# Why is my grass growing like this?



## Ri22o (May 6, 2020)

Not completely sure what I have growing here.

5/17 - Applied N-Ext Bio Stim
5/20 - Applied N-Ext Greene Effect and Micro Greene.
5/22 - Mowed
5/24 - Mowed
5/25 - Threw down fertilizer

House was built in 2016 and backyard seeded with whatever the builder had, not sure what it was.
At some point early on I made the mistake of using K31 for one overseed.
I have since overseeded a couple times with Lesco TTTF.
(I have been having issues with the rear portion of the backyard, which you will see in the first picture below.)

5/28 - I noticed when I let my dog out that there is a lighter, green grass that has grown twice the height of another grass (in just the few days since mowing) in the part of my yard that is doing well and thick and dark. What is the taller, lighter grass and why is it growing so much faster? It's not just in a small area, either. Can anyone help me figure out what is going on?

The pictures below are from the greener area on the left, near the house.


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## greencare (Sep 14, 2019)

I think the general lawn is missing nutrients/fertilizer. Same for the lighter grass, which seem to be just new blades of your main grass. What is the fertilizer you put down, and how much N per 1K sqft?


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

The lawn looks drought stressed. Has it been dry recently?


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## Ri22o (May 6, 2020)

greencare said:


> I think the general lawn is missing nutrients/fertilizer. Same for the lighter grass, which seem to be just new blades of your main grass. What is the fertilizer you put down, and how much N per 1K sqft?


I did a soil test a couple weeks ago, still waiting on results.

I hate to hear that it is missing nutrients/fertilizer because I put a lot of work into it last Fall (obviously without desired results) and have put down two rounds of fertilizer plus a Bio-Stim application this year. I dethatched, aerated, overseeded, and fertilized in September expecting it to be so much better this Spring. I don't know what happened last year but there was just so much dead material in the rear part of the yard. The grass near the house is so much nicer than the rest of the yard.

Why would the lighter, presumably new blades, be growing so much faster than the other blades?

4/14 - A little over .65lbs of Scotts 30-0-4 Turf Builder with Halts.
5/17 - 6oz of Air-8, RGS, D-Thatch, Humic12
5/20 - 6oz of MicroGreene
5/25 - .75lbs of Sta-Green 28-0-4 Weed & Feed.



SNOWBOB11 said:


> The lawn looks drought stressed. Has it been dry recently?


Anything but. Temps have not been overly high except one or two days and we have had a lot of rain. I have a RainMachine irrigation controller and it has been taking all of this into consideration. However, I plan to do a tuna can test this weekend.


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## uts (Jul 8, 2019)

You out down a decent amount of N, but no P and minimal K. Also unclear what your soil pH is which may of may not effect nutrient uptake from the soil regardless of deficiency.

What's the rain and watering/irrigation been in your lawn?


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## Ri22o (May 6, 2020)

uts said:


> You put down a decent amount of N, but no P and minimal K. Also unclear what your soil pH is which may or may not effect nutrient uptake from the soil regardless of deficiency.
> 
> What's the rain and watering/irrigation been in your lawn?


We have had a lot of rain recently, so my irrigation has not been running all that much. The lawn has been getting at least an inch a week, sometimes more because of the rain.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

That looks like ryegrass growing faster than the rest. You likely have some spring flush going on too.

Indy soils are high in pH. New construction is likely very low in P and K. With all this rain, iron will be an issue soon.


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## greencare (Sep 14, 2019)

Ri22o said:


> greencare said:
> 
> 
> > I think the general lawn is missing nutrients/fertilizer. Same for the lighter grass, which seem to be just new blades of your main grass. What is the fertilizer you put down, and how much N per 1K sqft?
> ...


I put down winterizer late last fall but that had very little impact on spring growth. For spring growth, you need fertilizers in spring, because all the fertilizers you put down in fall will be washed/leeched away by the rain/snow, leaving very little for spring. You should see significant improvement in growth by this time next week from your 5/25 fertilizer dose.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

greencare said:


> For spring growth, you need fertilizers in spring, because all the fertilizers you put down in fall will be washed/leeched away by the rain/snow, leaving very little for spring.


This is fairly inaccurate.


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## greencare (Sep 14, 2019)

g-man said:


> greencare said:
> 
> 
> > For spring growth, you need fertilizers in spring, because all the fertilizers you put down in fall will be washed/leeched away by the rain/snow, leaving very little for spring.
> ...


Just speaking from my experience. For example, growth this year was only realized after I introduced fertilizer this spring.


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## Ri22o (May 6, 2020)

g-man said:


> That looks like ryegrass growing faster than the rest. You likely have some spring flush going on too.
> 
> Indy soils are high in pH. New construction is likely very low in P and K. With all this rain, iron will be an issue soon.


Pending the results of my soil test, what would be the best way to get more P and K down since I just applied a round of Nitrogen?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

@Ri22o check the soil remediation guide for some products.

Hopefully you did not use lcn soil test.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

greencare said:


> g-man said:
> 
> 
> > greencare said:
> ...


Ok, this is very different than what you originally stated.


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## troksd (Jul 27, 2018)

Fall fertilization helps grasses/plants store food in the root. Typically result in deeper rooted grasses. If U could only afford to fertilize a cool-season lawn once a year, fall would be the best time. As organic matter (grass clippings, leaves, roots...)breaks down during the spring and summer, the lawn will itself.



greencare said:


> Just speaking from my experience. For example, growth this year was only realized after I introduced fertilizer this spring.


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## Ri22o (May 6, 2020)

g-man said:


> @Ri22o check the soil remediation guide for some products.
> 
> Hopefully you did not use lcn soil test.


I used the Soil Savvy test because I didn't know any better. I plan to use a different test next time.


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## Ri22o (May 6, 2020)

g-man said:


> @Ri22o check the soil remediation guide for some products.
> 
> Hopefully you did not use lcn soil test.


Soil test is back. NPK are horrible, which I figured, but I am surprised the pH is as good as it is.

If I just put down .75lbs .65lbs of Nitrogen, and am doing Bio-Stim for the Micros, will I be fine to put down their prescribed amount or should I find something with less Nitrogen? 3.25lbs of 16-16-16 should be .52lbs and that should put me around 1.15lbs, yea?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Soil Savvy


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## Ri22o (May 6, 2020)

g-man said:


> Soil Savvy


I read that the other day while looking through the forum and realize the Soil Savvy test is not the most ideal, however, it's what I have. My plan is to get a different test at the end of the year so I can see where everything ended up and then another next Spring to see where I need to continue to make adjustments.

I will go off of the yearly recommendations for P/K from Purdue, based off of my test results, and apply accordingly. It looks like .5lb P 6 times a year and 1lb K 6 times a year with some caveats.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

:thumbup: Following the general Purdue recommendations would be better.


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## Jconnelly6b (Mar 4, 2018)

Do you have a local farm and feed nearby? I would imagine you should be able to find a granular poultry litter or corn/soybean meal. This should provide some phosphorus and potassium and help with the bacteria in your soil. From what I can tell you have applied food for the bacteria through the biostim, but nothing organic containing bacteria/microbes. Putting down an organic application could help give your soil some of those micros it desperately needs. Even Milorganite or one of its clones would be beneficial at half bag rate. Milo won't do anything for your low potassium though unfortunately.

New builds are tough because usually the soil spread in the yard is from the foundation, so there are hardly any nutrients in it unless the builder brought in minimum 3" quality topsoil which almost never happens.


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## Ri22o (May 6, 2020)

Jconnelly6b said:


> Do you have a local farm and feed nearby? I would imagine you should be able to find a granular poultry litter or corn/soybean meal. This should provide some phosphorus and potassium and help with the bacteria in your soil. From what I can tell you have applied food for the bacteria through the biostim, but nothing organic containing bacteria/microbes. Putting down an organic application could help give your soil some of those micros it desperately needs. Even Milorganite or one of its clones would be beneficial at half bag rate. Milo won't do anything for your low potassium though unfortunately.
> 
> New builds are tough because usually the soil spread in the yard is from the foundation, so there are hardly any nutrients in it unless the builder brought in minimum 3" quality topsoil which almost never happens.


I'm sure there is something near by.

What I don't understand is it was on its way to doing well, and then went south. I'm guessing it may have been due to not adding enough P and K to already crappy soil and whatever starters I had added were enough to get it just going.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Are you irrigating?


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## bernstem (Jan 16, 2018)

Assuming the Soil Savvy is reasonably accurate (it probably is, but we really don't know), you can assume you are seriously deficient in P and K. Your best bet is to find a pure P and and pure K fertilizer, or a fertilizer low in N, but high in P and K. You don't want to push a ton of Nitrogen in summer heat, though you can push some if you are willing to water more, but you do need an immediate infusion of Phosphorus and Potassium. Apply 1 lb of each ASAP per 1000 square feet, and again in a month. Adding 2 lbs of P and K won't break anything even if their test is way off and you have enough (though the lawn appearance suggests something is seriously missing). Continue light to moderate Nitrogen (0.25-0.5 lbs/month). Re-assess in 2 months and plan a fall or spring soil test with a more traditional lab. Let them know you may have high pH and they will adjust their tests accordingly.

I know you say it is getting enough water, but it does look a lot like there is drought stress.


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## Ri22o (May 6, 2020)

g-man said:


> Are you irrigating?


Yes, when it's not raining.



bernstem said:


> Assuming the Soil Savvy is reasonably accurate (it probably is, but we really don't know), you can assume you are seriously deficient in P and K. Your best bet is to find a pure P and and pure K fertilizer, or a fertilizer low in N, but high in P and K. You don't want to push a ton of Nitrogen in summer heat, though you can push some if you are willing to water more, but you do need an immediate infusion of Phosphorus and Potassium. Apply 1 lb of each ASAP per 1000 square feet, and again in a month. Adding 2 lbs of P and K won't break anything even if their test is way off and you have enough (though the lawn appearance suggests something is seriously missing). Continue light to moderate Nitrogen (0.25-0.5 lbs/month). Re-assess in 2 months and plan a fall or spring soil test with a more traditional lab. Let them know you may have high pH and they will adjust their tests accordingly.
> 
> I know you say it is getting enough water, but it does look a lot like there is drought stress.


Thanks for the info. I've spent the morning going over application rates and recommended yearly application amounts from Purdue and hope I have come up with something that doesn't make me look like too much of an idiot.

Assuming the Soil Savvy test is at least accurate with their ppm counts, Purdue suggests a rate of 6 lb of N, 3 lb of P, 6 lb of K per year. I plan to retest again next Spring with a more trusted testing company.

I know you gave recommendations, but I spent some time going through the numbers and want to at least know if the plan I came up with is anywhere near reasonable. I don't normally run the organic, but thought it wouldn't hurt as a supplement and to get some more organic material in the lawn.

6/6 - 16-16-16 at .5 (Or whatever balanced I can find) 
6/14 - 4-3-0 Organic at .25
6/14 - Bio Stim at 6oz
7/4 - 18-24-16 Starter at .75 P rate (.56 N)
7/12 - Organic at .25
7/12 - Bio Stim at 3oz
8/4 - 16s at .5
8/9 - Organic at .25
8/9 - Bio Stim at 3oz
8/30 - Dethatch, Aerate, Overseed
8/30 - Starter at .75 P rate (.56 N)
9/7 - Organic at .25
9/7 - Bio Stim at 3oz
9/20 - 16s at .5
10/4 - Organic at .25
10/4 - Bio Stim at 3oz
10/31 - 26-0-12 Winterizer at 1

At 100% efficacy I would have 6.4 lb N, 4 lb P, and 2.6 lb K. I would need to add some additional K on its own to get closer to 6lb.


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## Ri22o (May 6, 2020)

I managed to make it there just before they closed and picked up some SOP. Will be putting down a pound.


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## Slingblade_847 (Apr 13, 2020)

I'm shocked nobody commented on the KY31. You can only do so much with that garbage. I for one am preparing for a full renovation all due to KY31. Best guess is it was popular in the 70s when my house was built. You can only get it so green. Gives the lawn the lime color. Up close it sticks out like a sore thumb.


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