OCTOBER DO’S AND DON’TS FOR YOUR TURF and THE CARDINALS!

I’m tired of complaining about the lack of rain fall so I’ll tell you all how happy I am for the baseball Cardinals. Post season play is good for the city and the exposure it brings. I’m sure the DeWitt family is regretting their decision to host those football games right before the last week of the season? I hope no one on the grounds crew lost their job over a decision they had nothing to do with? So much for a “baseball only” venue! I’m sure Billy and Chad are up to the challenge. The does and don’ts for the Cardinals are pretty easy…Don’t schedule anything on the field that may ruin the career of a player or employee and DO win a championship!

Now for some really good stuff…

Warm season/Zoysia Do’s & Don’ts:

*Do keep watering until we get some substantial rain

*Do let it get a little “leggy” into the fall (2 ½ inches or so)

*Do keep the leaves removed even when it’s dormant

*Do make preventative fungicide applications now and in 30days and again April 15-30th. Do them all or none of them!

**Don’t apply any late season high nitrogen fertilizer. High POTASH is OK, but not high nitrogen (see cool season suggestions)

**Don’t aerate or power rake any more…it’s too late to benefit from these. Wait until May to consider doing this again

**Don’t pass up the opportunity to do a soil test. Fall is the best time to correct problems in the soil!

Cool season Do’s & Don’ts

*Do keep watering…especially if you have seeded in the past 30 days. We are dry despite being “above’ for the yearly average

*Do go ahead and aerate and seed still. The soil temperature is way up past normal. You can still get seed to grow, but time is running out to expect great results!

*Do plan on fertilizing with 1 pound if nitrogen per application 2 more times this year yet. 100% slow release nitrogen around Thanksgiving is still the best and most important application you should do!

*Do keep mowing at 3 ½ inches until November and then lower to 2 ½ inches for the final 2-3 cuts. It will green up more quickly next spring…maybe.

**Don’t let leaves accumulate for more then 3 days. New seedlings will have a hard time recovering after more then 3-4 days without sunlight!

**Don’t use a rake to remove leaves (unless you are very gentle), Have then blown or bagged up while mowing. If mulched, don’t return more then the ground can handle!

**Don’t skip fall fertilizations! The lawn will look good and you might think it’s unnecessary, but it is. Just do it!

**Don’t apply herbicides without reading the label! You could do more harm then good!

At the end of the day, our lawn is like our lives…the more we put into it, the better it is. I got to play golf with dad yesterday, my son turns 23 on Sunday and I’m going to Kansas City to have lunch with my daughter…it doesn’t get any better then that. I hope October brings some much needed moisture and what ever else you need in your life. Remember folks…it’s just grass!