Feeding a newly seeded Fescue lawn

CarolinaEddie – posted 26 October 2004 05:32

Greetings Turfmaster,

We have a new home with a newly seeded Fescue lawn in Raleigh NC (zone 7). The lawn is about 8 weeks old and I’m seeking guidance on what and how to feed it in November. Unless advised otherwise I’m considering giving it a light feeding of Milorganite (6-2-0) mid November. (20,000 sft about 150lbs)

Please advise,CarolinaEddie

cohiba – posted 26 October 2004 13:57

Carolina Eddie,

Milorganite is a great organic fertilizer and a good product to use in the late fall. However, it will not be available for the turf to use until the soil heats up next spring and summer. Your fescue should be fertilized with a balanced fertilizer such as 10-20-20 in November. Give it 1# of Nitrogen per 1000 sq.ft. Make sure the N is 100% quick release(no slow release N). And the turf will respond wonderfully in the spring.

Take care………………..

volabroad1 – posted 26 October 2004 18:46

I used starter fertilizer when seeding in September. . .

Should I fertilize again in Nov?

cohiba – posted 27 October 2004 04:10

Half pound or full pound?

If you went half: I would go with 1# N, 100% quick release N in November. If you went with 1# N I would go with 1/2 # N from the same quick release source, at least. Keeping in mind that I would go with a 10-20-20 blended fertand not another starter fert.

Where are you located again?………….

volabroad1 – posted 27 October 2004 14:46

Atlanta. I used 20-27-5. . .50% of the N was Urea, the other 50% was ammoninical (?). . . .

I put 9lbs over round 2500 Sq Ft. Those were the instructions on the back. . .18lbs bag that covered 5000 sq ft. Oh, and it was a mixed product, not an all-in-one.

It has worked well, with the lawn coming in nicely (mix of rye and turf-type Rebel fescues)

cohiba – posted 27 October 2004 17:11

Volabroad,

You applied just over 3/4# nitrogen per 1000 sq.ft. I would apply another 3/4# Nitrogen from a 100% urea nitrogen source. The ammoniacal Nitrogen you used is slow release and is probably going to hold you over until mid November.

Have you done any soil tests lately?

Just my thoughts. Good Luck……….

volabroad1 – posted 27 October 2004 17:22

I have not. I am good at liming every 2 months (I had some ph problems last year). . . I did have a soil test some 6 or 7 months ago, and it revealed the ph problem. . . everything else was okay.

For the urea nitrogen, I would just get something like 20-0-0 or 10-0-0 and apply 9lbs over 2500 sq ft? How do I calculate how much to add?

Cgrass – posted 29 October 2004 08:22

Volabroad1–From other posts, I thought you had centipede grass. If that’s the case, you should not exceed 1 to 2 lbs of nitrogen per year. Also,if your pH is above 7.0 iron may be an issue.

volabroad1 – posted 06 November 2004 10:56

Cgrass1 — very observant.I have a centipede lawn in the back, fescue in the front. . .

Right now I’m debating on the pre-emergent needs of the centipede in the back, and the fertilizer need for the fescue

turfie – posted 13 November 2004 18:36

Cohiba,

Just a technicality – how do you know that ammoniacal nitrogen is slow release?

Stephanie

cohiba – posted 21 November 2004 11:59

Stephanie,

I stand corrected! Ammoniacal Nitrogen is quick release, always.

Sometimes I feel like such an amatuer. I will banish myself from this forum for 2 weeks! I will use the time to bone up on my fertilizers.

Thank you for the clarification……

See you in two…….

turfie – posted 26 November 2004 19:32

Awwwww…c’mon now. Didn’t mean to nitpick. The big cohiba will be missed if he stays gone for 2 whole weeks!

CarolinaEddie – posted 07 December 2004 12:50

Greetings Turf-Master Cohiba,

As you recommended in your initial reply to this post I applied 10-20-20 (not easy to find) at a rate a little less than 1 # per 1k sq.ft. Within a couple week the lawn greened up and I’m encouraged that I have the beginning of a deep rooted drought resistant lawn.

I would like some guidance on a couple other issues in my Fescue lawn.

I’ve notice some yellowing in the lawn, mostly the young grass blades but also in the more mature grass. I learned that my ph is about 5.5 and have applied pelletized lime, 40lb 1k sq.ft. I noticed the yellowing before I applied the lime. The weather in Raleigh NC has been low in the 30s with some frost and highs in the 70s.

Also it is my impression that here in NC I should feed Fescue again in February / March, should that be another feeding of 10-20-20 or something?

Last question.I’m in a new sub division with just a few homes, when I seeded my lawn a seeded about 10 ft past my properly line with the idea that I would use this grass as sod to fill in any bare spots. Is it OK to cut some sod pieces now or when is the best time to do this.

Thank You,

Carolina Eddie

ted – posted 07 December 2004 14:05

40 lbs of lime won’t pull you up to par on the ph scale- you’ll need another application depending upon your soil composition-refer to your soil test.cool season grasses in the mid-south are fertilized heavy with nitrogen in the fall, not the spring. what cohiba is referring to is to use 1 pound of nitrogen per 1000 sq. ft. to determine this you divide the first number on the bag of fertlizer into 100. for example: 20-5-10 would use 5 pounds per 1000 sq. ft. to equal 1 pound of nitrogen. the problem with the example is that 10-20-20 put down at 1 pound of nitrogen per 1000 sq. ft. would be overdosing your lawn on the phosphorous and the potassium, again depending upon the soil composition. soil test it for nutrient needs, soil type, and your ph again, and then follow the recommendations. but don’t use alot of nitrogen in the spring- leads to weed growth, fungus, etc.

cohiba – posted 13 December 2004 18:36

Carolina Eddie,

Do you have a soil test that says your pH is 5.5 or did you use one of those over the counter pH test kits? If you have a soil test done let me see a copy and I can give you some insights. Also, what type of lime did you put down dolomitic or hi-cal? Pelletized lime needs time to break down before it works in the soil. The yellowing you are seeing is probably not from the pH but other causes.

The sod idea sounds good to me. I would do it anytime before mid april. If you can, get as much roots as you can. The fescue naturally has deep roots and will respond better to the winter if given the chance.

Ted is right about the fertilizer amount what I meant was 1# Nitrogen per 1000sq.ft. for a 10-20-20 that would be 10 pounds of material per 1000 sq.ft. of turf. I have been looking for a good website that explains calculations for fertilizer. The GCSAA has a great tool but you must be a member to utilize it. I utilize over 15 tons of 10-20-20 every fall on more than 90 acres. Appling 1# Nitrogen and that is all I do to fertilize my mixed fescue, bluegrass and ryegrass turf. Having done this each year since 1995 I have never overdosed with P or K.

Take care…….

ted – posted 16 December 2004 14:10

the calculation is easy. just divide the first number on the bag of fertilizer(nitrogen) into 100. that will tell you how many pounds to put down per 1000 sq. ft. to achieve your goal. works the same for the other 2 numbers (phosphorous and potassium), as well. as a rule it doesn’t hurt to put down 1 pounds of actual nitrogen per 1000 sq.ft., of course depending upon the grass and season involved.

CarolinaEddie – posted 24 December 2004 13:37

Turf-Master Cohiba,

The PH reading I quoted was taken from a gardening meter, I know I should and will get it tested by the County Ag folks. The lime I used is by Klean Lime – Pelletized Dolomitic Limestone.

Carolina Eddie

ted – posted 25 December 2004 19:56

actually, don’t get it tested locally- go to a turf lab like CLC Labs or send it to a Lesco service center- much more indepth recommendations than your local ag guy.

cohiba – posted 26 December 2004 19:46

eddie,

No matter who you get the soil tested by, post the results and we can all look at them. If you want you can fax/email to me and I will give some thoughts. Don’t trust those gardening meters I have never seen one that worked after 2-3 tests. Our local Ag extension uses Rutgers soil lab, I prefer A&L Labs, but the price with the county is much better.

Good luck and Happy New Year……………