# If I was to do a test stripe of extra N weekly with a hand spreader, what would happen?



## Vtx531 (Jul 1, 2019)

I am thinking of doing a test in the backyard northern mix:

I would use a hand spreader to do one stripe on the grass weekly with urea.

Would that stripe be extra green and thick?

Turn brown and dry out?

Get fungus?

What do you guys think?


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## CarolinaCuttin (Sep 6, 2019)

@Vtx531 Depends on the rate but if you did it weekly it will have a shallower root system and be more prone to disease and drought stress. There is a right amount of growth for any turf that is determined by the type of grass, it's use, traffic, etc. Any less or more tends to make your turf weaker. There are diseases for both low N and high N, you want to hit the sweet spot. For lawns (typically just for show) I would err on the side of slightly under fertilizing as opposed to putting too much. A healthy and well-fed lawn should have a desirable green color and continue to grow all through the growing season.

We can argue back and forth about what N fertilization rates are optimal but that can be heavily influenced by soil through the CEC and rate of mineralization of organic nitrogen. What it really boils down to is growth, you want steady, even growth for the best looking turf. Sometimes that means you need to add N, sometimes you need to back off or apply PGRs. Nitrogen fertilization is not an end in itself, it is a tool you can use to manage growth.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

^+1 manage growth.


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