# what would you change or add to this program?



## 123organic (7 mo ago)

what would you change or add to this program for cool season grass in NJ?
Humic , kelp, and fulvic even necessary? Or any other specialty products? I think there's enough iron already in the milorganite so I don't think iron is needed. I want to prevent brown patch too but I usually use the top ranked cultivars against brown patch and don't water too much nor at night but some areas are mystery cultivars I'd like to prevent summer stress/fungi with products possibly.

Around late February applied prodiamine about 7 months protection so that it fades out by mid September and can be overseeded if need be. I usually don't even put pre emergent on the thick turf areas, I prefer to use the least amount of chems and although it shouldn't have a root pruner affect on cool season grasses, if any weeds do happen to pop up they can be spot sprayed.

Early-Mid April about a week before it needs a first cut I broadcast Milorganite and mix in about 0.75 lb 46-0-0 urea per 1,000 (or about 1.3 lb per 1k for bluegrass, plus maybe some lime if the soil is a bit too acidic for bluegrass' preference), and then water it in. Urea for the quick green up to beat the weeds and just to give it green color since milo seems to take a while. Milo for the slow release N plus some phosphorus, plus the beneficial microbes or whatever it does to soil, and to help with clay/sandy soil. I also mix in 0-0-53 sulfate of potash about 0.75 lb per 1k. I definitely don't want to add much urea because with the Spring rain and everything I don't want it to need mowing 2x a week.

A couple weeks later, if there's any broadleaf weeds and no rain forecasted within a couple days, and lawn isn't cut a few days before or after, I spray hi yield triclopyr ester (not on the zoysia areas although I haven't notice it harm it nor harm fine fescue) spiked with a little 3-way Gordon's Trimec.
Usually 1 shot of this kills easier broadleaf weeds even mature ones but ground ivy type things usually need a second app in about 5 weeks.

Then, about 5 weeks after the first fertilizer app I do another of the same Milorganite and 46-0-0 urea but only about 0.5 lb per 1k of urea.
If there's any crabgrass it usually shows around now and is sprayed with Drive XLR8 with MSO. And Sedgehammer with non ionic surfactant if there's any yellow nutsedge. And the broadleaf can be sprayed again now if needed but if it's over 80 degrees I'd just use the 3-way amine and not the ester triclopyr.

Then it's mid summer and I usually skip this fertilizer app, definitely no urea in this hot weather but since it's mulch mowed I usually skip the milorganite now too even though it wouldn't burn anything, but if lawn doesn't seem heat stressed then maybe I'll do another app of just milorganite.

Then in mid September to early October I slice seed if there's any patchy areas and core aerate, usually using high ranked turf type tall fescue cultivars. One last app of milorganite at the time of seeding and if potassium test reads low I'd mix in a bit now also. Then a regular synthetic starter fertilizer right as the seeds start sprouting. Then 1 or 2 small feedings of urea once the new grass is growing.
Then next season it shouldn't need any pre emergent if the seeding went well I and can just spot spray any weeds that might pop up if any through thick tall-mowed fescue, and it would basically only just need the same aforementioned Milorganite + urea + sulfate of potash.

BTW, I wrote milorganite but actually using New jersey's cheaper identical product Oceangro. And one of two of those organic apps I may use Purely Organic Lawn Food which doesn't have phosphorus nor iron but has a bit of Potassium. I prefer this over the biosolids because it's better to use in vegetable gardens also at this time. But either, just wanted to mention that.

I think adding things like kelp and humic will only add maybe ~%8 more vigor and appearance and may be unnecessary if I prefer to keep things minimalist and if the cultivars are already good against brown patch and things like that and lawn isn't overwatered or at night? But I am definitely about to order some kelp product and/or with fulvic and humic for good measure

Another thing is soil quality can be difficult to fix, the bio solids will help sandy/clay soils but also should wait until overseeding in Fall to core and topdress with compost and thereafter mulch mow always to maintain good topsoil, but even then will only amend the top few inches, but that can work, maybe adding lots of worms if there's not any should help some percentage, unless want to till the whole thing and add better soil for a healthier lawn which basically becomes a different topic, heck, if that were the case I'd want to just plug/seed zoysia in summer to keep it minimalist and it might not even need better soil for zoysia to thrive, zoysia basically needs nothing once established, stays thick as anything and there's newer cultivars for darker color if you care about colors, and in shadier spots where zoysia won't thrive can use TTTF or Fine Fescue.


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## 123organic (7 mo ago)

Bump
I basically joined this forum to ask you this
thanks


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## Virginiagal (Apr 24, 2017)

It sounds like you know what you want to do and everything is going well. I'm somewhat dizzy after the last paragraph, which might be a winner in a longest run on sentence contest. Did you have a particular question? One thing I'd recommend is that you put down lime only when the soil test calls for a particular amount of lime.


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