Northeast, Zone 6 Cool Season Lawns

[HydroRI]

Without getting to technical I was just wondering what program works best for the LCO's in this region. We all know that a soil test is needed to determine what each and individual property requires for NPK, but lets face it not all of us are taking soil tests at every property. My goal is to design a program in this region that will be better than the competitors. We all know which competitors out number us. Not that I want to compete with them but I want my customers to get there moneys worth and have the best looking lawn on the street. Easier said than done. There is one lesson I learned that will change my program in 2006 and that is 2 applications of Dimension. One just did not cut it last year, lots of hot spots in august. There were a few I did Early and Late spring with 2 apps. and they remained crabgrass free. That was only because I had extra bags but it proved to be the best thing I did. I believe our goal is 3-4 lbs of nitrogen per 1,000/sf per year in our area but there is always some discussion on when and how much. I was reading something today about Winterizer fertilizer. They are now saying a high Nitrogen fertilizer is more beneficial for cool season grasses than the Phosphorus & potassium. I am hoping to clear this up in this thread.

If you go to the Scotts website and design a program for this region this is there ratios for Kentucky Blue Grass, Rye and Fescue: Early Spring 30-3-4 Late Spring 28-3-3 Summer 28-3-8 Late Fall (Winterizer) 22-3-14 Now this is a very big company with a good reputation with homeowners. Every homeowner I know who has used this program that I know were very satisfied so obviously they must know there numbers when they design these programs. Although I do question the nitrogen % on the summer application. It seems too high for a lawn that is probably dormant. So lets see what everyone else thinks....and what programs are successful for our Zone.

[Ric]

HydroRI

Not being a cool season guy I am not sure I can give you the best advice. However Knowing the morphology of turf grass and it's needs, I can tell you Scotts is sell a economy and not Agronomy program. The economy part is their economics. Nitrogen shows the greatest response level of any Element of fertilizer yet it is the cheapest element per pound of all the elements of fertilizer. Nitrogen cause cell elongation or growth, Depending on the source of Nitrogen it will effect the color or shade of green of the turf. P causes root mass while K helps root extension and mass. K will encourage flowering or seed production and P insure strong flowers or seeds.

What you should use depends on your soil and growth cycle. However K leaches from the soil faster than N and is a luxury element that plants will up take in great quantity if available. Because of the great root extension it causes, K makes plants drought tolerant and more resistant to disease. N on the other hand will exacerbate fungus. In short Scotts is charging more for the ink on the bag than the product in it.

[HydroRI]

Sorry so many words, just wanted to hear from the CO's in this region to see what ratios work well for them at what time of season. Forget I mentioned Scotts because Ric is right we can't compare the quality of material we use to theirs. I was just curios to see there ratios for each season.