# Lawn Care Guides



## Jeff_MI84 (Sep 28, 2020)

This off-season I want to expand my knowledge on fertilizers, fungicides or any basic knowledge to continue to improve. What books, websites or guides would you recommend?


----------



## cavince79 (Jun 18, 2019)

Jeff_MI84 said:


> This off-season I want to expand my knowledge on fertilizers, fungicides or any basic knowledge to continue to improve. What books, websites or guides would you recommend?


I recommend www.thelawnforum.com.


----------



## Jeff_MI84 (Sep 28, 2020)

@cavince79 naturally I use this all the time. I mean more along the lines of physical copies of stuff. I look at Michigan State University publications as well.


----------



## Thick n Dense (May 7, 2019)

Look into learning chemistry. 
Chemistry is the key into fertilizers/soil health.


----------



## Jeff_MI84 (Sep 28, 2020)

@Thick n Dense ahhh my least favorite subject in high school and college. Coming back to haunt me. Darn.


----------



## Harts (May 14, 2018)

@Jeff_MI84 while I do recommend taking in as much information as possible, there is such a thing as paralysis by analysis. At the end of the day, you need to figure out a program that works for you and then stick with it, tweaking things as you go. Consistency is the key to having a great lawn.

As an example, I see a lot of members over analyzing their soil tests and spending time trying to chase perfect nutrient numbers. While this is certainly their prerogative (and yours, should you choose to go this route), you can still have a tier 3 lawn without ever doing a soil test. I am not advising against one, I'm simply stating that it isn't 100% required.

Sticking to the fundamentals and having a solid pre-em and fungicide program will do wonders for your lawn.


----------



## Jeff_MI84 (Sep 28, 2020)

@Harts thanks for the input. I have not had a soil test since before I had sod put in. I think since I'm beginning to do everything on my own next year it would be smart to have at least a general idea with what I'm working with.

I would like to have at minimum a basic understanding of the soil test and know what's lacking or what there is too much of. Micro and macro nutrients is something I am probably better off trying not to understand for a while. They do maybe 6 applications of fertilizer per season and the thing I want to learn about before practical application is spoon feeding. Going into the spring, at some point I'm going to post what products were used, that way I can get recommendations of either different products or adjusting the timing of it. I would say that at best I have a tier II lawn.

I have every invoice from the fertilizing company from the last two years. They include the weight of every product applied and I can use that starting out and adjust if needed. All of the products they have applied came from Site One.

When the weather permits, I stay on top of mowing and this year I got my irrigation down. I took the time to learn how much each zone puts out with the new system. So my biggest hurdle is just learning what fertilizers when and figuring out how nitrogen and when. I've never done or had done a proper fall blitz.


----------



## JohnK (Sep 28, 2021)

There is a good "101" level college textbook about turfgrass that I found very accessible and interesting. It's called Fundamentals of Turfgrass Management by Nick Christians. It goes into a lot of detail on grass types, growth patterns, fertilization and micronutrients, and maintenance. Not cheap at $120, but you may be able to find it used or get a copy from a library.


----------



## Virginiagal (Apr 24, 2017)

Purdue has a lot of info online:
https://turf.purdue.edu/pubcat/maintaining-a-home-lawn/
As does Penn Stare:
https://extension.psu.edu/trees-lawns-and-landscaping/turfgrass-and-lawn-care

You are a Michigan resident so ought to be able to access their TGIF files if you want to research something:
https://tic.lib.msu.edu/home


----------



## Jeff_MI84 (Sep 28, 2020)

@Virginiagal thank you.


----------



## Frankzzz (Aug 23, 2021)

Cool Season Lawn Guide -
https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1595


----------



## Thick n Dense (May 7, 2019)

Another way to look at this is to research batteries.

The soil is a dried electrolyte and when you water the lawn it allows current to flow through the wet soil into the plant. 
Think about all the micros: Zinc, Boron, Iron, Magnesium, copper, sulfur, Potassium, lithium.
Learn about Silicon semiconductors, P type and N type. These are doped to allow Electrons or electron holes to flow freely through. 
Nitrogen, Phospourus and Boron are used to create P and N type semi conductors... hmmmmm.

Carbon <> Graphene <> Best electricity conductor in the planet = Organic matter/Carbon X

All these materials use to grow plants are also used in electronics/batteries coincidence?

People will say this is whack but, I question the narrative of what we've been taught.


----------

