# Yellowish Tint - Tall Fescue



## Eric67101 (Aug 4, 2019)

Hello all,

I am fairly new to yard care and moved into my house last August. I have tall fescue and a sprinkler system. We have hot summers here in Kansas, July had several days over 100 degrees and average temp was over 95. Very little rain in July but I was watering each section for 20-25 minutes 3 or 4 times a week. I noticed my yard is not as deep green as some of the neighbors and am curious what it could need. I put 28-0-03 fertilizer down in the spring by just using a hand spreader. Probably not very uniformed. I did not overseed or aerate at all. The grass on the north side of my house (2nd photo) grows very well and is a deep green. The rest of the yard that is not shaded, has stopped growing almost completely this summer and has a lot of brownish blades. I also have clumps of thick dark green grass.

Do I need more nitrogen? Is this a water issue?


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## tgreen (Oct 20, 2018)

Need more info. Why is there a straight line in your front yard between the dark green and light green grass. Did you sod this?


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## Eric67101 (Aug 4, 2019)

I think you are looking at my neighbors yard, no difference on my side. I believe my sod was put in back in 2014. My neighbor has been working on his side but not sure when it was sodded


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## tgreen (Oct 20, 2018)

OK, I see now. That is the shadow from your house, my bad. This could be chlorosis from excessive watering. I'm guessing your neighbors are not watering as often? You are in Kansas so I would wait until mid september and start hitting it with nitrogen. Try to get down 3 lb's of nitrogen between september and late november. It's limited information so this is just my best guess. Go with organic for the first two apps, if you can and then go synthetic with the last app around thanksgiving. Ask questions if this doesn't make sense.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

This lawn needs nitrogen. It looks like it has dog pee spots on the side (darker green).


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## corneliani (Apr 2, 2019)

My thoughts exactly @g-man . And a good dose of potassium while at it.


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## Eric67101 (Aug 4, 2019)

@tgreen thanks. I was wondering if I was over-watering. I have cut that back this month so far. You recommend 3 lbs of nitrogen. Is that per 1,000 sq ft? I will need to research for the right type of what you recommend. Thank you @g-man and @cornelliani too. Interesting, I dont have a dog but I wonder if the neighbors is out using my yard.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Do not do 3lb at once. It will kill your lawn.

Since your lawn look to be deficient in nitrogen, you can do 0.5lb of N/ksqft now. I'm going to recommend something I don't normally do without a soil test. Use 10-10-10 fertilizer that you will find at home Depot/Lowe's. Apply evenly at 5lb per ksqft and water it in.


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## tgreen (Oct 20, 2018)

Eric67101 said:


> @tgreen thanks. I was wondering if I was over-watering. I have cut that back this month so far. You recommend 3 lbs of nitrogen. Is that per 1,000 sq ft? I will need to research for the right type of what you recommend. Thank you @g-man and @cornelliani too. Interesting, I dont have a dog but I wonder if the neighbors is out using my yard.


Yes, that's lb's per thousand sqf. You could do 0.5lb's now as gman said, that's probably the best idea. I would use an organic now such as milorganite. Milorganite is 6-4-0, for example, so you would use about 8 lb's of product per thousand. I would then come back in about four weeks with a full pound of organic, or 16 lb's. Same thing again six weeks after that. Then, around thanksgiving, put down one more pound of N but this time use a synthetic. I use Uflexx which is like 48-0-0. If you go that route, you need to be very confident that your spreader can be fairly precise in laying only 2 lb's per thousand.

Another cheaper and fine alternative is to use all synthetic fertilizer starting in mid september. You can do some research on the forum here or on internet for products. I would just look at home depot or place like that if you want to go synthetic. Same idea though, run 1 lb nitrogen per thousand. I would not run a synthetic right now though and would only do organic due to the heat. You don't want to cause a growth flush in early august by using a fast release synthetic fertlizer. You are potentially inviting disease/ fungus.


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## SoilSecrets (Apr 12, 2019)

I would not go with Milorganite because the product has no potassium and given what appears to be chlorosis from the pics I think Gman is right in the fertilizer recommendation. Try to find an organic fertilizer. The potassium will help rebuild the cells walls of the plant; contribute to efficient use of Nitrogen and improve overall hardiness of the plant.


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## tgreen (Oct 20, 2018)

@Eric67101 you mentioned nearby lawns are greener than yours and I can see the straight line between yours and the neighbors so I don't think you have a potassium deficiency or soil problem. Would not hurt to get the soil tested though. All of us are guessing, me included. A half pound of 10-10-10 or a half pound of milo is probably not a make or break deal so just pick one and go. Let us know what you do and how it goes.


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## Eric67101 (Aug 4, 2019)

@tgreen thanks for everyone's help and advise. I picked up a couple bags of 10-10-10 and plan on putting 1/2 lb down later this week. It is supposed to cool down below 90 and we have some light rain coming. I plan on doing another 1/2 lb of 10-10-10 maybe early september. Then starting October, I will pick up the heavier synthetic stuff with high nitrogen content. Do a 1LB spread and then another 1Lb spread a month later.


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## Eric67101 (Aug 4, 2019)

Off topic, but how large does my yard look? 7.5K? 10K?

thanks,
Eric


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

In the cool season guide (in my signature) I posted to an online tool to measure from satellite views. Otherwise grab a tape measure or use a 25ft hose, but don't guess.


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## Eric67101 (Aug 4, 2019)

@g-man Wow that works great. Just under 6000. Thank you so much


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## Eric67101 (Aug 4, 2019)

It has been a couple of weeks and I only put down 1/2 lb of nitrogen (used 10-10-10). Should I wait a while to put down the other 1/2 lb? Or do so now and then put 1 Lb down in September and another 1 lb in October?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

You can do 0.5lb of N/ ksqft every 2 weeks.

Improvements from the first application?


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## Eric67101 (Aug 4, 2019)

@g-man Yes definitely, Hard to see in the photos but I am starting to see some dark green areas that are coming up. I will keep updating and put some more photos up.


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## Eric67101 (Aug 4, 2019)

I have a ton of these little (crickets/grasshoppers?) in my yard. Could they be the cause of any issues? I just finished mowing and several dozen flew onto my driveway from the grass.


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