The word transition tends to conjure up some ugly thoughts in people’s minds. Transition is often used to describe moving from one stage to another or in the case of sports teams are often transitioning from one style of play to another. Fans of sports teams cringe when they hear the word transition and the same is true for most turf managers but with turf it is often an easy fix. My goal today is to answer some frequently asked questions on transition, sod install, fertilizer and watering for the summer. If you have another question that I didn’t list please let me know.

Q.     I overseeded my lawn last fall and I can’t get the ryegrass to die off. Can I turn the water off and kill it?

A. Yes and no. You can turn the water off and severely stunt or kill the ryegrass but you will also do some serious harm to your warm season turf. It is best to cut your water back 30-40% and let it fade away with the warmer temperatures.

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The holidays are right around the corner and everyone getting ready to enjoy some family time.   I think you should do the same with your lawn!  This is a good week to put some final touches on your grass and get it ready for all your visitors.  Read the rest of this entry »

While most of the country has been experiencing some of the worst early winter weather on record, we have been blessed with some of the best weather I can remember for December–especially for our  lawns!   It is not that often that we only receive a couple frosts and then the temperature pops back up into the high 70’s, low 80’s.   Read the rest of this entry »

Wednesday was an eye opening day for several people in the turfgrass industry as West Coast Turf played host to Dr. Ronny Duncan for a workshop on how to grow paspalum at our Scottsdale farm.  He also gave some tips on keeping color and winter hardiness for bermudagrass and St. Augustine.  Many people are still opening up to the idea of growing a different grass than bermuda, but the paspalums is where the turf industry is quickly heading.   Read the rest of this entry »

At this time of the year there is not a warm season grass that is going to have time to root into the ground without having ryegrass to help it establish itself into the soil.  We are just beginning to get into the season of having cool nights and mild days, but that doesn’t mean you can’t put down sod.  Read the rest of this entry »

As we begin the month of November (and we are about 4-5 weeks into the overseed season) it’s time to make sure your lawn is ready for the winter.  Winterizing your lawn with overseeded turf is quite different than getting it ready to go dormant for the winter.  We have been blessed with some warm temperatures so far this fall keeping our non overseeded turf green, but as temperatures move into the 50’s at night you will start to see a sudden decline in non-overseeded turf growth. 

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About once a month it is always good to post some of the most frequently asked questions during that time period as well as some that I know many of you may have.

I overseeded too early and lost some of the seed to the heat, when do I know I need to reseed? Read the rest of this entry »

As the weekend draws closer my nerves are starting to rise and it’s not because it is time almost time to overseed your lawn (but we’ll discuss that!) or that another Division II school is coming to Ann Arbor to embarrass my Wolverines (we’ll talk about that, too!).  This weekend I will be running in my first “Ultra Marathon” and the goal is to complete 46.2 miles (75K).   Read the rest of this entry »

The monsoons are upon us, and so is the humidity.  We need to take advantage of it and get our lawns and sod filled in while we have optimal growing weather.   Read the rest of this entry »

It was the “game seen around the world” last night, but it was the field that received more praise than either of the teams. Read the rest of this entry »