joined: March 24th, 2019, 12:02 pm
Location: Central ohio
Grass Type: Kbg, fescue
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Lawn Maintenance Advice Needed

Post by mstecky » April 19th, 2019, 8:44 pm

What fertilizer is a good source of phosphorus to the tune of 1.3lbs/1000sqft and potassium of .66lbs/1000sqft?

And if there exists such a thing, is it safe to apply at these levels?

KnickLeDime
Posts: 134
Joined: October 24th, 2018, 2:59 pm
Location: Capital Region NY
Grass Type: 1/3 Kentucky Blue, 1/3 Fescue and 1/3 Perennial Rye
Lawn Size: 20000-1 acre
Level: Novice

Re: Lawn Maintenance Advice Needed

Post by KnickLeDime » May 8th, 2019, 1:15 pm

rockyjames21 wrote:
April 18th, 2019, 8:25 am
15K square feet yard! Wow! That will need a lot of maintenance. I don't usually advice to go for professional help. But in your case the yard size seems to be an exception. I will recommend you to hire a contractor for your lawn maintenance.
Can't believe this is a serious post...lol

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bernstem
Posts: 4232
Joined: April 15th, 2011, 2:59 pm
Location: St. Louis, MO
Grass Type: Front: Solar Eclipse/Award/Bewitched/Moonlight SLT/Prosperity Back: Solar Eclipse Monostand + Bewitched (shade)
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Lawn Maintenance Advice Needed

Post by bernstem » May 12th, 2019, 11:18 am

You may have trouble finding a single fertilizer with a 2:1 ratio of P:K. For a bit more work, you can apply sulfate of potash which is 0-0-50 and triple superphosphate which is 0-45-0. You will need to apply ~2 lbs/1000 sq ft of each to get 1 lb/1000 square feet. Adjust as needed for the desired amount. In general, you would want to apply no more than ~1 lb/1000 sq ft. in a single application. Space applications ~4 weeks apart.

Managing 1/2 acre of grass is no big deal. Many members here manage that much or more.

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