Even Fertilizer Application

Chip Harkes

Everyone wants an even fertilizer application. But come spring time, I see it time and time again where a homeowner tries to fertilize his or her lawn, and ends up striping the lawn with the fertilizer. Applying fertilizer unevenly will result in unsightly light green strips in a sea of dark green grass. What happens to cause the uneven fertilizer application with a rotary spreader could be a spreader malfunction,…

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Dormant Grass

Chip Harkes

Spring is underway, and the grass will be looking better and better every week as the weather warms up. However, you may notice that not all of the grass greens up evenly. Why is that? Why is there still dormant grass? Not all grass greens up from winter dormancy at the same time. Some species like Kentucky bluegrass, perennial rye grass, and fine fescue will green up rather quickly. They…

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Fertilizing Too Early

Chip Harkes

Here we are, spring is coming up quickly. The temptation is to get your lawn greened up quickly once spring is fully underway. So we think, fertilizer. Great, we have the right idea. Now we have to be careful not to fertilize too early. Fertilizing when the ground is frozen is not only a waste, it is harmful to the environment. Fertilizer spread on frozen ground will just wash away.…

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2015 Growing Season Wrap Up

Chip Harkes

Here we are again, at the end of another growing season. Like any growing season from the past, there were some challenges from the weather and pests, and there were some blessings too. The beginning of the 2015 growing season was wet. Not too much, but enough to keep everything watered and happy. By the end of May into early June, that rain turned off, and the lawns started to…

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