This has been one very mild winter so far and with the early break in the temperatures we are starting to see the emergence of some weeds. While most people will not really begin to have a war with the weeds for a few weeks I have started to notice Poa Annua popping up in several neighborhood’s, parks, and fields. If you’re not familiar with Poa Annua is can be an annoying weed that is spread by the seeds it produces. These seeds can be picked up on shoes, blown in from the wind, come in from the water, and several other ways so keep an eye out for it and pick it as it comes up. Here is a picture of what Poa Annua typically looks like in a lawn area.

It’s a well known fact that the best defense against weeds is to have a good dense stand of grass. If you have followed my previous tips and have been fertilizing on schedule, your lawn is likely thick, lush green and is in perfect shape to fight off weeds. If you are a little behind on your fertilizer applications now is a great time to catch up. You can use our “Seasonal Booster 7-7-7” to help thicken up your lawn and prevent the weeds from encroaching in the open areas. It is very different to control weeds in lawns that are overseeded with ryegrass versus lawns that are left dormant for the winter. I will touch on both. First it is always best to practice weed management by hand pulling weeds before using unnecessary herbicides. If your lawn is being over taken with weeds or is too much to hand pick and you have to apply a herbicide, ALWAYS READ THE LABEL FIRST, AND APPLY AS DIRECTED. I cannot say this enough because it is very easy to injure your ryegrass or underlying bermudagrass by exceeding the label rates. If the label says 4oz/ 1000 SF it does not mean if you apply 8 oz/ 1000 SF that it will die twice as fast. What will die twice as fast is your lawn so follow the instructions carefully.

As I said earlier we are starting to see the emergence of annual bluegrass or as most people know it “Poa annua.” Poa annua is a high seed producing grass that likes wet compacted soils. We often start to see it emerge after rain storms but it is also very common in areas that retain moisture such as retentions or low areas in turf stands. Poa is a light yellow colored bunch weed with seed heads that multiply very quickly. Most people think that by mowing their turf lower they can rid the lawn of Poa, but since it tolerates low mowing heights and wet soils a good way to manage the problem is to keep you’re watering on the conservative side and try to stress it out. While it can tolerate heat up to about 100 degrees it does become weak and easy to pull when it is stressed. Since it is a bunch grass it can be pulled out fairly easy but make sure you get the roots and all when removing it or it will come right back on you. Another option is to let your lawn grow a little longer so the Poa annua can be seen well and really spend some time pulling it out. At the longer height it is easier to spot and it is a little weaker than when the grass canopy is too dense. When you’re mowing the lawn at this time of the year and Poa is present make sure you’re bagging the grass so the seed heads do not escape back into the lawn. If you do have Poa, there are very few chemicals that will treat it, and none are labeled for homeowner use. The best way to control it is to keep it in a confined area and hand pick it out before it spreads. Since Poa Annua is a cool season grass by nature and the only chemical controls are herbicides that kill all cool season grasses they touch, they cannot be used safely until transition time in April or May. Many golf courses and landscape areas transition there courses or lawn areas back to Bermudagrass by spraying out the ryegrass in May and these chemicals also treat and take care of Poa Annua.

In the next few weeks we will start to see Broadleaf’s appear but the nice thing is they’re much easier to control than Poa Annua. Some of the most common weeds that will start to appear soon are clover, mallow, and mustards. Most broadleaf’s are easy to control with a post emergent herbicide but it is best to be preemptive and use a pre-emergent around the middle of February to keep them from showing up. If some do sneak by you there are several options and when selecting a herbicide it is always best to make sure the chemicals contain one of the following active ingredients depending on the type of weed. (2,4-D, Trichlorpyr or Clopyralid) Clover is tougher to kill than dandelions so different active ingredients are necessary depending on the weed. Make to read the label about what weeds are actually controlled by the product. As I said most broadleaves are easy to control and here is a picture of a broadleaf weed.

If in past year’s your lawn has been taken over by Crabgrass and Goosegrass it is really time to look at your fertilization program. These are typically a result of a poor turf stand which has resulted in these weeds encroaching into the open areas of your lawn. These weeds generally will start to emerge between the middle of February and into early March. There are pre-emergents that work well to control these but timing is essential. Some of the best products out on the market are Dimension and Barricade but as with most products these must be applied by a licensed applicator. Since it can be very tricky to get the timing perfect or to get all the crabgrass and goosegrass before it emerges you can safely have MSMA applied to the plant to help control the problem. This will need to be applied by a licensed applicator and after a few treatments the problems should resolve itself if you’re maintaining a healthy lawn. If you’re behind on your fertilizer applications make sure to catch up before it is too late. Keep applying the Soil Burst 7-7-7 and 16-0-4 and get your lawn as healthy as possible. Spending $15 every 21-28 days is much cheaper than $200 pesticide applications. These are some of the nastiest weeds out there and it doesn’t take much for them to take over your lawn so make sure to stay on top of them. I have attached pictures of Crabgrass and Goosegrass to help you identify the emergence of them in your lawn areas.

For those of you who didn’t overseed your bermudagrass I advise putting down a pre-emergent herbicide such as Barricade or Dimension in late February to control weeds summer annuals from starting to emerge in your lawn. Our winter has been warmer than normal with very few freezes so I don’t advise making any late season round-up applications to kill emerging weeds in your dormant turf. I will talk more about pre-emergents in the upcoming weeks and give you plenty of time to get what you need to have the best lawn in the neighborhood. These will be applied when the temperatures dictate us to use them and this is generally around the middle to end of February. If you’ve been putting down your Soil Burst applications I am sure you’re looking at a lawn like this right now. Have a great week!

So just how important is the soil prep? Soil prep is actually the most important step in the operation because having a compacted or poorly draining soil will result in a chlorotic lawn with a shallow root system. A shallow root system will end up costing you double in water, fertilizer, and every afternoon during the summer months you can bet it will be your lawn that needs water first. A properly prepped lawn will allow for a deep root system and even during the hot summer months allow you to water just 3 times week. I know some of you are watering 7 days a week and when you don’t you start to see your lawn shrivel up and that is a direct result of poor water infiltration and shallow roots. We need to learn to train the roots to grow deep and they cannot even begin that process if they can penetrate the soil.

Okay, the first step is going to be to rent a tiller and start to turn over the soil. This can be very time consuming if you have a clay soil or very rocky conditions but in those cases this is even more important. If you’re simply changing lawn varieties after a couple years or you just recently tilled your yard then you can skip this step but it is always good to do while the ground is exposed. Rototiller’s are available at most rental stores and you can expect to spend about $80-$100 to rent it for an entire day. The goal of the tiller is to turn the soil to a 6-8 inch depth. This can be quite the challenge in some parts of town so you may need to go a few directions to make this happen. As the rototiller’s teeth penetrate into the soil it will open up the soil surface which allows for better water and air infiltration. After turning the soil over one time and getting it to your desired depth you will want to mix 50 pounds per 1000 SF of gypsum into the soil and till it in. The gypsum is not a fast acting product but it will loosen the soil over time. The gypsum will work its way through the soil and help improve air flow into the ground. Gypsum is a relatively inexpensive product and you can apply more than 50 pounds if you have really poor soil conditions but be advised that it will take about 6-7 weeks to break down in the soil before it can react and help loosen the soil. you can expect to spend around $10-$15 for a bag of gypsum so this is a cheap part of the process.

Now that the soil has been loosened it is the perfect time to put in that state of the art irrigation system. Head down to a irrigation store like Sprinkler World and have them help you with the plans and layout for your backyard. Once you have laid out the system it is time to trench the yard. You will trench out the irrigation sysytem to about a 4-6 inch depth and lay the pipe from the water supply line to the valves. The number of valves necessary will depend on the amount of sprinklers, water flow, types of sprinklers, and spacing. I will not go into detail on this but I would advise for more information you visit your local irrigation store or consult a landscape professional to help carry out this step.

Once your sprinkler system has been put in it is best to leave the swing joints capped where the sprinkler heads will go until your final grade is established. Most of the soils in Arizona have a high clay content so it is best to create a better growing medium and sand is your best option. We generally have pretty poor soils in Arizona so it is nice to use a washed mortar sand or a higher grade sand with a mixture of medium fine sand particles to help with drainage and root growth. If you already have a sandy profile you don’t need to add any sand unless it is for leveling but try not to put a different type of sand over top that would create a potential layering issue. Lots of landscapers use wood mulch, a topper or sod mix and these are okay but remember that they hold water and that does not allow your roots to grow deep so sand is a better option.

One of the issues with mulch is it keeps moisture in the top of the soil profile which results in short roots becasue they don’t have to grow deep to get water. You can put down as much sand as you would like and the more the better, but an extremely sandy profile does limit your nutrient holding capacity so if you are going 6 inches or more I would incorporate a little peat in to the mix as well. You can go with a 85-90 percent sand mix that is 10-15 percent peat. After you have put the sand down you will smooth out the surface with a 2 x 4 or drag the area smooth with a mat. It is important to remember to water the sand for a couple days to fix any settling that may occur. When you’re establishing your finished grade remember that you should be ½ inch below where you will set your sprinkler heads. The sod you purchase will come with a 1/2″ of soil and with your sprinklers set 1/2″ above grade the grass will match up perfectly. Now that the sprinklers are in and the grade is done it is time to put down a starter fertilizer. A great starter fertilizer and a safe fertilizer to use throughout the year is the Soil Burst 5-10-15 available from Western Sod and West Coast Turf. You can order it from us directly or purchase it online at www.westcoastturf.com. This can be delivered with your sod and applied to the soil surface a few minutes before you put the sod down with the easy to use shaker cap. The Soil Burst should be applied at 10-20 pounds per 1000 SF as a starter fertilizer and can be used to feed your lawn throughout the year.
Once the soil is prepped it is time to select your sod. Remember to read about all the different types of grasses, maintenance requirements, and decide what works best for you. There are so many great choices for the desert southwest including several bermudagrasses including BOBSod or the popular new Seashore Paspalum.

When the prep is all done and you order from West Coast Turf you can be assured to have a lawn that looks just like the field we put in before the Rose Bowl this year.

1. During the winter months the soil temperatures often drops down far too low to allow for nutrient uptake and retention in the plant. A foliar application allows the fertilizer to get into the grass plant leaves and it is translocated down to the root system for plant uptake.

2. There are three different foliar products and these are designed to help promote root and shoot growth, and get nutrients such as calcium and magnesium into the plant to get a quicker green up.

3. Iron, Magnesium, Calcium, and Magnesium are the kick starters for grass and these nutrients are essential for plant growth all year round. Iron can be found in many products but be careful because it will stain everything it touches. The Soil Burst products were designed to be non-staining so you don’t have to worry about limestone, flagstone, or getting rust spots all over your walkways.

4. The granular 5-15-10 is a great starter fertilizer or pre-plant for a new sod application. It will mix well into the soil and become viable if done during tillage. As the soil temperature warms up you can use this for spring green up, anytime throughout the summer, and as a late fall fertilizer. I highly recommend using this before any new sod application.

5. The Soil Burst line can be ordered online through www.westernsod.com or www.westcoastturf.com, picked up from Sprinkler World and select Ace Hardware locations. Our Scottsdale farm offers sod, fertilizer, and seed pickups. For directions and office hours 888-454-TURF.

6. You want a product that is easy to apply with no mixing and will ensure the correct amount of fertilizer without damaging grass. These products come with the easy to use hose adapter and the granular has a shake top lid making life much easier and saves you money from buying back pack sprayers that break down quickly.

7. The foliar fertilizers are $14.95 per bottle and the granular starter fertilizer is $19.95 per container. Sod can be picked up from the farm for $.29 SF, please call ahead for availbility.

Take a look at the short video on Soil Burst and if you have any questions please email them to me at info@westernsod.com.

Thank you and have a great holiday!

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?

Yellow Lawns

Some people feel that having a yellow lawn is inevitable once we start to get cold but then how is it possible that the golf courses, resorts, and many homeowners are able to keep their beautiful color all winter? They have learned over careful trials that the granular fertilizers just don’t react well in the soil during the winter months to green up a lawn and you are throwing your money away on high nitrogen products during the winter months. The winter months are all about spoon feeding and applying the appropriate nutrients to allow your grass to grow. I am not saying that no granular will work but outside of putting down a starter fertilizer under new sod there is not one that I would use from November-March to try and increase growth. I am a huge proponent of finding the right combination of fertilizers that are cost effective and will do their job. At this time of the year the Soil Burst products are extremely effective for helping get growth and color when it is cold outside. Did you know that Zinc and Magnesium are essential for a grass plant to maintain color, not just nitrogen and iron? Not all foliar products are created equal as some are just straight nitrogen, iron, or a combo of N-P-K but are they the right blend? Just because a product is a balanced fertilizer such as 10-10-10 it doesn’t mean it is right for your lawn and that’s why there are three different types of Soil Burst products. (16-0-4, 7-7-7, and 4-0-6) You could buy just one of the Soil Burst products and effectively get color but to maintain plant health I recommend spraying with one of the three products monthly. We are talking about a total of $45 to treat your lawn for the winter and keep it green or you can buy three bags of granular fertilizer at $20/each and wait for the excessive growth in March when the soil warms up. Golf Courses, Resorts, our sod farms all use a program and through soil testing, tissue analysis and other studies they determine exactly what nutrients are necessary to keep the grass in tip top shape from the roots to the shoots.

This is what your lawn should look like at this time of the year but what do you do if you already have a yellow lawn? Is it too late to try and fix the issue? No way, it is only going to get worse as the temperatures drop so it is time to get out there and spray the lawn. It takes about ten minutes to spray 1000 SF of lawn and all you need to do is hook up the easy to use applicator (comes with the product) to your garden hose and spray in a figure 8 pattern over the entire lawn as evenly as possible. If you decide to just use a straight iron product such as Ironite be careful since it will stain your walks, patios, and anything it touches. The three Soil Burst products contain Iron but they are all completely non-staining so a little overlap onto the walks is not going to be problematic. There are lots of options out there and I just want you to know what we are using for the grass that is sent out to you in the the form of sod. If you are using other products make sure you check the labels to see how they compare.

Dog Spots

If you are like me then you have a pet that wouldn’t dare pee on the bushes but loves to pee in the lush green grass causing the nice little yellow spots all over the lawn. I treat these areas just like a divot on a tee box at a golf course by removing the dead material above and mixing up some BOBSeed ryegrass and sand and pouring it into the divot. These areas don’t need extra water to grow but with your normal watering cycles they will fill in over time. The seed won’t pop as quickly as it did in October but be patient and the areas will fill in and don’t worry your dog will find another beautiful piece of grass to kill in the meantime.

Watering during the winter

Most people have established their ryegrass pretty well at this point and the roots are starting to spread out making the grass plant stronger so it is a perfect time to really cut back on the water. From November-February you can get away with watering 2-3x per week for 20-25 minutes each cycle. If you already have a compacted soil surface and with the colder ground temperatures water isn’t infiltrating the soil you should have someone come over and aerify the lawn. You can aerify the lawn year round and there is no reason that you need to fill in the holes, just let the air into the plant. If you have an extremely compacted soil it would be great to get some deeper tines put in the ground but they are not always available so to help alleviate the problem this often needs to be done a couple of times in a six month period to really help. I always recommend aerifying your lawn every 1-2 years and more often when the grass is dying from the compacted earth. Here is a picture of a compacted lawn that resulted in a poor overseed.

If you have a non overseeded lawn you need to water about once per month through the winter for around 60-90 minutes to help keep moisture in the ground. If we receive timely rains then this step is often unnecessary and you can get away with leaving your irrigation clock off all season long. There is no need to fertilize during the winter and your last application of the Soil Burst 4-0-6 can be applied anytime before we get our first frost to help the root structure during the winter months.

I thought I would keep it short and simple today and as I see more issues arise I will address areas of concern. If you have questions please email them to me at info@westernsod.com and you can also attach pictures to this if there is something you would like me to look at. You can find the Soil Burst products at several Ace Hardware stores and Sprinkler World locations. Look for the bottle above and rememner there are three formulations. (16-0-4, 7-7-7, and 4-0-6) If you are missing my running blog updates you can check out the site at www.mcdowellmountainman.com and read about how I did a few weeks ago during my last hundred miler in Fountain Hills, AZ.

Our overseeded sod will be available at the farm on October 18th.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Jay

Just like when you put your initial lawn, the prep work is actually more important than the grass itself. If you skimp on this step or try and go the cheap route it will come back to haunt you. If you read my previous blogs I suggested that you let your summer lawn grow up a little higher than normal so when you verticut and scalp the grass down you are actually just taking the lawn to a normal height versus digging into the dirt. You don’t do yourself or your lawn any good by continually scalping it down to the ground with the expectation that it will come back strong every spring. While it seems like it should, you could end up with a year like we just had that was horrible for the transition process. If you want to know what made this year so difficult for so many golf courses, landscapers, and homeowners it was the inconsistent spring temperatures. We never really had the hot weather early and it allowed the ryegrass to stick around much later than normal shading out the underlying summer grass. As I have said quite a few times, shade is the biggest enemy for your summer lawn and ryegrass is just like having a tree on top of it if it is still strong in late May and early June.

Once you let the lawn grow up to the longer height run a verticut or dethatcher (very high setting) if you cannot find a rental place with the verticut. This will open up the grass plant and allow the seed and water to get down into the grass. Every time you scalp the lawn you close the turf canopy and it makes it tougher and tougher for the seed to get down into the thatch layer. The next crucial step is to gradually lower your mowing heights so you can reduce some of the top growth. You are actually just mowing to a height a notch or two below your normal summer height. Now run the verticut one more time over the lawn in the opposite direction to put grooves in the soil and give the seed a place to go. You can clean up the verticut debris by doing another clean up pass with the mower.

Many of you are going into the overseed season knowing that your lawn is so compacted from years and years of traffic, or just the amount of clay in the soil and it is a great time to aerify the lawn. This can be done now prior to the overseeding process to open up the soil and allow for better water infiltration and it also aids in the efficiency of the roots taking up fertilizer. This is a job that is best hired out, but before they start make sure all the sprinkler heads have been marked (flagged or painted) and they go around those areas. If you have already planted ryegrass and compaction and standing water are clearly an issue wait until mid November and aerify the lawn before we get any heavy freezes that would keep the tines from getting good penetration into the soil.

Now many of you have already dropped seed or will be dropping seed this upcoming weekend and the biggest concern you are going to have is with the bermudagrass or paspalum coming back and filling in the space between ryegrass leaf blades. It is often pretty difficult to tell what is bermudagrass and what is ryegrass if you have a finer type turf, but once we get out first freeze it will be pretty evident with the little brown golf ball sized spots all over your yard. The warm season turf is still so strong at this time of the year that it is important that they are really put in check before you start overseeding and the best way is with a growth regulator such as Primo. This is not something you are going to buy over the counter at your local store, but an irrigation or turf specialty store may carry their brand. Primo is a brand name and there are several growth regulators out there but it is the most widely known one. Can you still have a good overseed without using Primo? Of course but it is all dependent upon using the correct fertilizers and pushing the growth.

In my previous blog I gave you the 1, 2, 3 steps to an easy overseed and these really should be followed when it comes to fertilizers. The ryegrass needs to be at its peak prior to the first frost so it can fill in any voids caused by warm season turf that hung around too long. Ryegrass is a bunch grass, but it does tiller and will get thicker as the season goes along with the right fertilizer program. Again here is the fertilizer program I recommend and these products can be bought from select Ace Stores, Sprinkler Worlds, Silverbell Nursery or direct from our website (shipped to your door or picked up at our Scottsdale farm). If you didn’t put down a starter fertilizer with the seed it isn’t too late and you should do so as soon as possible to get optimal growth out of the seed and get better germination.

I mention the type of seed we use on our sod farms mostly because of the high quality seed that comes in the bucket. There are so many cheap ryegrass blends out there that will grow quickly, but inevitably they will have poor color, wear tolerance, or have weed seed in the mix as filler. You don’t ever want to buy a seed that has any weed seed what so ever so make sure the bucket or bag you pick up is 100% clean. The germination rate should be over 96% or you will need to factor that into how much extra seed needs to be put down to get 9.5-10 pounds per 1000 SF. If a bag only has 85% germination you are losing 15% of the bag to seed that isn’t viable and it needs to be accounted for when planting. A normal loss would be around 3-5% and I would worry about anything below that amount. That is typically why you see a cheaper cost of seed between the good, better, and best mixes. Spend now, save the headaches later. The last thing you want to do is incorporate weed seed into your lawn and allow it to fill in the voids caused by frost or wear. Since a weed is a plant out of place we all know they have a big tendency to find voids in turf.

I will get off my soapbox now and onto the next subject of seeding. How much seed should be applied to cover your lawn, do you need mulch, how do you keep the birds away, and how much does it cost to overseed the average lawn?

How much seed should be applied to cover the lawn adequately?

You want to put down 8-10 pounds per 1000 SF of turf area. Remember to account for seed that will not germinate so you may be applying more. There is no need to go over this rate because it will grow very clumpy and choke itself out after a few weeks.

I have so many birds that cover my lawn after I seed, should I be putting down mulch?

I personally don’t ever put down a seed cover or mulch and you would be hard pressed to find a golf course that is going to cover 60-90 acres of turf with a seed cover to keep the birds away. The truth is the birds are going to eat a certain amount of seed anyway and that number is factored into the 8-10 pound per 1000 SF rate.

How much does it cost to overseed a lawn?

I will break this down into approximate numbers and if you are hiring this out make sure you are accounting for dump fees, labor, machinery and profit.

Verticut Rental -$45 for 4 hours or $80/day

Aerifier $45 for 4 hours or $80/day

BOBSeed perennial ryegrass $29.95 for a 10 pound bucket (treats 1000 SF)

Soil Burst starter fertilizer 5-15-10 for a 9 pound container is $19.95

Soil Burst liquid program consisting of 7-7-7, 16-0-4, and 4-0-6 is $14.95 x 3 = $44.85

This is enough fertilizer and product to get you a healthy lawn for 4 months and it costs less than $150 to do it yourself and I would figure around $250-$350 per 1000 SF to have someone do this for you. If you can get it done for this price it is well worth it, but I just want to give you the breakdown if you want to do it yourself.

I hope these tips have helped you this week and I will keep you updated on what to do as we move deeper into the overseed season. If you don’t need to seed your lawn yet, sit back turn on Michigan football and wait for it to cool down a little.

It has started off as a great football season and luckily for me Michigan managed not to stub their toe on any of the cupcakes they played early on. I have been pleasantly surprised with the schedules most of the teams have played so far because there is actually a little competition out there and I am seeing very few North Dakota states on the schedule. I would mention Appalachian state, but even four years later it makes me want to cry and I am reminded daily when Jim Rome plays the “it’s blocked, the kick is blocked” sound bite from the game. As most leagues move into conference play this week I will be picking some of the better matchups. Here are my locks for the week and you can take them to the bank, well maybe that’s not the best idea.

Here we go!

Minnesota +19.5 @ Michigan – This will not be your year Gophers, and even though you are playing for the little Brown jug don’t forget just how bad you are. You were just blown off the field by FBS (Division II) North Dakota State 37-24. I like Denard Robinson to finally find his arm in the passing game and he will throw for 250 yards and rush for 200 more.

Michigan State + 3.5 @ OSU – this may be the surprise line of the week unless the wise guys know something I don’t but the Buckeyes are not a very good football team and MSU is coming off a thrashing at ND a couple weeks ago and is looking to run up and down the horseshoe. I haven’t heard if there latest suspended players were reinstated for the game but I still like MSU by 10. Take the money line and make some cash.

Alabama -6 @ Florida – while this game is being played in the swamp the bad news for Florida is that they have been nothing but an average team since the almighty Tim Tebow left campus. Florida may have a few tricks up their sleeve but don’t expect Saban to play it safe. I like Bama to run up the score and try to catch LSU in the polls.

Arizona +11.5 @ USC – The Wildcats always play out of their minds one game per season but unfortunately it always happens at home. USC is battered, has no confidence and is playing for nothing more than bragging rights but they will annihilate the Cats this weekend. The Wildcats have a QB and are missing the other 21 players that make up the team, take USC and don’t stress about the points. 34-14.

Oregon State – 17.5 @ Arizona State – Devil fans if there was ever another must win game it would be this one. Very few times in Coach Erikson’s tenure has he managed to follow up a good win with a second one. Betting Oregon State is not going to save his job at the end of the year but it will keep him from losing it. This game shouldn’t even be close but I see a huge letdown. Take ASU to win the game but they will not cover 17.5.

Nebraska + 7 @ Wisconsin – A battle of the big boys and a cold welcome to the Big 10 or 12 or whatever they are this week. Nebraska has played solid football and possesses a game changer in Taylor Martinez, but they are in for a long day in Madison. Life was easy in the former Big 12 when you played teams with 250 pound lineman but wait till the 310 average of the badgers gets a hold of the corn fed boys. This line has been as high as 10 and I would take it up to 10. I like Wisconsin to pull away in the second half and cover the spread. Sorry Cole family, sorry Husker nation, but I just don’t think Saturday night will be good for you. Watch the first half and then take the wives to dinner because the half time adjustments will put this game out of reach quickly.

Please let me know if you have any questions on overseeding or want to comment on my picks. Hit the “Ask Jay” button to the right of this page!

Until next time,

Jay

P.S…..if you would like to follow my Ultra Running blog, please go to www.mcdowellmountainman.com. My latest blog is “We all want to be just a little faster!”

I think everyone can have a successful lawn this winter, and next summer if you follow these instructions. A thriving overseed can be accomplished when the night time temperatures are in the 60′s, high quality seed is used, and you don’t get too aggressive with the scalping of the lawn.

Just so you know, the BOBSeed I refer to in this blog is available for sale in Arizona only. And the Soil Burst is available outside of AZ through our website or by calling our order hotline at 888/893-8873.

One week before you’re ready to overseed, increase the height of your lawn by 30-40 percent. This is giving you more leaf tissue and open up the grass for the seed to get into the plant.

1. You will want to rent a verticut and set it at the 1/2 to ¾ depth. Take out the thatch and dead material until you are left with approximately ½” of thatch. If you have any more than this it harbors insects, impedes water and fertilizer penetration. If you have a huge thatch buildup you have probably had some watering issues this summer and that directly impacted your drought tolerance.

2. Next you will lower your mowing height one setting and scalp down the leaf tissue. You are not trying to scalp the grass down to the ground because this will result in a poor stand of grass for next year. You want to save some of the energy of the plant so it can come back strong in the spring. You will drop the height one more setting so you are just below your mowing height from a week ago and get a second scalp on the lawn to clean it up. This often results in the closing of the turf canopy and a second vertical cut is often necessary to open the grass plant back up. Once you have made the second vertical cut, mow up all the clippings and blow off any excess material from the grass. You lawn should have an open canopy so the seed can fall down into the thatch layer.

3. After the lawn has been cleaned up and the yard is clear, it is time to add your starter fertilizer. I recommend using a Soil Burst 5-15-10 at a rate of 9 pounds per 1000 SF. Each container is 9 pounds and it comes with a built in shaker for easy application. You can find this at several PHX/TUCSON ACE Hardware stores, through www.westernsod.com or www.westcoastturf.com.

4. Get your BOBSeed perennial rye seed out and have your spreader calibrated to drop 8-10 pounds of seed per 1000 SF. You will start with the perimeter of the lawn and drop the seed at a ½ rate two directions. I advise having someone follow you while you seed with some paint and mark out where the seed has fallen so you don’t overlap or miss an area. After the edges are complete you will then switch to your rotary spreader and seed the middle of the yard at ½ rate two directions. Again the total rate is 8-10 pounds per 1000 SF so you will be putting out 4-5 pounds at a time. This ensures the grass comes up in corn rows and you have not missed any areas.

5. Turn on your water for 3-4 cycles per day for 5-7 minutes. You are just trying to keep the seed moist throughout the day and free from drying out. This will be the irrigation cycle for the first two weeks until the grass has grown up to an inch. At this point you can gradually reduce some of the daily cycles and get it down to one long cycle early in the morning.

6. At the 10-14 day mark apply your second fertilizer. I like to use a balanced fertilizer that will help keep the grass growing and the root system developing such as Soil Burst 7-7-7.

7. You may be able to mow your grass before the second fertilizer application but if not, you will do it a couple days after it has worked itself into the soil. This is a longer cut and you are just giving the grass a haircut. Ideally this cut will be made to the grass in the afternoon when it has had a chance to dry down a little.

8. At the 3-4 week mark apply your third fertilizer application. You want to do this before we receive our first frost which is generally right around Thanksgiving. A good fertilizer in this situation is Soil Burst 16-0-4. This will both get your grass growing and allow the ryegrass to start to tiller and get healthy. If you wait till after the frost you will often lose color in your ryegrass and get yourself stuck behind the 8 ball.

9. You should be mowing 1-2 times per week after the lawn is established and gradually taking it to your desired mowing heights.

10. Most of you will have your lawn up and established a couple weeks before we receive a frost so it is always a good idea to get another fertilizer application down right before this happens, usually in mid November. I like to use a product that will sustain a good root system and also keep color once the frost hits. On our farm we switch over to Soil Burst 4-0-6 to get the grass winter hardy and maintain good color.

*** It is very important to use the right amount of seed. I have seen several companies advertise that you can get 20,000 SF out of a 50 pound bag of seed. If you read the directions on the back of the bag it clearly states this is for the northern states. These labels can sometimes be confusing so be careful. The BOBSeed is sold in convenient 10 pound buckets and 50 pound bags that are perfect for a home lawn and again it is seeded at 8-10 pounds per 1000 SF of lawn. You can pick it up at several PHX/TUCSON ACE Hardware locations, Elgin Nursery, Silverbell Nursery or directly through us at www.westcoastturf.com or www.westernsod.com. Make sure you are buying a high quality perennial ryegrass seed with a minimum of 96 percent germination and zero weed seed.***

As I said in my introduction, overseeding can be easy as long as instructions are followed and you don’t get overly aggressive during the scalping of your warm season grass. I have attached a video for you to look at that has all the steps I just talked about. You’ll be able to see why the height of the grass is not as important as having an open turf canopy.

Check out my video here: http://www.youtube.com/

Want to know more about how easy it is to use Soil Burst fertilizers, here is a little video: http://www.youtube.com/

I have started a new running blog at www.mcdowellmountainman.com if you wish to follow my runs.

I have had some great feedback already so I hope you’ll check it out!

Until next time-HAPPY OVERSEEDING!

Jay

I think everyone can have a successful lawn this winter, and next summer if you follow these instructions. A thriving overseed can be accomplished when the night time temperatures are in the 60′s, high quality seed is used, and you don’t get too aggressive with the scalping of the lawn.

One week before you’re ready to overseed, increase the height of your lawn by 30-40 percent. This is giving you more leaf tissue and open up the grass for the seed to get into the plant.

1. You will want to rent a verticut and set it at the 1/2 to ¾ depth. Take out the thatch and dead material until you are left with approximately ½” of thatch. If you have any more than this it harbors insects, impedes water and fertilizer penetration. If you have a huge thatch buildup you have probably had some watering issues this summer and that directly impacted your drought tolerance.

2. Next you will lower your mowing height one setting and scalp down the leaf tissue. You are not trying to scalp the grass down to the ground because this will result in a poor stand of grass for next year. You want to save some of the energy of the plant so it can come back strong in the spring. You will drop the height one more setting so you are just below your mowing height from a week ago and get a second scalp on the lawn to clean it up. This often results in the closing of the turf canopy and a second vertical cut is often necessary to open the grass plant back up. Once you have made the second vertical cut, mow up all the clippings and blow off any excess material from the grass. You lawn should have an open canopy so the seed can fall down into the thatch layer.

3. After the lawn has been cleaned up and the yard is clear, it is time to add your starter fertilizer. I recommend using a Soil Burst 5-15-10 at a rate of 9 pounds per 1000 SF. Each container is 9 pounds and it comes with a built in shaker for easy application. You can find this at several ACE Hardware stores, through www.westernsod.com or www.westcoastturf.com.

4. Get your BOBSeed perennial rye seed out and have your spreader calibrated to drop 8-10 pounds of seed per 1000 SF. You will start with the perimeter of the lawn and drop the seed at a ½ rate two directions. I advise having someone follow you while you seed with some paint and mark out where the seed has fallen so you don’t overlap or miss an area. After the edges are complete you will then switch to your rotary spreader and seed the middle of the yard at ½ rate two directions. Again the total rate is 8-10 pounds per 1000 SF so you will be putting out 4-5 pounds at a time. This ensures the grass comes up in corn rows and you have not missed any areas.

5. Turn on your water for 3-4 cycles per day for 5-7 minutes. You are just trying to keep the seed moist throughout the day and free from drying out. This will be the irrigation cycle for the first two weeks until the grass has grown up to an inch. At this point you can gradually reduce some of the daily cycles and get it down to one long cycle early in the morning.

6. At the 10-14 day mark apply your second fertilizer. I like to use a balanced fertilizer that will help keep the grass growing and the root system developing such as Soil Burst 7-7-7.

7. You may be able to mow your grass before the second fertilizer application but if not, you will do it a couple days after it has worked itself into the soil. This is a longer cut and you are just giving the grass a haircut. Ideally this cut will be made to the grass in the afternoon when it has had a chance to dry down a little.

8. At the 3-4 week mark apply your third fertilizer application. You want to do this before we receive our first frost which is generally right around Thanksgiving. A good fertilizer in this situation is Soil Burst 16-0-4. This will both get your grass growing and allow the ryegrass to start to tiller and get healthy. If you wait till after the frost you will often lose color in your ryegrass and get yourself stuck behind the 8 ball.

9. You should be mowing 1-2 times per week after the lawn is established and gradually taking it to your desired mowing heights.

10. Most of you will have your lawn up and established a couple weeks before we receive a frost so it is always a good idea to get another fertilizer application down right before this happens, usually in mid November. I like to use a product that will sustain a good root system and also keep color once the frost hits. On our farm we switch over to Soil Burst 4-0-6 to get the grass winter hardy and maintain good color.

*** It is very important to use the right amount of seed. I have seen several companies advertise that you can get 20,000 SF out of a 50 pound bag of seed. If you read the directions on the back of the bag it clearly states this is for the northern states. These labels can sometimes be confusing so be careful. The BOBSeed is sold in convenient 10 pound buckets and 50 pound bags that are perfect for a home lawn and again it is seeded at 8-10 pounds per 1000 SF of lawn. You can pick it up at several ACE Hardware locations, Elgin Nursery, Silverbell Nursery or direct through us at www.westcoastturf.com or www.westernsod.com. Make sure you are buying a high quality perennial ryegrass seed with a minimum of 96 percent germination and zero weed seed.***

As I said in my introduction, overseeding can be easy as long as instructions are followed and you don’t get overly aggressive during the scalping of your warm season grass. I have attached a video for you to look at that has all the steps I just talked about. You’ll be able to see why the height of the grass is not as important as having an open turf canopy.

Check out my video here: www.youtube.com

Want to know more about how easy it is to use Soil Burst fertilizers, here is a little video: www.youtube.com

College Football Week 3

First let me apologize for slacking on my college football run downs this year but I have had quite the full running schedule which has left me a little bit behind. I have not lost most passion for the game of college football and after last Saturday’s amazing win by the Wolverines against Notre Dame it reenergized me to do a college football write up. There really is nothing more exciting in the sports world than watching 114,800 fans go crazy as Denard Robinson connected with Roy Roundtree with 2 seconds on the clock to put the dagger in Notre Dame. In case anyone didn’t get to see it live here is another look at it. www.youtube.com I am not sure what I can say about this game except I was speechless, what a game and man did it feel good for them to beat the Irish for the third year in a row.

So far this college football season we have seen some great early games and this week is no different as #1 Oklahoma travels to Tallahassee to take on #5 Florida St. I think this game actually looks better on paper than it will on TV but this is the Seminoles time to shine and start a return to glory. It has been years since they showed any promise besides winning the weak ACC but a win against Oklahoma would go a long ways. I am sorry FSU fans but I see this game as a route and Landry Jones will continue his Heisman run as he will rack up over 400 yards passing as Oklahoma wins big 35-14.

Here are my additional picks of the week and must watch games

#3 LSU @ Mississippi State University – I love LSU to not only cover the spread but completely shut down MSU. This game will not be close even though it is an SEC conference game, look for LSU to dominate from the beginning winning 42-21.

#17 Michigan State @ Notre Dame – Can Brian Kelley get his Irish up and ready to play after last week’s defensive debacle? I don’t see good things for ND this week as Sparty comes in rolling and they always seem to play well in South Bend. This will be a back and fourth game with Sparty taking it in the 4th quarter 28-24. Look for Sparty to plant their flag mid field after the game.

Tennessee @ Florida- This used to be a marquee matchup but no one seems to have any interest left in a couple of teams that are going to struggle in a tough SEC conference. Tennessee historically has a tough time in the swamp and this week will be no different. Will Muschamp will have his boys ready to play and will beat Tennessee 35-31 in a shootout.

#18 ASU @ Illinois – Dennis Erickson and the crew are coming off an emotional victory against Missouri in which they need a defensive stop in overtime to win. I really worry about their discipline and I find it hard to believe any team can rack up over 100 yards in penalties and still win football games. The good news for the Devils this week is the Illini is terrible and cold weather has not hit the area yet so the Sun Devils will put a spanking on the Illini 42-14.

Finally how could I not talk about a game that who knows if half of players will even get to participate in because they have had trouble keeping their hands out of the cookie jar. Ohio State travels to Florida to play Miami in a game that is sure to be chippy amongst the players from past rivalries but will also feature some empty sidelines. The Buckeyes looked good in week one and terrible against Toledo last week so I am not sure which team is going to show up. I see this being a low scoring games with lots of turnovers and I like Nevin Shapiro’s Hurricanes 28 and the Columbus Tattoo parlor 24.

Have a great week and I will update my picks then.
I have started a new running blog at www.mcdowellmountainman.com if you wish to follow my runs.

Until next time-HAPPY OVERSEEDING!

Jay

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?

We always recommend not overseeding your lawn the first year and allowing it to have a full year of growth, but as long as you have had 100 growing days it is okay to overseed. The best time to overseed is around mid October so just count back 100 days from the day you plan on seeding and see if it fits your window.

I want to overseed my lawn now, is it too hot?

Yes. It is way too hot right now to overseed your lawn. You would be taking away great growing time for your warm season turf and your ryegrass will also be competing with the bermudagrass growing back. If you need to seed early this month you would need to apply a growth regulator such as primo to slow down the bermudagrass and help get the rye established. Let’s be realistic though and remember it is still 110 degrees and ryegrass has no place in your lawn right now.

What should I be doing to get ready for overseed?

I recommend that you start to let your turf grow slightly longer this month so when it is time to scalp you are not taking the grass down to the dirt, but instead you are scalping it back to its normal height. Taking the grass down to the dirt only causes problems for the warm season grass and tightens the canopy so you are always better off verticutting and keeping the grass thinner to allow seed in. Short grass means tight grass, and tight grass means all the seed sits on the surface.

What type of seed do you recommend?

I recommend the BOBSeed perennial ryegrass. This is a seed that can be used on any warm season turf grass and should be applied at 8-10 pounds per 1000 SF. You can find the exact same seed and fertilizers we use on our sod farms at Sprinkler Worlds, Silverbell Nursery, Elgin Nursery and many Ace Hardware stores around town. There is a link on our website with the addresses. Just look for the BOBSeed bucket in your stores or call us to get some.

Where can I find instructions on overseeding techniques?

I will type them up in a couple weeks but I don’t want to do so now and have anyone jump the gun. Here are the fertilizer instructions for growing in your seed.

Should I continue to fertilize heavy right now?

If you are getting ready to overseed in the next month you do not want the grass juiced up on fertilizer so keep to the liquid Soil Burst products to aid in root development.

What do I need to do to control winter annual weeds?

In order to control the weeds this winter you want to put an application of Barricade down 7 weeks prior to overseeding. If you make this application it is important to note that ryegrass can get clubbed roots meaning they have trouble penetrating the soil so you will have to keep the your water rates slightly higher during the seed grow in period.

My lawn is so thick right now, can I verticut now or do I have to wait to overseed?

You can definitely start thinning out your lawn this month and verticutting is a great way to do it. Again it is best to get an open turf canopy for the seed to get into the grass. Mowing your grass shorter does nothing to aid in the overseed process and just results in a poor transition in the summer.

My lawn is finally back to 100 percent after a bad transition year, can I still overseed?

It is okay to overseed, but I would tell you to give your lawn a year off and let it fully recover. I would be willing to bet that you don’t want to go through another summer like this one trying to get it back.

That’s it about turfgrass right now. Please continue to read if you want to know about my recent ultra run and what I am thinking about college football…….  Please feel free to ask me questions about it all!

Jay

Lean Horse 100 Race Report

Well I won’t put any suspense into this blog piece and many of you that know me already know the result so I will tell you that I have felt like I am on top of the world for the last week. Not only did I complete my first 100 mile race, I finished in 19:01:12 good enough for fourth place overall out of 116, and second in my age division. As many of my readers know I have been training for a year and a half for a 100 mile race and my goal started out as sub 24 hours, then as the training progressed went to sub 20 hours, so to finish an hour ahead of my projection couldn’t have felt any better, well besides the first time I got to sit down in a chair after running for 19 straight hours. This was a day filled with awesome memories, good luck at times, a great crew, and pure elation when I crossed that finish line.

Lean Horse is a different course than most of the races I have run as it is relatively flat in nature and only has 7825 feet of vertical gain over the 100 mile course. I usually like to subject myself to that kind of climbing over 26 miles but this was a great race for a first time 100 mile runner. We arrived in South Dakota last Thursday and to my surprise I actually was not sure if we had just landed in Kansas or if this was what South Dakota looked like. I kept reading about the Black Hills and in my mind I picture these expansive mountain formations similar to what we have in Arizona but the land in more rolling hills and there are mountains in the Black Hill,s but they don’t take over the skyline like they do at home. We drove from Rapid City to a small town of 4500 people called Hot Springs where my crew, and other running friends, Deb Hamberlin, Mark Hellenthal, and Lori Hickernill made our HQ in a large two story ranch out in the middle of a 500 acre parcel of open land. The views were fantastic and the only thing around as far as the eyes could see are horses, cows, burros and a few other houses. We checked into our house and laid out all of our running supplies and spoke of the upcoming weekend with great expectations.

My friends did not want to get bullish with their time predictions for the race and just kept telling me it’s a long day and they just want to finish the race. I knew it was going to be a long day and night, but I kept telling myself to shake the nerves and this is what I have been training for and I am ready. I can go sub 20, I am prepared. Endurance races are extremely hard mentally and it is always important to stay positive and keep your focus. I know that once the focus is gone, the race is over. I was not trying to win this race, I was just trying to finish what I thought was the impossible just two years ago.

This race started Saturday morning at 6:00 am from Hot Springs, SD and would take us to Hill City, SD, and then back. 85 percent of the race takes place on the George Mickelson trail which is a rail to trails project that the state has done a magnificent job on. This trail runs the entire distance from Hot Springs to Hill City and it is one of the best surfaces I have ever run on. Normally that would not be saying much because I usually run on rocky terrain but this was just awesome. We got the early directions from the race director and with a quick hug and kiss for my wife and a last minute motivational talk by my brother-in-law Kevin Conte, I was off. I had some nerves until they said go but as soon as he did I quickly settled down and tried to focus on the task at hand. I kept telling myself that no one will control my pace, I control it myself. I would meet my wife Traci and brother-in-law for the first time at the 16.9 mile mark and I had told them to expect me to arrive around 9:15 local time. The only issue was that I was feeling great and we were running on a pretty flat trail so I knew I was going to be faster than expected but I didn’t imagine being so far ahead of pace that it would make me nervous I was going to fast early. The first two aid stations were at the 5 and 11 mile markers and I blew right through them without stopping because I had plenty of water still and the temperature was only around 80 degrees. Pretty nice compared to Phoenix in August.

After the 10 mile aid station we hit a slight downhill section that would carry us into the 16.9 mile aid station where I had told myself would be my first stop and a good place to eat for the first time. I looked down at my watch and it said 10 after 8 and as I looked back up one of the 125 residents of Pringle, SD greeted me with a cow bell and said welcome to Pringle. Wow–I had made it the first 16.9 miles an hour ahead of schedule. Traci handed me a turkey sandwich, changed out my EFS bottles and off I went again. I told her to meet me next around mile 28 so I could settle into a rhythm again. I was feeling great and my energy level was up and as I finished the first of my four marathons for the day I had just run it in 3:42. That is not by any means a fast time if you are running a marathon, but since I was running four it was an awesome time.

I got to the 28.4 mile aid station, and decided it was time to get in some extra calories. This was possibly my only mistake of the day because I tried to cram 1000 calories into one aid station stop. I had downed an Ultragen (320 calories, a liquid shot 400 calories, and then tried to take down a Red Bull for energy 210 calories) and the result was one full stomach. Now the Ultragen and EFS shots didn’t seem to be the problem but the addition of the sweet Red Bull put my stomach over the edge. This section would be an out and back for 1.75 miles each way before returning to the trail. I wasn’t a huge fan of this part of the course as we left the Mickelson trail and had to head out on to the sidewalks through town to make sure at the end of the day the mileage worked out to be 100.

When I got up the first hill I could feel the sloshing in my stomach and I leaned over the bridge hoping to get it out, but nothing came out. Maybe lucky–maybe not. I slowly shuffled through this section and on my way back I passed the first female and about 2 miles behind her was my good friend Deb. We gave each other some words of encouragement and I told her she is only two miles back of the leader. Deb looked unbelievable at this point and one would have thought she just started running 5 minutes ago. I on the other hand was still struggling with an over abundance of fluids.

After seeing Deb come through my mindset quickly changed back to positive thoughts and I was extremely happy that she was so close to one of the premier female runners on the course. You see Deb has been suffering through some nagging injuries lately that have caused her to not perform at the level we are used to seeing, but there was no sign of injury when I saw her there. My focus remained strong and I rolled through a few more aid stations before picking up my pacer Kevin Conte at mile 47.9. Normally in a race you have to wait till the 50 mile mark for a pacer but because of logistics they allowed one a little earlier. Kevin and I had a brief talk with Traci on how I was feeling and what I would need for the next 5 miles and we were off. I told Kevin to feed me a Tums every 15 minutes and even if I say I don’t want it, make it take one down. This was a life saver and by the 50 mile mark I had not only set a new PR at 8:22 minutes, but I was feeling great again. This was Kevin’s first pacing experience and first Ultra experience so he had no idea what to expect, but after the first mile you would have thought he has been doing this forever. We exchanged stories, talked some football, had a few laughs, I whined a little, and he set the rules. The rules were that complaining is okay as long as we were running, but as soon as we started walking I wasn’t a loud to complain. That was a motivating factor in itself to run just so I could tell him about my leg cramps.

Well the race really started at mile 52.9 when I picked up my good friend and speed demon Tere Zacher. You see Tere is probably the most competitive person I know besides myself and before I could even say hi to her she was telling me what place I was in, where other runners were, and where we need to be by the time we finish the next 11 miles. I kept saying slow down Tere, it is a long race and I have all day to catch these people in front of me. Tere doesn’t take kindly to that and that just puts her in another gear. We settled into a 10 minute per mile pace for the slow climbing portion of the race and then something funny happened. We came out of the rocks, crossed a few bridges and I told Tere to turn around and check out George Washington’s face at Mt. Rushmore. It was quite the view I thought and I was enamored with the beauty of our surroundings but there was only one issue. What I thought was Washington was the Crazy Horse monument and we were well over 30 miles from Rushmore but she was nice enough to let it play out. For the next 5 miles I kept telling her how cool it was and I wish I had my camera but it wasn’t until two days later that she told me that she didn’t have the heart at the time to tell me that was Crazy Horse and I must be really stupid since we crossed the entrance to the monument and I still called it Washington. Maybe you had to be there or if you have ran a long race before you know things tend to look a little different after 60 plus miles.

Miles 60-72 seemed to clip off fairly quickly as Kevin and I made up ground on a few runners in front of me and I was even able to keep solid food down. I would complain a little, walk a little, and then notice Kevin jogging next to me continuously looking at his watch saying we better run this section. I kept saying it’s no hurry, we will catch that guy, but I think he was secretly worried about what Tere told him at the last aid stop. She had told him to run along side of me even when I was walking to encourage me to pick up my feet and go. They had a plan to not let me exceed 11.5 minute miles during this section so I could make up lots of ground. I picked up Tere again at mile 75 and right out of the aid station I passed the fourth place runner and that was all she wrote for him. I could see the despair on his face as he was slightly ahead of me all day, but he was getting sick and his legs were telling him to sit down. At this point I wasn’t even allowed to stop at the aid stations, but was told by Traci, Tere, and Kevin to walk through the aid stations, throw them my empty bottles and they will bring me full ones. When we finished this section it was pitch black outside and there were shooting stars all over the place taking my attention away from the run, but I had the worst stretch of the run coming up from miles 83.4-95.1.
Oh the dreaded Argyle Road section.

I had been thinking about how bad it was going to be to do this section of country road all day and now I was here. I had Kevin grab me some espresso beans and potatoes with salt and we were off down the lonely road. I had a big lead on the guy I had passed miles before so I told Kevin I needed to take my time. We were told this section would be all rolling hills with a net 1500 foot decent. I am going to call BS on the decent because we were always going uphill and it never seemed to end. We would shuffle the flats, run the downs, and walk the ups to maintain pace and try to get off this road. We tried entertaining ourselves with jokes and yelling at imaginary wildlife, but we had both had it by the time mile 95.1 rolled around. This section took us 2.5 hours to complete and it was good that I had sparred lots of time earlier in the race.

Mile 95.1 was so welcoming because we left the road and headed up a rocky trail and to the last aid station. I grabbed some chips, took a shot of Mountain Dew and said let’s finish. I just want to sit down. There was one issue. My shins and ankles hurt so bad I could barely form a shuffle. My pacers didn’t want to hear it so it was from this point forward that I ran with them about 50 yards ahead of me. I just tried to concentrate at this point and not tear up as I knew I was almost done, but it was hard for me to fight back tears as I kept saying this is for you T. If you have been reading my blogs since the beginning you know that I started running when my dad Tom passed away at the early age of 59 from a pulmonary embolism just two weeks after a trip we had just taken as a family to Hawaii. The last four miles was through the town of Hot Springs and we weaved our way through the city asking a motorcyclist how we get to the Dairy Queen which was our landmark next to the finish line and the miles seemed to go very quickly.

I looked up with a 1/2 mile to go and the clock read 12:56 am, my hopes of sub 19 were all but out the window and I yelled to Tere and Kevin, “I just need a moment, leave me alone.” Tere said come on, you are almost done and they kept running which prompted me to yell that they are the worst pacers ever and this is not suppose to be a fun run for them, they are suppose to be running with me. That didn’t happen as they continued to run in front and motivate me to finish. We rounded the corner and saw the Dairy Queen and from there we were near the finish. We followed the glow sticks and there was the finish. Tears ran down my face as I heard Traci yell come on Danek, and Tere and Kevin moved out of the way so I could sprint to the finish. I sprinted and as I looked at the finishing clock it read 19:01:12. Had I not taken my moment I would have been sub 19, the clock in the city was fast and I threw in the towel early. I can honestly say I didn’t care and I could see the emotions on Traci, Tere, and Kevin’s face as they knew I had just done something special and they were an enormous part of it. I had finished my first 100 mile race in fourth place, with a finisher’s time of 19:01:12 and I was ecstatic.

So what happened to my friends in the race? As I had thought Deb was running the race of her life and feeling good all day. My crew would go back and assist her at the aid stations after I came though and keep her motivated. Kevin decided he hadn’t had enough fun for one day and even though he had run 33 miles so far he wanted to bring Deb home. Kevin met her at mile 95.1 and paced her in for the last four miles. I think his presence lifted her up and she knew she was about to do something special. We all gathered at the finish line and at 2:30 Deb came across that line and was the first female to finish. First place in only her second 100 mile race ever! She was truly awesome all day and the second female was now over an hour back. Mark also had the day of his life and at 5:45 am he crossed the finish line for his first sub 24 hour finish with Lori by his side. Lori had to drop earlier in the race due to injury but she sucked it up later and brought her friend home for a great finish. That is what an ultra runner is all about, it’s not about your time but about the people we run with. The ultra community is different in that we all want everyone to accomplish the ultimate goal of finishing. Here are some pictures of the race, have a great week.

My Season Ending College Football Top Ten

Let me apologize for this segment being short, but with the race I don’t have time to write in a lot right now. Next week I will give a little breakdown of the top teams, but here is how I project the season to play out come January. I am not going to base my predictions on silly preseason rankings that are done based on school tradition but these are done in the order that I think the teams will finish. A lot can happen over the course of a year but the top teams should prevail making the bowl season great this year even though we will still have to deal with the BCS.

1. Alabama
2. Boise St
3. Wisconsin
4. Oklahoma
5. Stanford
6. Nebraska
7. LSU
8. USC
9. South Carolina
10. Virginia Tech

I am not happy to leave my maize and blue out but this is Brady Hoke’s first year and there is going to be an adjustment period for Shoelace Robinson as UM goes from the spread to a pro style offense.

Let me know if you have any comments or questions!

Jay

It’s OK if you have let most of the summer pass you by, and you have been neglecting your lawn because of the temperatures outside. But I would suggest planning for overseeding now. Have you given your new lawn a 100 days to grow without any competition, is your turf weak, thick and “matty,” or growing out of control? Have you verticut, or aerated your lawn this season to give it a chance to breath and open up the turf canopy? Have you been fertilizing monthly or have you thought it would be okay without summer fertilizer? I am sure you have answered yes to some of these and no to most of these questions so now is the time to take action.

Get a calendar out and pick out a Sunday in October, (because no one should be doing it on a football Saturday) and count back 100 days. When you come up with this day does it coincide with the time you had all the ryegrass removed from your turf this past summer and was it free of competition? If it was then you are okay to overseed. If you figure that you will only have had your new turf for 60-80 days I would be very leery of overseeding. I am not a fan of overseeding turf the first season, but if it was in early enough in the summer you will be okay as long as you don’t get aggressive in the fall. That there will be my August lecture on overseeding so keep it simple, get your grass healthy and give it a little TLC this month to whip it into shape.

The weather is perfect to grow a warm season turf, and it is a great time to fill in any voids in the lawn during the humid months of the year. We don’t get a lot of humid days and I can attest to them being miserable, but your grass loves them.

I wanted to briefly touch today on a topic that has come up with a few homeowners lately. Fire ants. Some people are seeing an increase in the number of fire ants they are seeing throughout their turf areas. Fire ants are red in color and they are present throughout the year but can be even more aggressive during the summer months. These medium sized ants can be distinguished by the red color, but another sign is the large mounds of soil in your turf areas. They are primarily swarming and stinging insects that can cause great harm to you, not just your grass. If you have ever been stung by one of these ants you know it feels like a bee sting, except that you generally will be bitten by multiple ants at once.

Fire ants are one extremely tough insect to kill and they have even been able to adapt to severe flooding. Flooding the ant mounds used to be a way many thought would eliminate the pest population, but unfortunately they will eventually find dry land and can re-establish their colony quickly.

Since most of the common controls on the market today do very little to injure or kill the fire ants, I thought it would be important to tell you what to look for in a chemical to treat them. First there is not a product available for purchase for homeowners that has the correct active ingredient to completely eliminate the problem. I would suggest contacting a pest control agent and having them spray the active ingredient Fipronil. Many of you may be familiar with this active ingredient as it is found in most preventative dog flea medications. Fipronil can be applied as a foliar spray or there are granular such as Top Choice that can be applied directly to your turf and last up to one year before they need to be re- applied. They are broadcast spread over your lawn and are released into the soil through irrigation and rainfall. The ants will then pick up the chemical and bring it back to their colony eventually killing them. This chemical will eventually kill the entire colony including the queen. There are several chemicals out there with this active ingredient,but make sure you buy one with Fipronil. Like I said earlier this is an application that needs to be made by a licensed pesticide applicator but it is well worth the cost to get it done once per year.

If you have any turfgrass questions, please hit the “Ask Jay” button at the top right of the page. If you are interested in Ultra Running, please continue to read the 2nd half of my blog. If not, it won’t hurt my feelings!

Speed Goat 50K Race Report

As I sit here and attempt to describe the race nothing in my mind comes close to just how great of a race this is. When you go to the web site to sign up for the race it says this is the hardest 50K in the country, hands down. This race is not just a little farther than a marathon–it is a lot farther than a marathon. If you are reading this saying how can a 50K be that much farther than a marathon, I can only sum it up as saying this is a Karl Meltzer designed course. So what exactly does that mean? It may be a 50K, but it actually runs 33.7 miles, encompasses 11,420 feet of vertical gain, 11,200 feet of decent, altitude to 11,500 feet, snow, ice cold streams, remote mountains, and propelling down rocks on a 500 foot rope to get through the loose gravel. If you are saying that sounds horrible, I completely disagree as it was the time of my life and even though I could barely stand Saturday evening I loved every minute of that run, walk, hike, ski, glissade, and stream crossings.

Before signing up for this race I was briefed a little on this race by my friend and Irun store owner, Mark Cosmas, on just what to expect. Mark is who got me hooked on the idea of running this race the first time I went into his store and started asking him about it after I saw his race bib on the wall. He is an ultra runner that has run most of the great races and has competed at a high level in all of them. If you are new to running or want to learn about trail running and different races, go in and see Mark at his store and he will make you want to push your limits. You may think distance running in ridiculous when you read my posts but after a few minutes in the store you will be ready to tackle a new venture. He will sit down and talk to you about different races he has run or crewed in and he seems to remember mile by mile what every race is like. I have a hard time doing a race report three days after I run it.

I went into this run not knowing how my body was going to react going from basically sea level to a starting point of 7600 feet. We flew into Salt Lake and made the 25 minute drive out to Snowbird where my heart just started to beat rapidly every time I looked ahead at the Wasatch Mountains. Was I really going to try and attempt this, and was there really snow at the end of July? I really haven’t been around snow in 10 years since I went flying out of the state of Michigan.

Here is a picture of me the night before the race (still standing at this point).

We milled around the starting line and for the first race I have ever been part of I was not nervous at all. I would occasionally look up at the hill and crack a joke about how impossible it looked to my wife Traci, but I never got nervous. I had never even been at an elevation of 11,500 feet let alone thought about climbing from 7600 feet to 11,500 twice. How bad could it be, and what’s the worst that can happen on a 50K? I was quickly about to find out just what my friends had been telling me about a Karl Meltzer race. We had the pre-race briefing and 250 of us stood around and listened carefully to the few instructions regarding the course, dropping out of the race if necessary, and just a few last minute details on course markings.

At 6:30 on the dot we started out down the trail with what appeared to be a runnable section before the 7.7 mile ascent up to the top of Hidden Peak which stands at just over 11,200 feet. I made my way to the middle of the pack and just tried to get my breathing in a good rhythm and keep my heart in my chest as I knew I would be sucking wind soon enough. As I said earlier, I was briefed by Mark to take it easy in the beginning and capitalize on the race when things opened up and became runnable. I have always been pretty good at just getting adjusted to the course and making my way through it without trying to ride the coat tails of others and keep up with the elites.

About 1 mile in the trail became just too steep to continue to run and it made much more sense to power hike the up hills. I have worked hard on hiking quickly and not losing any time on the up hills to people who think they will benefit more from running slow. I was not looking to get my heart rate that elevated early and I also wanted no part of the altitude sickness that many would suffer throughout the day. Going up Mount Baldy towards Hidden Peak was one of those times that I wish I was not wearing a Garmin because my pace was just ridiculously slow. I was averaging right around 14.5 minute miles at this point which if you are a runner and reading this you are probably thinking that’s not running, it’s called crawling. Yes it’s crawling, but I like to call it hiking. A 4000 foot climb to start off a race off can ruin the day for a lot of runners. I can say with certainty that there are only a few handfuls of marathons that would have 4000 feet of total vertical gain total in 26.2 miles, let alone in the first 7.7 miles.

Anyway, I continued my way up Mt. Baldy taking in the breath taking scenery as it was lush and green half way up with mountain with small stream crossings and some waterfalls dropping water down the mountain banks. At the 7.2 mile mark I had my first of many encounters with that white stuff that I moved away from 10 years ago in Michigan and man was it slick. I took a couple steps and I started to slide and up ahead I could see the rest of the field also sliding but there was a little relief in sight after the first 100 foot climb. I tried to keep my footing in other people’s tracks that had already gone through so I could make it to the rope. The Speedgoat himself, Karl was nice enough to have a 500 foot rope that we could hold on to as we made our way through the rest of cloud basin. His words before the race started were there would be some assistance, but the course was not going to change due to snow conditions because he wanted to see some epic falls. To my surprise I made my way up the snow bank pretty quickly after I grabbed the rope and from here I could hear the sounds of the cow bells ringing as we made our way to the Hidden Peak aid station. I dropped my backpack off to the volunteers to fill with EFS and I went straight for the chips, pretzels, and gummy bears in my drop bag– your typical runner food (okay well ultra runner food). I was feeling great knowing that I was at the highest point on a mountain that I have ever stood in my life and I didn’t take the 8 minute tram ride to get up there. I took the 2:15 climb up.

Here is a picture of the climb up Little Cloud basin

As we left Hidden Peak I knew from looking at the hand drawn map that we had a long 4-5 mile down hill stretch coming up and this is my area that I typically shine. I love to run the down hills and I know this is always my best chance to make up time because most runners worry about the footing , rocks, and injuring their quads on such steep downhill runs. We headed down the trail and came to the first extremely steep downhill section on Mt. Baldy and it required ropes to scale down this section of loose rock and shale. Many runners were hanging onto the two ropes for dear life and I did my best to navigate my way down the hill. There was no being careful in this section because even if you went slowly the rocks would slip out from under your feet and cause harm to the runners in front.

Here is a picture of me heading down Mt. Baldy

After leaving the roped section I hammered the downhill trail through a running stream that followed the trail down the mountain side. This was my chance to make up for those 14.5 minute miles and get back into the 12 minute average range. By the time I reached the next aid station I was successful in this venture and I felt like I was on top of the world. I was nowhere near the lead runners or even the second group of runners, but I just scaled an 11,500 foot mountain, ran to the bottom, had no pain, and realized the altitude did not get the best of me. In my mind that meant the rest of the day would be a little better than I had planned and the second time up the mountain would be just be a physical challenge, not a mental one worrying about getting sick.

I rolled into the next aid station feeling great and was greeted with popsicles, chips, peanut butter and jelly, and some salt tablets. I grabbed a couple salt tablets, rolled my Popsicle in salt and headed back down the trail. If you want to know why salt on the popsicle, it’s not that I was craving it, but more as a way to get it in my body and keep the cramps at bay. I headed down the service road and we went towards the next long ascent. As I said before we would be climbing Mt. Baldy twice from the bottom to the top and round two was right around the corner. The first section is a gradual climb that is 5 miles long but the sun was starting to come out and it was wreaking havoc on lots of runners. I could see the frustration on several people’s faces as the hill never seemed to end but luckily it was only a 5 mile stretch to Larry’s Hole aid station.

We hit the 19.4 mile aid station and the aid captain said to “carb up” before heading out to the next section. It is only two miles to the next major aid station called the Tunnel but it will feel like 4. Normally I would say what sense does that make but again I saw the map and knew exactly what was coming. I left the aid station, crossed a couple streams and headed toward the most brutal climb I have ever partaken in. There was no trail, no rocks to rest your feet on, just a 400 foot straight uphill section through the vegetation. I could muster about 2-3 steps at a time before my hands would be on my knees and I was sucking air. It wasn’t just me that was struggling, it was the whole field. I would take my couple steps, look back to see if I was going to be passed and all I saw was tired climbers with their hands on their knees.

Here is a picture of what is the hardest uphill I have ever encountered.

I made my way back to the trail after what felt like an hour and it was probably only 30 minutes and less than .2 of a mile, before I saw the infamous tunnel in the distance. There were a few patches of mud and snow to cross before we reached this section but nothing that was going to hold me up. I still felt good, my heart rate was back in check and my legs were semi working so away I went. After I dropped my pack and bottles off to the volunteers at the tunnel I had to walk back and take a look at the hill I just climbed just so I could get a good laugh. I picked up my usual supplies of salty foods, EFS, gummy bears and away I went through the tunnel and headed for the last uphill section of the course.

This next section is about as deceiving as it gets. If you look to your left when you leave the tunnel you can see the top of Hidden Peak and it appears to be no further than a mile away. That’s not exactly the case. It is actually a 5 mile stretch of straight uphill climbing in the most scenic spot on the course. After navigating a few switchbacks it was time to head up the infamous ridgeline. Even looking up at the ridge it appears to never end but when you get to look out at the hills and you can see the top of Hidden Peak it is a climb that you never care if it ends.

I hustled up this section trying to make up some ground knowing it was all downhill from the top to the finish, but first there would be one last snow crossing. In my current mental state I thought if I ran hard through here I wouldn’t slip. Not exactly as I fell hard and banged my right quad off a rock. This didn’t feel too hot as I made my way up the ridgeline, but I was able to keep a good attitude knowing there is nowhere to go when you get there but down. I got to the point where I could see my wife, Traci, and daughter, Petra, and I heard Traci yell out “Come on Danek!“ She was right there and I would be there in two minutes just needed to get the rest of the way up the ridge.

We get to the plateau and instead of going straight up the trail we are sent around the back side of Hidden Peak and have to climb another 500 feet to get to our crews. It was slightly deflating, but there is always energy when you see your family and crew. It is the mental boost every ultra runner needs to get through one of these races. I reached the summit for the second time in 7 hours and 5 minutes, had climbed over 11,000 vertical feet and just had 5-6 miles to go. I can’t tell you the exact distance because at the tunnel my Garmin went haywire and decided to stop keeping track of some of my data. As I stopped on top of Hidden Peak I could really feel my right quad hurting and I was favoring it pretty bad.

Traci filled up my bottles, told me I needed to break 8 hours, not worry about my quad and concentrate on my strength (downhill running). I took off as fast as I could, limping and grunting at times but I knew I still had the butt slide to go and I was excited up as I saw the other runners flying down the snow banks of Little Cloud Basin. I was slightly disappointed to see a few runners pull out garbage bags to slide on as it seemed like cheating to me, but what do I know, I am from the desert. I hit the top of Little Cloud and before I could fall and slide on my butt my size 13 shoes were serving as skis as I stood and glissaded 500 feet down the slopes. After about 500 feet I decided to just go down and slide on my butt for the rest of the way. This is an amazing experience almost like riding out a wave that you have zero control of.

Flying down the snow banks at what feels like 20 mph I could see the rock cropping down below so I did my best to pop up to my feet before that section and start running again. I survived the basin, had a blast and now it was time to head straight down.

At this point my watch would only keep track of elevation, not mileage, but it served the purpose as I was at an elevation of 10,400 feet and knew the finish was around 7600 feet. I ran as good as I could until I could see the cars in the Snowbird Ski lodge parking lot and at that point I was home free. This is a funny ending to a race as you seem to run past the finish line 3-4 times for an additional mile before finally hearing those cowbells ringing. I could hear the bells ringing and Traci yelling for me as I crossed the finish line in 7:56. Not too bad for a guy from the desert who has never been to altitude before. As always my wife and daughter were waiting for me as I crossed the finish line and my first words to her were I love this race and I will be back next year to go under 7 hours. Put my name on the list for next year Karl!!

If you are interested in seeing a slideshow of the race, check out this link to one of the other runners from the race. I have 24 days till my first 100 mile race in South Dakota and now that I have run Speedgoat I feel ready for anything.

https://picasaweb.google.com/ultrastevep/2011Speedgoat50K#

Jay