As we transition out of July heat and into prime turf growing season – we want to make sure that you are checking all of your boxes for growing lush green grass – ORGANICALLY! Don’t skip a beat these next few weeks and set yourself up for your best growing season yet. Take a look at our Summer Stress Recovery Checklist to make sure you are transitioning out of summer and setting up for a successful fall.
Soil Test –
Every 3 years perform a soil test. For accurate results, be sure to test at least 6 weeks after your last fertilizer application. In addition, do so before any late summer apps. Run your tests through us to make your product recommendations easy and keep your focus on turf.
Irrigation Audit –
Test and check all of your irrigation heads to ensure you are maximizing coverage on your lawns and fields. Water is a precious resource. Accordingly, watering efficiently will help give your established turf and germinating seedlings the best chance to take root and push tall shoots. Check out our 1-2-3-2-1 Method Here.
Sharpen Mower Blades –
After 8 hours of use, be sure to sharpen your mower blades! This prevents damage to grass blades. If you notice your grass has white tips it’s an indication that your dull mower blades may be tearing the grass rather than clearly cutting it. Also remember to keep grass height at 3 1/4″ to crowd out weeds.
Core Aeration –
You can start as soon as August 1st on irrigated lawns, or as early as August 15th on non-irrigated ones. Core aeration is one of the best methods of alleviating soil compaction there is! Be sure to use hollow tines as solid tines only perpetuate compaction problems.
Overseed –
Take advantage of those aeration holes and introduce a new crop of turf. Late summer overseeds provide the best window for seedling germination and establishment – giving you a more diverse and resilient turf stand year after year.
Charge Your Soil! –
Apply PJC ProHealthy Turf Charge S3 to prime your soil and turf for the upcoming season. Applying directly into aerated fields puts precious nutrients directly into the root zone – priming the biosphere for a long term feed.
Feed Your Turf! –
Apply PJC ProHealthy Turf Organic Fertilizers within a few weeks of Charge S3. This will provide balanced nutrition for soil microorganisms and your soon-to-be flourishing turf. We provide a wide range of fertilizers to make sure you achieve your annual fertility needs.
Overseed Again –
We know, you just wrapped up this critical cultural practice, but for our High Performance Customers – taking advantage of this incredible weather window is critical to the success of high-use fields. We recommend this in the form of another aeration and overseed or a slice seed. Find out more about tiered programs here: Landscapers, and Schools & Municipalities.
Apply Calcium –
An oft forgotten but essential macro nutrient. Calcium is integral to a healthy turf plant and a nutrient dense soil. Whether you are looking to increase a low pH, alleviate compaction chemically, chelate essential metal ions for plant uptake or increase cation exchange capacity—we have the product set for you! Use High Efficiency Lime, Gypsum or Humic+ respectively to achieve different calcium needs for your soil – or any of the three to help with CEC. Be sure to apply these before the ground freezes. October 15th is usually a safe closing window.
Turf Blankets –
Now that we’ve helped you through a successful growing season – keep that effort growing by overwintering with turf blankets.
Diagram courtesy of Maryland Department of Agriculture.
