How can I make my zoysia grass become greener, faster.?

Question

My lawn is constantly growing weeds and patches stay yellow during the summer. I went to Lowe's and they said Scott's turf builder every few weeks and watering 3-4 times a week will make me have a full green lawn in about 2 months. But I have also heard that i should use golf course fertilizer because a lot of courses use zoysia on their greens and tee boxes. If i should use golf couse fertilizer, what kind and where can i get it. Thanks

Answer 1

Golf courses use a lot of different kinds of fertilizer depending on what is cheap and what they want it to do. Running a soil test would really help you a lot. Knowing your pH and the amount of nutrients you have in the soil gives you a good baseline to begin with and will even come with recommendations from the testing agency about the amount of fertilizer to apply. Golf courses are not treated the same in all areas. Granular fertilizer is not always used. Sometimes the greens are fed with a water soluble fertilizer. This is partially to ensure that the fertilizer pellet does not sit on top of the highly manicured green and cause a burned spot. What you want to look at is the amount of quick release nitrogen like ammonium nitrate versus the amount of slow release nitrogen. There should be some of both, but the greater portion should be some sort of slower release nitrogen.
Word of caution: do not over fertilize. It can cause far more harm than good. Generally, the recommendations are to apply one pound of Nitrogen per 1000 ft sq.
If I have a 15-5-10 plain old cheap stuff, which is ok in some instances, it will take me 6 and 2/3 pounds to get 1# of N.
Does that mean I recommend putting out 53-0- 0 urea? No.
But it does mean I have to think about how big an area I am to fertilize, how much my spreader is putting out over that area and what the percentage of Nitrogen my product has available. Often you can find a chart on the label that will tell you where to set your spreader, of various models, to get 1# N/ 1000 ft sq.
The Lesco products can be pretty good and are reasonably priced. I don't mind going to the country feed store to by it in brown paper bags. I could not care less about flashy marketing. I want to know what is in the bag, not how many colors there are on the container.

You can certainly use a water soluble fertilizer, but it means a shorter residual effect. It will green it up more quickly, but it does not last as long. They call it "spoon-feeding" a green on the golf course. Excess nitrogen, even below the level which burns a plant, is not beneficial. It promotes some weeds and also makes the turf more susceptible to disease and insects, since they prefer the most tender parts of the plants, i.e. the newest growth.

Have fun. I made it sound pretty involved, but it really isn't. Read the instructions and the label of ingredients and get your money's worth. Know your tools and your area to work and you are good to go.

If you want to know exactly how much fertilizer you are applying it will require that you calibrate your spreader, but that is a conversation in itself.

Answer 2

Scott's Green Max fertilizer will do the trick, but only last 25 days. One small bag covers 5000 ft. Mow the grass, fertilize, then water yard, DO NOT WATER at night or you will start to set up brown patch fungus if you have St. Augustine. Water at least 1 inch per week. If you have a sprinkler system, let it go off 3 -8 minute cycles on watering day. This will allow water to soak in and not run off. Mow every 4 days, not 7. this will stop tip burn and kill weeds. This answer is dependent on your lawn getting at least 6 hours of direct light, not trying to grow grass under a tree. Sorry to say, but you wasted time with the rye grass. Wrong time of year to apply. Now go drink a beer and relax.

Answer 3

Pedro is almost right, use sand. What he left out was, sand with grass seed mixed in to be placed in divots.

You don't need "golf course" fertilizer, turf builder will do, any weed and feed works. Zoysia normally is a slow growing - hence less mowing - thick grass that will choke out weeds. Have a lttle faith in your grass husbandry and keep doing the marvelous job you are doing now. You'll see results. good luck, and "fore!"

Answer 4

The easiest way to learn golf like a pro is by following "The Simple Golf Swing" program. It's primarily a 31 page eBook that teaches golfers how to make solid contact with the ball, how to avoid hitting fat, how to avoid slicing, how get more power, accuracy, and consistency in your swing. Consistency being the number 1 golf skill.

You not only get the eBook though, you also receive a ton of extra material including video, lessons on putting, driving, chipping, sand play etc. Here is their official site: http://www.golfswingguru.net

Answer 5

Scotts Green Max

Answer 6

USE A LITTLE SAND and some green spray paint!!! GOOD LUCK!