Let me save you the time from watching the weather forecast over the next 4 months and we can all just say it is going to be HOT! Yes we will see a few days under triple digits but the majority of them will be above 100 and the Bermudagrass and Paspalum are going to start taking over and pushing the winter Ryegrass out.

We are seeing soil temperatures that are favorable for warm season growth and with a little bit of time you can make this a painless transition process. If you opted not to overseed your lawn last year I am sure by now you’ve mowed the grass plenty of times and are starting to see it develop into a lush turf. The idea is to keep your lawn perfect and not get behind by forgetting to add fertilizer and a great choice with overseeded or non overseeded turf is the Soil Burst 5-15-10. The magnesium, calcium, and iron will jump start your lawn and get it the right nutrients to have a healthy start to the year. Below you will find instructions on making sure you have a good transition and your lawn stays healthy as the weather changes.

Step By Step Transitioning

1. Gradually lower your mowing heights to reduce the turf canopy. Warm season grasses are not shade tolerant and excess ryegrass provides shade. No need to scalp the lawn, just lower the height down and begin to thin out the grass.

2. Lightly verticut the lawn to open up the canopy and let sunlight into the grass below.

3. Be careful of fertilizer rates at this time of the year and stick to slow release products such as Soil Burst 4-0-6, 7-7-7, or 16-0-4. These can be applied in low nitrogen doses and will keep your lawn dark green (1.5 qts/1000 SF).

4. If you have standing water it is a great time to aerify so you can help air and water better infiltrate the soil.

5. Increase your mowing frequency to two times per week to reduce turf canopy.

6. Gradually back off the water in April and May to stress out the ryegrass when soil temperatures reach 64 degrees (usually around mid April). Turning off the water completely will stress out the warm season turf and ryegrass so this is not the optimal approach. Use 70% of your normal water rate.

7. When soil temperatures reach 64 degrees apply Soil Burst 5-15-10 at 20 pounds per 1000 SF to give the grass a jump start on the year.

8. Enjoy the beautiful summer lawn!

Watering

Let’s talk about how much you need to be watering to get your grass growing and properly transitioned. As I have been preaching for the last few years you do not want to just turn your water off for a week to ten days and kill the ryegrass because you are also stunting the growth of the bermudagrass. All grasses need water to survive so cutting off water only causes you to have more issues with your lawn. During the summer you should use between 1” and 1 ½” of water per week and that can be broken up into 3-4 days depending on your soil type. During this time of the year you want to use 70 percent of that amount so your bermudagrass/paspalum thrives and the ryegrass begins to choke itself out. Over a couple weeks of this practice, lower mowing heights, and opening up the turf canopy with a verticutter you will transition very quickly. It does not take much for your warm season grass to take off and begin to grow but if you have too healthy of ryegrass you are putting the equivalent of a shade canopy over the turf.

This is why you don't turn your water off for 7-10 days

Lots of people often ask if verticutting is the same thing as dethatching and the answer is no. While they are similiar the cultural practice of each is slightly different. To verticut a home lawn you would use a self propelled unit that utilizes vertical blades to help thin out the turf canopy. You set this machine to run through the grass leaf tissue and it never affects the root system. Thinning out the turf canopy allows light in, helps the grass use less water, and most of all it gives your grass new growing points.

Photo courtesy of Renothin

Dethatching is the process of removing built up organic matter. This is a process that usually needs to be done every three to four years and it is similiar to a verticut except it cuts much deeper into the soil. it is extremely important when operating this machine that you don’t go so deep that you’re pulling up root mass. Dethatching should be done during the summer months when the grass is actively growing and when you have an extreme spongy feel to your turf.

At this time of the year we battle through some tough visual periods with our lawns but there is no reason to be concerned unless you’re just seeing dirt. The yellow to brown tinge is the ryegrass starting to die out and it takes some time for the bermudagrass or paspalum to overtake it. This is not an instant process and you should keep in mind that having dead material on top of your bermudagrass is providing shade and warm season grasses hate shade. This is why it is good to verticut or rake up any dead material and allow the sunlight to get into the plant so it can grow.

Last but not least remember everyone will go through this painful process including high end million dollar golf courses so don’t worry about seeing some brown grass.

Installing Fresh BOBSod into a Home in Casa Grande

In my last blog I talked about a few weeds that are starting to appear in your lawn that are perennial problems. This week I want to talk about getting down a pre-emergent herbicide on your lawn before all the spring and summer annuals start to show their faces. Weather obviously plays a key role in everything we do concerning turfgrass so it is important to get the timing right. Read the rest of this entry »

Well I haven’t written a blog in a while since everything is normally status quo after overseed until we start to peak into late November. Since most people overseed their lawns for the winter I will touch on that today and give just some brief directions to those that do not overseed as far as water, fertilizer for the winter months but nothing major. The average household drops their overseed around October 1st each year so usually around the 6-8 week mark is when the grass starts to show its first signs of stress. If you followed my previous overseed directions and put down all three applications of fertilizers this will not apply to you because you will be the one with bright green lawn in the pictures above. Now that December is fast approaching and we are certain to get some hard freezes in the next few weeks how do you prevent your lawn from turning that oh so pretty lime green/yellow color that I often see around town? Read the rest of this entry »

It’s November and if we had any leaves on the trees in the desert floor I imagine they would be changing color now that we are finally starting to experience a little bit of the fall season. Most people have either overseeded for the season or decided to let their lawn go dormant for the winter, but if you still wanted to overseed there is still plenty of time. You will not have any issues getting your seed to come up through most of November albeit a little slower than October it will still come up very well and be a nice thick lawn for the winter. I was going to just touch on some of the common questions that I have received so far this season relating to both overseeded and non overseeded turf. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the most common questions during late October/early November is “I overseeded my lawn a few weeks ago and now I need to know how to proceed?” First of all, if you are asking yourself this question that means you take pride in your lawn and you are looking to have a beautiful lawn all winter and spring. If you put the seed down and haven’t thought about what’s next you may just end up with the yellow lawn on the block after we get a couple fall freezes. I have talked about several fertilizers that will work to get your lawn established and I will go over another plan of attack today so you can look beyond the month of October and enjoy your turf all winter long. Read the rest of this entry »

We are quickly approaching the best time to overseed your lawn, but I also know that many people don’t have a choice and need to get their lawn done sooner than later. This can present a few potential problems, but I will give you a few ways to help you get healthy turf if you need to drop seed this weekend. The best time to seed is when night time temperatures dip into the high 60′s, and we start to cool off a little bit during the day. It is always nice to be out of the 100′s before beginning the overseed process, but it’s okay to start prepping now in order to get ready for the season. A couple weeks ago I gave you the easy 1,2,3 fertilizer and seed steps, and today I want to talk a little more about what needs to be done with the prep work.

Read the rest of this entry »

We’re getting closer to the overseeding process! I am sure many of you reading my blog have started to see perennial ryegrass arriving in stores by the truck full, but we are still a little early. It isn’t too early to start some of the initial prep work, but it is still a little hot to drop seed. I realize that some of you won’t have a choice in the timing of overseeding, but if you do have a choice it is best to wait. Today’s blog is going to give you 10 easy steps on how to overseed and establish a great lawn for the winter. I have also attached a short video on doing so. http://www.youtube.com/ Read the rest of this entry »

We’re getting closer to the overseeding process! I am sure many of you reading my blog have started to see perennial ryegrass arriving in stores by the truck full, but we are still a little early. It isn’t too early to start some of the initial prep work, but it is still a little hot to drop seed. I realize that some of you won’t have a choice in the timing of overseeding, but if you do have a choice it is best to wait. Today’s blog is going to give you 10 easy steps on how to overseed and establish a great lawn for the winter. I have also attached a short video on doing so. www.youtube.com

Read the rest of this entry »

I was looking to put in a lawn this month, but I want it to be green this winter. What are my options?

It is fine to go ahead and put a non overseeded lawn in through October, but it is not a wise decision to overseed your lawn if it was put in at this time of the year because you have not given it enough time to establish itself.

I put my lawn in this summer, is it okay to overseed this season?

Read the rest of this entry »

I have had a lot of requests lately to post some updated versions of an optimal fertilizer program and to tailor it to bermudagrass and paspalum, so I will lay out a monthly plan for everyone to follow. I have added a few agronomic practices that should be done during certain time periods. As you read through the lists I am not saying to aerify or verticut every month but giving you good windows to do each. Read the rest of this entry »