Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Tuesday

 
We put the finishing touches on the #12 creek project.  This included adding more rock to the creek and seeding/strawing the banks.  Once the seed germinates, we will remove the straw to avoid weed growth that comes with straw.
 
 
Approaches are being fertilized following aerification.  We are using a 16-4-8 fertilizer that is 50% slow release.  Again, fall fertilization is crucial.  According to Penn State:
 
The best times of year to fertilize cool-season turfgrasses are in late summer, late fall, and mid to late spring. Sometimes, two spring applications may be desirable—one in early spring and another in late spring. Fertilizers applied to turf during periods of heat and drought in midsummer can stress plants and lead to injury.
The most important time of year to fertilize turfgrasses is late summer (early to mid September). Fertilizer is very necessary at this time because it promotes recovery from drought and heat-related injury sustained during midsummer. Late summer to early fall is also the time of year that cool-season grasses begin to manufacture and store carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are used by turfgrasses for root and rhizome growth, disease and stress tolerance, and protection from winter injury. Nitrogen applied during late summer stimulates foliar growth, but not to the extent that occurs in spring. Thus, slightly higher rates of nitrogen (1.0–1.5 lb nitrogen per 1000 sq ft) can be used for late summer application.
An application of fertilizer in late fall can serve as a replacement for an early spring application. Late fall, in this case, is the time that foliar growth slows or stops, but soils are not frozen. In most areas of Pennsylvania, late fall fertilization should take place in mid to late November.
The advantages of late fall fertilization over early spring fertilization are: (1) nitrogen taken up by turf in late fall is used primarily for and by roots (before the soil freezes); (2) little, if any, foliar growth occurs; and (3) carbohydrates are not exhausted as quickly when late fall fertilizer applications are made in place of early spring applications. If done correctly, late fall fertilization provides early and noticeable turf green-up in spring with less foliar growth. Excess growth is often associated with high rates of nitrogen applied in early spring.