Late spring fertilizer

10 years ago

last modified: 10 years ago

I notice there's people coming out of the woodwork with fungal issues, especially brown patch. Me included. Leaving the house this morning, I noticed that the lawn in the front was full of dew, and since the house is oriented towards the west, it will shade the front lawn until about 11:30. I'm fairly certain the grass will remain wet until then, which probably sets me up for conditions very favorable for fungal disease development with not much that can be done about it . I'm sure a lot of other people are in similar situations, conditions just favor fungal activity right now.

Under these circumstances, I have to question the common advice of fertilizing cool season grasses in late May anywhere south of the Mason-Dixon line. Seems like a great way to shoot yourself in the foot, that nitrogen becomes available exactly as conditions become perfect for brown patch. Slow release/organic nitrogen seems like would be even worse, you can't control the timing and the last thing you would want is nitrogen mid-June. But the same advice is repeated over and over again, not just here, but on the other forums as well.

NCSU on the other hand, recommends not fertilizing after March 15th, presumably because of the brown patch issue. Becky posted an excellent article also from NCSU which recommends starving the grass of nitrogen in late spring to boost brown patch resistance, while at the same time just accepting the yellowing and thinning that comes along with that.

At the same time, fertilizing in March does cause a massive growth spurt which leads to having to mow every 2-3 days.

So what is the correct answer? Organic only March and April? No fertilizer at all? I'd like to get everyone's opinions on this.

Featured Answer

beckyinrichmond

10 years ago

Here are VA Tech's recommendations. It basically says a small amount of nitrogen can be applied May 15-June 15 on cool season grasses, but no nitrogen is fine also. All other fertilization should be done in the fall. Nitrogen doesn't cause brown patch; it just promotes new growth that could be vulnerable to attack. I put down some Milorganite (2/3 bag rate) in May and am going to do 1/3 bag rate soon and that will be it until late summer.

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Comments (6)

dchall_san_antonio
10 years ago
If I remember correctly practically everyone with disease issues has been watering very incorrectly. Of course rain is a factor. I got about 15 inches of rain in the past month...and I have a spot of disease in a low spot where I get roof runoff. But when I see someone with dead spots and who waters every day in the spring, the disease rockets go off in my mind.

The Memorial Day tradition for fertilizing was firmly in place before El Nino and La Nina became household catch phrases. Whether one of those is in effect for you, it does seem like summer heat is coming early for many people. It's hard to anticipate what your climate will be in any individual month. Having said that I think Memorial Day was picked to give puh-LENTY of margin for fertilizing after the spring flush of new growth. People in the warmer climates should probably watch the grass and let that tell them when to fertilize. In the fall we try to watch for the grass to stop growing before winterizing. Perhaps we should watch for a similar effect in the spring. Perhaps we should watch for the time the grass goes from overdrive to drive, wait a week, and then fertilize. Is that a good approach? And is that asking too much for the homeowner to be able to manage?
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User
Original Author
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
@beckyinrichmond

I have read and agree with VA Tech's recommendations. I think that for a lawn that was properly fertilized in the fall 1/4 to 1/2 pound of nitrogen would be maximum for the transition zone. I'm running on no fertilizer right now and it seems fine, though color has been better.

On the other site the "schedule" article indicates 1 pound of nitrogen(Vigoro etc.) in mid-May for cool season grasses. Sure, that's fine for anyone living in New Joysey like Daniel, but it's irresponsible advice towards anyone living further south. I just think we need to change that narrative.
User
10 years ago
You need to know why you are feeding the grass (or more specifically, why it is recommended). Is it simply for cosmetic reasons or is their a biological purpose?
User
Original Author
10 years ago
In my opinion during this period it should be fed for biological purposes only - it needs nitrogen for photosynthesis - which is why I'm saying 1/4 to 1/2 pound of nitrogen or as much as you can give it without stimulating much growth.
zart312
10 years ago
So far since March I've been hitting the lawn bi weekly with bag rate Milo apps. Along with April and May it got hit with 10-10-10 since I hadn't got any sop yet. I've also put alfalfa pellets down last month and am doing either that or cracked corn this month. Probably this weekend actually.

So far it's been so good. Only trouble spots I've got are there from last year still or dead spots from where I've killed so many weeds that it left brown spots. But the lawn looks the best it's looked since my wife and I bought the house.