Last week, yours truly and three other Southwest Sod Turf Specialists attended the University of Arizona’s Desert Turf School, where we were exposed to cutting edge technology in Arizona home and sports turf management, learning the latest research results of the professors and researchers at the Karsten Turfgrass facility in Tucson. I’ll be passing that information on to you in the next weeks and months so you can make your lawn the best in the neighborhood.
Applying iron during the cold winter months is a simple way to do that. Iron is present in soil but becomes less available to the plant when the soil is cold and wet, causing turf to yellow, beginning with the youngest leaves first. Spraying the lawn with iron or ferrous sulphate will help “green it up” for your Super Bowl party or the weekly backyard football game. Iron sulphate should be applied at a rate of 4 ounces per 1000 square feet with a hand sprayer. Make sure that no herbicide residue is in the sprayer by washing it a few times with warm soapy water. It is best to apply the iron mid-morning, allowing the plant to absorb the nutrients for about 24 hours before irrigating or mowing. It will take a few days for the iron to take effect, but when it does you will notice a marked difference.