After having an up and down winter with temperatures bouncing back and forth from 70 to below freezing, it appears we only have the heat to look forward to for the next 5-6 months.  If you are new to the desert climate or growing grass in the southwest we are just a few weeks away from our annual transition period from winter ryegrass back to our warm season bermudagrass or paspalum lawns. Read the rest of this entry »

 It appears that all the cooler days are now behind and it’s time to get our grasses out of dormancy and greened up.  If you have an overseeded lawn right now you are going to see an influx of growth in the next couple months and it will be important to stay on top of it so you don’t shade out your warm season grass underneath.  Often times in March-May it will be necessary to mow your ryegrass 2x per week to reduce the grass canopy and allow light to get down into the grass and get it growing.  Read the rest of this entry »

I have received lots of emails regarding where you can purchase the “Soil Burst” fertilizers for your  lawn.   We now offer them through our Arizona office and will soon be available online.  We have a few different formulas to choose from and each serves a different purpose. Read the rest of this entry »

While the rest of the country is enduring several feet of snow this week, the desert Southwest is being hit with a pretty good freeze.  It isn’t too common to see temperatures that only reach into the high 10’s and low 20’s, but we have been getting a few days of that midwestern weather and it appears we will have a couple more days before relief comes this weekend.

I have received quite a few emails regarding turf conditions and potential issues with ice and the hard freeze since the weather reports came out the other day so I just wanted to write a short blog today telling you not to worry. Read the rest of this entry »

As we start to warm up outside many of you are still staring at a dust bowl in your front and back yards.  You are ready for the extreme yard makeover, but really are looking to do it on a cost effective budget. I will give you some tips that will help improve your lawn and at the same time save you money up front and down the road.   Read the rest of this entry »

Well it’s Thanksgiving week.  As is usually the case we saw a little bit of frost in the outlining areas this morning and it appears we may get a couple more light frosts later in the week.  When we start to get frost you will notice that your beautiful ryegrass might be losing some of that new grass color.  The best thing you can do before we get some of the harder frosts is to apply a fertilizer such as calcium nitrate 15.5-0-0, 15-15-15 or if even a slow release dark pelletized product such as Soil Burst or Milorganite.  Read the rest of this entry »

I had the chance last week to lie around the beaches of south Maui, and that gave me plenty of time to check out how great the paspalum looks on the lawn areas at the hotels and golf courses, come up with some new things to write about overseeding, and assess my horrible college football picks so far this season.  I know I have covered the basics of seeding and fertilizing, but since these steps are so vital to the success of a winter lawn I am going to tell you how to push the growth and fight off the loss of color when the frost hits.

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The weather is finally starting to cooperate, and we are in prime overseeding season from now till early November.  It appears that the night time temperatures will start to drop into the high 60’s by mid week and the day time temperatures will be in the high 80’s.  It has been a long hot summer (as they all are!), but this one seemed particularly brutal to me.  Read the rest of this entry »

As we get into the fall people are starting to get that itch for the ryegrass and the nice color that goes along with it, so I’m going to answer some “frequently asked questions” related to overseeding, general sod, and seasonal issues.  I will post an in depth overseeding manual as we get a little closer to the season and when the temperature decides to dip below 114 degrees.  You and I also know that with the start of the Michigan Football season around the corner there are more important things than overseeding, so maybe I will discuss a little college football also. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve received a lot of questions from paspalum growers who are chomping at the bit to get out there and fertilize their lawn, but let’s remember why you bought this grass.  This is a grass that likes low nitrogen and thrives off micro nutrients such as manganese, zinc, and iron.  The summer stress period brings on different animals for every grass and each grass has its way of fighting them off.  This blog will touch on the cultural techniques you can do at home to keep your paspalum strong, deep green in color, and keep costs down.  Just as is the case with all grasses, a healthy lawn is the best defense for any potential problems out there. Read the rest of this entry »