Erk!! Lesson learned

19 years ago

Having discovered the magic of Soybean Meal, I have been applying it quite liberally on my lawn. Great results.

Trouble is, now we are dealing with a major heat wave with very little rain, and my grass is growing like crazy! (as are the weeds).

This is probably stressing the lawn out, since it would normally just quietly turn yellow and wait out the heat. I can't believe I have to cut the grass in 90+ temps! I am leaving things as long as possible but I don't want to add insult to injury and end up having to whack too much off all at once.

I will pay more attention next year. Corn gluten in the spring, maybe some soybean in early summer and then nothing until fall.

Lesson learned :)

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Comments (6)

emj123
19 years ago
Ditto. I applied some for the first time about 2 weeks ago and I've had more growth in this past week (with temps in the high 80s) than I did the entire month of July. I, however, used a regular spreader instead of my broadcast spreader and now have stripes.
fescue_planter
19 years ago
I might recommend maybe using alfalfa to give something the microbes can eat. It has a much lower ultimate nitrogen availability so you won't be cursed by an overly "forced" growing to such an extent. Summer is a great time to keep the soil life growing as long as you keep giving it a little moisture every week or so and some food for it to decompose. Otherwise you're wasting a big portion of the growing season to increase your herd. Remember, the soil comes first- the grass will take care of itself and for many the soil life gets close to dormancy too far into the fall.
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doopstr
19 years ago
So why do you think that having a yellow lawn in summer is better than a green one? Sounds to me like your lawn is getting a nice balanced diet. Why do you think that a green growing lawn in summer means that it stressed?
chris_ont
Original Author
19 years ago
Hmm, good point, now that I think about it.
It would seem to me that trying to grow in this heat is stressful to the plant - then again, if it were stressed, it wouldn't be looking so happy. Hmm...
Maybe *I* am stressed by this (what with all the mowing :). It requires more water to keep it looking like this - now that it looks so nice I just want to keep it looking that way :)
So I guess the yellow lawn is more environmentally friendly! :)
Then again, it's growing rather thickly and is probably more efficient in keeping the soil cool and moisture in than a dormant lawn would. More stuff to ponder....

I went outside early this morning and walked around barefooted on the cool dew, pretending to inspect my gardens. What a treat!
billhill
19 years ago
I had to cut my grass today. I love my green grass growing in this major heat wave Mid-Michigan- Compost - grains - legumes - and a little water.

Bill Hill
deerslayer
19 years ago
If you have a KBG lawn, keep in mind that KBG goes dormant because of lack of water not heat. Even though we have had many 90 degree days, the KBG lawns in Northern Illinois have not gone dormant this year because of the abundant moisture we have received.

Adequate Moisture + Fertilizer + Warm Temperatures = Plant Growth

-Deerslayer