[Killsocket]

My current state of lawn is better than last year at this time, which is pretty much when I bought the property and didn't get into this lawn care stuff until August 2017. So I am proud of what I did for a person within my first year of treating a lawn I almost guarantee had nothing done with it previously.

However, I am a little demoralized but even more determined at my current lawn state. Mistakes where made (I did not get a soil test) and I can see results from prodiamine, however, I have crabgrass in streaks, like I didn't spread it correctly (obviously granular - going WDG next year, well, this this fall even to combat POA Annua).

Question 1: Is it worth it to still get a soil test in July? Is there such a thing as too late?

I'm not worried about the crabgrass. I am not worried about a few broadleaf weeds. I am not worrried necessarily about some bare spots.

But this Quackgrass has got to go. Which led me to an MSU article: http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/quackgrass_control_in_turf

In it, the part that intrigued me was under Option 1: Management, which states, during the growing season, put down .25-.50lbs of N per 1000 square feet ever two weeks. The end results, if I read it correctly, is that the following year you should see a decrease in quackgrass.

But I am not patient, I do plan to go paint it with glyphosate carefully after reading about this method, after all every little bit does count, right? I have 41% glypho and surfectant. I think some folks have posted 2TBS Glypho/1 TBS surfectant/8 oz water for painting. I know I won't get it all and I am focused on the front yard for now (probably 3K sq ft). (Some of you seen my photos might think I am crazy).

Back to the MSU Option 1 plan, it sounded familiar to g-man's fall nitrogen blitz plan. So I looked that up. And wow. This, or something close, is something I want to implement.

So...

Question 2: Other than time and effort, is there any reason to put down 1lb of N per 1k a month vs. .5lb K per 1k every two weeks?

I'm not comfortable with urea or stuff that g-man alluded to in his well written fall nitrogen post, but he did say, under the constraints of his plan, it could be any source of N.

Question 3: Would a synthetic (Scott's?)be a better option for a quick consistent boost, or something like Milorganite work just as well. Strictly thinking if slow release is a problem or not.

I plan to start near the times posted in g-man's post, being I am north of him in MN, I do plan to dethatch, put down prodiamine, and then start a plan similar to what is written above open to change based on feedback. I am hopeful you all can either confirm this might be a good plan or give further guidance or advice. I really want to do almost anything to get rid of this quackgrass, improve my thickness by getting KBG to spread, and prepare my lawn for winter-spring with a sound strategy.

 

[ABC123]

I live down the road and had some soil tested in big lake. It was very sandy with a low cec so I did frequent applications of urea every 2 weeks with a hand seeder. And then 2 apps of milorganite at bag rate in the fall and late spring. Worked great on 3 acres and had decent results.

I don't live too far, I can always swing by. I buy all my fertilizer from crop production services in big lake as it's much cheaper, menards has the milorganite.

 

[Killsocket]

I live down the road and had some soil tested in big lake. It was very sandy with a low cec so I did frequent applications of urea every 2 weeks with a hand seeder. And then 2 apps of milorganite at bag rate in the fall and late spring. Worked great on 3 acres and had decent results.

I don't live too far, I can always swing by. I buy all my fertilizer from crop production services in big lake as it's much cheaper, menards has the milorganite.

Wow. Crop Production Services is within 2 miles of me! They are open to or serve residential lawn customers?
I usually get milo from fleet farm in Monticello when it is $6 a bag. Menards pretty cheap?

 

[ABC123]

Menards should be the same price for the most part, so fleet farm is great too.

With crop production services they have homeowner blends but they can be more expensive. If you buy the raw product sop/mop/urea/ams/lime in 40-50lb bags the cost savings is very decent. But the only downfall is they don't come with instructions on the bag. So if you went there with a list of what you want in pounds they can help you out.

Urea is a 40lb bag of 46/0/0 and will cover 18.5k sq ft at 1lb N per k for about $16. With 10k sq ft one bag would last a while doing frequent apps of .25lb/N per k..

 

[social port]

@Killsocket I meant to reply the other day, and then time got away from me.

Question 1: Is it worth it to still get a soil test in July? Is there such a thing as too late?

In my opinion, get the test. If you haven't fertilized in a month or so, I say go ahead and test now. If you have major corrections to make, it can take a while to get things where they need to be. Better to get started on those now if you can rather than later.

Question 2: Other than time and effort, is there any reason to put down 1lb of N per 1k a month vs. .5lb K per 1k every two weeks?

I cannot answer in the context of the nitrogen blitz plan. However, in general, it is perfectly fine to go with lower, more frequent apps of N. In particular, if you have a low CEC soil, frequent, light applications are the way to go.

 

[Killsocket]

@Killsocket I meant to reply the other day, and then time got away from me.

Question 1: Is it worth it to still get a soil test in July? Is there such a thing as too late?

In my opinion, get the test. If you haven't fertilized in a month or so, I say go ahead and test now. If you have major corrections to make, it can take a while to get things where they need to be. Better to get started on those now if you can rather than later.

Question 2: Other than time and effort, is there any reason to put down 1lb of N per 1k a month vs. .5lb K per 1k every two weeks?

I cannot answer in the context of the nitrogen blitz plan. However, in general, it is perfectly fine to go with lower, more frequent apps of N. In particular, if you have a low CEC soil, frequent, light applications are the way to go.

Awesome thanks for your input. It is more labor (not really - I enjoy doing this stuff) but I really like the idea of splitting up the apps. I do wonder if visually it would be any different?
I'm going to try to do a soil test in the next few weeks.

 

[social port]

I do wonder if visually it would be any different?

There are others (e.g., Ridgerunner) who are far more knowledgeable than me regarding soil nutrition. But my understanding is that you are moving towards making the nutrient consistently available for the soil/plant by making weekly apps.