# Ross' De Anza Zoysia Journal - Inland San Diego



## RossMH (Oct 11, 2020)

Welcome to my journal.

I know nothing about nothing regarding growing healthy grass.

Air-8, 4-1-2, Humic 12, milorganite, blue grass, 16-16-16, crabgrass, Scott's Turf Builder, Nutri-20, DiseaseX are all terms that I know nothing about. It can be overwhelming what to apply when. As a kid, I can remember my dad throwing some fertilizer down in the spring and me mowing it once a week - that's it. However, I not only want to learn, I want to become proficient so my grass looks nice.

Weather
I live just east of La Mesa, California which is just east of San Diego - about 15 miles inland from the ocean. If unfamiliar with SD weather, it's sunnier with warmer days and cooler nights here than on the coast. I have a weather station. Avg highs are:

70s Jan to mid-June
80s mid-Jun to Oct
70s in Nov
65-70 in Dec

Lows are:

40s from mid-Dec to Jan
50s from Feb-Jun
60s from Jul-Oct
50s from Nov to mid-Dec.
The lowest temp has been 35 degrees since 2013.

We average 5 100+ days/year and 40 days in the 90s. Summer is slightly humid (dew points in the 60s) and non-summer is drier and can be amazingly dry during Santa Anas when the humidity drops to 3% - 20%.

We average 12" of rain on 39 days (avg. of 1/3 inch per rainday) with almost all of it falling between Nov-May. So, irrigation is a must.

Grass
I chose De Anza Zoysia as I wanted a thick carpet-like grass that would stand the summer heat, not require a ton of water and would not be as susceptible to weeds as others. De Anza is sold by West Coast Turf and is a child of El Toro cultivar of the japonica line. It is supposed to stay green longer than any other zoysia that can be grown in California. It is the only zoysia sold by them.

Sod
The sod was installed June 29 and we had 80s weather until mid-August since then we've had 46 days >90 including 8 >100. I watered the heck out of the grass, but probably over-watered it after a while when it turned brown in many areas. I also put a bit of sod in my back 40 and go down there 2 or 3 times a week and give it a good hand watering - it looks much better than my lawn!

Included are pics the day the sod was laid and as of today.

That's my introduction. I'll probably post every other week or so. I welcome any and all constructive contributions with the goal of having beautiful grass next summer.

Ross


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## dubyadubya87 (Mar 10, 2020)

I love the color of that variety. What height is it cut at?


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## RossMH (Oct 11, 2020)

Height is 1 3/4". They say the range is .5 - 3". I imagine the .5 would take some extra care if it gets hot. I've read to grow it longer heading into dormancy as it will stay green longer.

Thanks,
Ross


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## dubyadubya87 (Mar 10, 2020)

Looks good at that height. I wouldn't let it grow too much taller, that is if you plan on doing a scalp coming out of dormancy. Makes for a lot more work.


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## RossMH (Oct 11, 2020)

Post #2 - Oct 18, 2020 - Need to green it up

As you can see from the picture, I have some nice green, some ugly brown and some butt-ugly brown.

I watered ~1" on Saturday for the first time since last Sunday. Testing with cans, the irrigation spread the water fairly evenly.

I'm guessing the soil temp will stay >60 until the beginning of December. And temps should remain pleasant (but cooler) through then.

I assume I should put down some fertilizer? I did it for the first time about 5 weeks ago (5-0-2 Dr. Earth Organic).

Any recommendations yes/no and, if yes, then type would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Ross

*Last Week*
Hi/Lo avg: 95/68.
Soil temp: 75.
Rain: 0.0.
Irrigation: 1" once
Height: 1.75"


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## dubyadubya87 (Mar 10, 2020)

With your temps, it's still growing, so it can use it certainly. I wouldn't go too high on the Nitrogen though, no more than .25lbs of N per M.


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## RossMH (Oct 11, 2020)

Dubya (and anyone else),

Would you please recommend a fertilizer? I'd prefer granules. Should I just use Scott's Turf Builder or something else? That Dr. Earth 5-0-2 didn't seem to make one bit of difference when I applied it in September. One of the Scott's has 32 for the N. Seems like I'd spread it pretty thin if I just want to use .25/M.

Also, I feel I have some fungus in the yard as some of the brown is on the green stem. Will that go away or should I also apply DiseaseX.

Thanks and still learning,
Ross


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## dubyadubya87 (Mar 10, 2020)

Turf Builder would be fine, but so would a generic 10-10-10 product. I work in the wholesale turf business, so I encourage you to find a local farmers co-op or even a Site One type place where you can buy pro grade products. It saves a lot of money in the long run and better products. For application rates, I use this:
http://agebb.missouri.edu/fertcalc/
Makes it super easy.
If you're seeing some fungus, for sure hit it with the Disease X. If you post pictures, you might can get it ID'd and an appropriate response to it.


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## RossMH (Oct 11, 2020)

Here is a close-up of the grass that I suspect is diseased. I admit I probably overwatered it. Therefore, I'm not sure if it will clear itself up or if I need to help it along with DiseaseX.

It's still attached to the stem.

Thanks,
Ross


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