I’m interested in how others specifically answer your question. But, generally, I think you’ll know just by evaluating the looks of your lawn if it is missing/needing something. It is only mid-April, just the very beginning of growing season. Mowing, feeding, watering & patience going a long ways. Not to mention, it looks like you have the Rev26 arriving soon too!

 

it looks like you have the Rev26 arriving soon too!

I am going to say that soon is very subjective. I dont think I will have mine until mid May sometime (which is killing me).

I also have no idea what my lawn needs by looking at it. I am in south Florida so it never goes dormant. I can almost tell if it needs water, but other than that I have no idea what it is telling me.

I have parts that are a darker green than other parts. What are the light green parts telling me?

 

I’m on the bandwagon too and plan to just use Nitrogen and maybe some foliar iron in Main Event. If the lawn isn’t looking it’s best I will try making sure it’s not a water or Nitrogen issue first and then move on from there. I know my lawn is low in Sulfur so I will continue to use AMS for that. For anything else I will just keep an eye out for whatever.

If you already have a soil test you should at least know what to keep an eye out for. Google what deficiencies look like in your type of grass so you know what to look for.

 

I’m on the bandwagon too and plan to just use Nitrogen and maybe some foliar iron in Main Event. If the lawn isn’t looking it’s best I will try making sure it’s not a water or Nitrogen issue first and then move on from there. I know my lawn is low in Sulfur so I will continue to use AMS for that. For anything else I will just keep an eye out for whatever.

Curious as to how your lawn is doing with the mostly-nitrogen-only approach. Has it been going well? Have you had the need to add anything else?

 

Really liked what I've seen so far from Turfgrass Epistemology. Admittedly only seen a few videos so far so maybe Dr. Shaddox has started covering this (tho based on your question I think not yet) but it would be really helpful to cover things like how turfgrass quality is evaluated, what specific signs of weakness look like and what the typical root causes are. Maybe too much variation across grass types and environmental conditions to reasonably capture that tho.

 

He posted a video on 04/17 titled "Potassium Deficiency in Turfgrass" where he explains what a low K might look like in Bermuda. Im sure he has gone over others!

 

You could always ask on a live stream or email him and ask. I think they have some machine like a spectrum analyzer that does it for them but I’m not 100% on that. He did comment yesterday on his live stream that you can’t beat genetics so the exact cultivar you have will play a large part in how strong or weak your grass can get. I would always revert back to the pyramid to make sure your bases are covered.

Im going to try and post some pictures of what to look for when it comes to deficiencies in Bermuda specifically but I’m sure it could be applied across other cultivars.

 

I haven’t seen much of what’s being discussed but I am a huge proponent of applying less. I’ve found that be it just tired of guessing, spending money, or causing issues, that the more people apply, it mucks up the waters.

alot of the problems people post here about, are in some cases caused by applying things wrong or poorly thought out applications.

I generally keep an eye out for things we know are going to happen. Bugs.. so I spray with my normal stuff. Fungus.. this you can cause, some you can’t help due to weather. Applying fungicide goes along way I think, but sometimes you don’t need them.

which ever the case, good to see people saying to hell with buying the next hot item someone is shilling on the internet, just go mow and water. You’ll know when the yard starts turning.

 

I think a lot of people get marketing and science mixed up and it's easy to do to the uninitiated. I've been a victim of this many times over the years which is why I think I am the way I am or the way I'm becoming. The older I get the more aware I am of how companies will use their marketing to sound like there is science behind their product when in fact there if very little if at all anything behind it.

 

had a professor at psu tell me..."if something REALLY works, you won't need a salesman to tell you about it, the industry will let you know"....that was about 9 years ago and it rings true to this day..i probably get quarterly visits from 2-3 reps trying to peddle some magic juice that will deliver "amazing results"..it's all bs. irritates me even more when the pull the "so and so at (enter high end club) uses it and loves it".

that same professor - who was head of the nfl turf cmt for some time, said "NPK, water and sunlight...if you get bored and want to try something else, don't...just go play golf"

 

How about this? "NPK, sunlight, water, and mow. If you get bored and want to try something else, don't... just go mow again."

Edit:
Heck... I almost want to take out the P and the K in that expression.

 

Im 100% onboard Dr. Shaddox' proven, scienced based, facts only approach to turfgrass. I'm embarrassed now to open my shed and see Seaweed Extracts, Humic and a myriad of other expensive items that have no scientific proof of improving the quality of turf. Somebody did ask on the podcast last night how they rate the quality and he mentioned the methods are on the back of the NTEP evaluation forms. I'll be searching later.

 

The difference between potash and nitrogen is interesting ... nitrogen def yellows down the middle and potash def yellows on the outside edges.

Thanks for sharing!!

 

Good post @MikeConroy!!! I was looking for something like this, I remember you from the live stream last night, good to see you here. I was the one that asked about it as another member here asked also so I figured since I was there, might as well ask. I searched for it immediately after he said where to look. How Turfgrass is Rated

I also meant to add that his stream from last night is really going to suck the wind out of all the How to with Doc fans and all that Andersons fertilizer he pushes. I'm also interested to see in what situations it can actually be beneficial. Sorry to hear that you have purchased some already and have to use it up but at least it won't harm the lawn I'm in the same boat with Potassium and some sprayable 20-20-20.

 

I am a skeptic of N only. Especially if you are mowing low and collecting clippings. Context of MLSN and similar starvation programs is based on golf greens. Bent golf greens that have a low nutrient requirement. I will expand more on the context soon. But before I get sucked into starvation programs, I remember the context.

 

I don't think anyone wants to starve their lawn, but rather give it what it needs and only what it needs. Listening to lawn ≠ starvation (or at least it shouldn't)

 

I don’t believe Dr Shaddox refers to starving your turf at all. He discusses actual scientific literature that show things like Humic, during last nites stream, does not improve the quality, color, microbial activity or make nutrients uptake in creeping bentgrass. Does this mean the same for my tall fescue, unknown, but programmatically most likely.

 

He and the MLSN followers believe in P and K starvation. Watch the rest of his streams. I do not believe in humic or biostimulants either. I have known from having to grow very high expectation turf for over 3 decades that pH, and NPK matter a lot more. N only is a quick way to fail.

 

Can see both sides. Large parts of the DIY crowd are caught up chasing numbers or going "throw er down" mode, wasting money and possibly having negative environmental impacts (like the video calling out LCN for not just failing to follow his county's regulations for P fertilizer, but not even following the bag [instruction] for the overall FL rate while he was explaining rate/area calculations). OTOH, we do things like yearly physicals in order to catch issues before they get serious. If you have good turfgrass performance, and you know turf consumes some P&K each year, and you know your soil isn't in excess of those, why wouldn't you want to replenish P&K to maintain that level, rather than waiting for signs of deficiency?

 

I think it is looking pretty good. I have been basically N only this year. I have a garage full of Main Event and have not even used that. I have never done a soil test.

Right now, I think (big emphasis on guess) that my limiting factor is my water. While I have unlimited water with my well, and great coverage (which I am now adjusting constantly) my well water is not the best quality. I have tested the water with my pool testing stuff. It is pH neutral, but has high calcium, and huge amount of carbonate alkalinity which is probably driving my soil pH up. Normally this time of year I would not be using irrigation due to the Florida rains, but we are just not having them so far. Sometimes the water smells a little like sulphur but no idea if that is adding sulphur to my soil.

I am thinking about trying some AMS for both the acidity and the sulphur but it is 4X the price of Urea I am using. I get a 50lb bag of 40-0-0 for $18, and a 50lb bag of AMS which is 20-0-0 is $34. I may try one bag just for fun and see what happens.

This is my front yard which does look the best, and competes with a HUGE oak tree on the left side of the picture (that I get thinned out every two years) and the ficus hedge that you can see.

 

He has a wealth of knowledge and ability to simplify all info he goes over, which I enjoy. I do think of all the good info, the one thing I haven’t been able to agree with is his position on not needing soil tests. That works great for the trained eye, but (for example) I have soil pH that wants to constantly drop. If I waited for a symptom to show, I would be chasing pH for another year or so (plus no trained eye here). I understand his position on the over application from frequent soil tests, but if you are already taking his advice, that’s a non-issue. Maybe I’m missing something or this is more practical after you know your lawns trends?

edit: whoops sorry, thought this thread was about TE

 

It is a little bit about TE. Its more about interpretation of what the grass needs.

I struggle to understand what a deficiency would look like. I do know there is some limiting factor in my grass as I am pounding it with N (.5lbs per week) and while growing not as much as I expected. I am under regulation but with that amount of N I would expect to have to mow more than once a week. Maybe it’s my expectation that is wrong.

I do have some weak stops that are struggling to fill in. Specifically on a hilly part of my backyard. It gets full sun, plenty of water. Lots of N. No bugs. But still it struggles.

 

Because it's on a hill is probably part of the reason it is struggling. You say it gets plenty of water but is it actually holding on to water in that area? Take a soil sample core and see if it is dryer in that area than the "good" parts of the lawn. Might want to look into a wetting agent for that spot to help it hold on to water more efficiently.

 

I agree. That looks like LDS or buried debris. If you pull a core, check to see if there is a lot of OM or thatch in that area as well.

 

It is a little bit about TE. Its more about interpretation of what the grass needs.

I struggle to understand what a deficiency would look like. I do know there is some limiting factor in my grass as I am pounding it with N (.5lbs per week) and while growing not as much as I expected. I am under regulation but with that amount of N I would expect to have to mow more than once a week. Maybe it’s my expectation that is wrong.

I do have some weak stops that are struggling to fill in. Specifically on a hilly part of my backyard. It gets full sun, plenty of water. Lots of N. No bugs. But still it struggles.

I feel like my lawn journey this year is similar to yours. This is my first year reel mowing (Rev26) and things have mostly been looking good, I've been mowing regularly several times per week, but there are certain parts of my lawn that are really struggling. In fact, the grass seems to barely be growing in in spots, and I can't figure out what is going on.

Because it's on a hill is probably part of the reason it is struggling. You say it gets plenty of water but is it actually holding on to water in that area? Take a soil sample core and see if it is dryer in that area than the "good" parts of the lawn. Might want to look into a wetting agent for that spot to help it hold on to water more efficiently.

You are closely describing my situation because my struggling area is on a slope. It gets lots of sun because it's south-facing, but it's just thin in spots. I've been trying to ensure proper nitrogen applications on the slope (I put granular and foliar applications down). The photo below was taken a month ago while we were in a mini-drought, but we've had plenty of rain in July and it's still struggling. I thought that compaction might be the issue, so I have manually aerated in spots with a drill bit going down about 6" to see if that will help. I have also applied a wetting agent ("liquid aeration") to see if that would help get more moisture in the soil, but so far I haven't seen a response.

 

@Phids Yours almost looks like window reflection. Does your neighbor's windows reflect sunlight onto your lawn.

 

That's a good suggestion, but there's only one small clerestory window on the side of my neighbor's house. I don't think the sun is ever at an angle where the reflection could reach my lawn. I suppose the sun could be reflecting off some of the windows on my own house. I'll have to check.

 

Here is a core. It was not wet, but I did feel moisture. However, I did water .5” on that spot only a few hours ago. The core crumbled up fairly easily. What should I fill the hole with. I do have a bunch of topsoil from a failed tomato growing experiment. Or just use sand?

There really is no thatch since during a heavy rain any clipping wash off that area.

 

I would just put the old core back in there and top it off with sand. If it's still dryish you might want to look into a wetting agent.

 

I would second this. I used a wetting agent for part of the summer earlier and I had a noticeable improvement in my sloped areas. I have not been diligent about reordering, but I will be doing so this week as we are going into a drier time of summer and I want my irrigation to be more efficient. If you have hills, odds are that you’re not getting as much water penetration as you think/want.

 

I’ve been thinking about adding a wetting for a while, still yet to do so. Part of my problem is lack of knowledge on the different kinds available. I have read about a few of them though. Which wetting agent do you use?

 

So pulled a core sample from the bottom of the hill where the grass is growing well. Soil moisture feels very slightly more but not much. But a really nice root profile.

 

I agree with @Dono1183 that the pellets are best especially for spot applications just like your situation. If you are looking for whole lawn applications the liquid is the better choice and something from Underhill or Lesco would be a good starting point.