The Science Behind Holganix
Kentucky Bluegrass Green Up!
In terms of great-looking turf, many elect Kentucky Bluegrass as the path to happiness. According to Rutgers University’s OC administrator, Jim Murphy, numerous varieties of Kentucky Bluegrass are known to have “excellent tolerance of leaf spot, summer patch, and stripe smut diseases.” They are also known for their deep green coloring during the summer and for growing compact and low to the ground. However, many types of Kentucky Turfgrass traditionally can be slow to green-up (usually mid to late May in the Northeast Region) and with the slow start to spring, green-up can be even slower this season. How can you help hasten the spring green-up?
Partnering up both a slow-release nitrogen fertilizer and a quick release in the form of Ammonium Sulfate can help hasten the green-up process of Kentucky Bluegrass. Ammonium Sulfate is a sprayable prill. Applying 1/8 pounds per 1,000 of Ammonium Sulfate with warmer temperatures will help wake the turf up and start the green-up process. Jointly applying Ammonium Sulfate with a slow-release fertilizer such as a 46-0-0 fertilizer, gives the turf a steady spoon-feeding. That way, when the Ammonium Sulfate is done doing its job, the slow-release fertilizer takes over and continues greening up your turf.
One other thing you can take advantage of is by teaming up your slow- and fast-release fertilizer with a bionutritional product like Holganix. Bionutritional turf products help the fertilizer become more readily available and more efficiently used by the plant by increasing nutrient uptake.
Another thought: when seeding, be sure to use a mixture of seed along with the Bluegrass that won’t need as warm a temperature as the Bluegrass. This will help the turf become greener in early spring and later in the fall when temperatures start to cool off again.
Works Cited:
Rutger's University: http://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/?p=3701
