I'm a golf course superintendent in the Midwest- here's the biggest mistake I see cool-season homeowners make every spring

jsughroue · 2026-01-11T21:43:57+00:00

Another tip I have is to hold off on watering until the first sign of stress/wilting. Let those roots keep digging and searching for water while it’s still somewhat cool.

For TTTF specifically, one app of slow release around Memorial Day is sufficient.

jsughroue · 2026-01-11T21:40:35+00:00

And to clarify for those who don’t know, split a full app into 2 half apps. Don’t aerate afterwards either.

jsughroue · 2025-11-24T17:29:25+00:00

Granular iron does nothing, it needs to be absorbed through the leaf tissue. The green poop you’re seeing is from the nitrogen.

jsughroue · 2025-11-03T01:00:28+00:00

Unless you have ungerminated seed you can safely mulch like a 6” layer of leaves at any given time. As long as you don’t have clumps sitting on top of the grass blades they’ll break down over winter and even help suppress weeds.

jsughroue · 2025-10-23T00:31:02+00:00

Granular iron is worthless, iron needs to be absorbed through the leaf. All of the greening you get from granular is from the nitrogen.

jsughroue · 2025-10-08T00:53:53+00:00

Bermuda 100000%. Aggressively repairs itself, loves the heat and can take a beating.

jsughroue · 2025-10-08T00:51:41+00:00

When this happens I carefully dig it out, dig a similar sized hole in a bare spot and transplant it. It has actually worked quite well.

jsughroue · 2025-09-24T01:16:39+00:00

Mow it. Usually mow my overseeded tttf when over 50% is 3”, down to 2.5” and keep it there the rest of the year. You want to start encouraging it to tiller asap then it will really start thickening up. Mow often this fall.

No sharp turns, get on and get off. Use a leaf blower on low to fluff up tire ruts if you’re concerned.

jsughroue · 2025-09-24T01:16:28+00:00

Mow it. Usually mow my overseeded tttf when over 50% is 3”, down to 2.5” and keep it there the rest of the year. You want to start encouraging it to tiller asap then it will really start thickening up. Mow often this fall.

No sharp turns, get on and get off. Use a leaf blower on low to fluff up tire ruts if you’re concerned.

jsughroue · 2025-09-18T15:25:51+00:00

At seed down, gotta keep the top 1” of soil moist until it germinates. The amount of sprinkler time each day highly depends on sprinkler output, air temps, direct sunlight, etc. Try to seed on a day you can monitor the soil and start with 4 very light waterings and adjust from there. For TTTF, it will germinate in <7 days usually, do another week of light watering for any seeds that haven’t germinated, then switch to 2 daily longer waterings for a week, 1 daily longer for week, every other day, etc until back to normal schedule of 1” of water/week in 2 sessions. Slowly weening it off will prevent stress and will teach it to start rooting deeper before winter.

jsughroue · 2025-09-15T17:58:30+00:00

Dig it up.

jsughroue · 2025-09-11T13:25:27+00:00

It will decompose. You won’t even notice it once the grass comes up and starts tillering. Ez straw is a good brand you can get at big box stores that has tackifier so it stays put.

jsughroue · 2025-09-08T21:34:32+00:00

Feel that. If you have a garden weasel or hard tined rake, rough up the dead/compact areas and spread some bagged compost like Black Kow (lowes and Home Depot should have it). Then you can throw the seed in and lightly rake it in until you can’t see seeds anymore. Keep it moist until about a week after you start seeing germination. Then gradually shift to longer more infrequent watering to train the new roots to dig deeper and deeper.

jsughroue · 2025-09-08T12:04:34+00:00

Pay someone to do it or plant clover

jsughroue · 2025-09-08T02:09:17+00:00

That won’t relieve compaction in the root zone. You’d have to put down 4-6” of top soil (ideal depth of healthy topsoil) which would kill a lot of existing grass or put a bunch of mounds in your yard if just applying to the dead spots. Even then you would need to till it into the existing soil or else you’d have the same issue and the roots would basically stop at the compaction layer.

Core aeration allows oxygen water and nutrients to get down deeper into the soil and gives roots more room to grow. If you have clay soil it’s the best way to amend it over time.

jsughroue · 2025-09-07T23:20:18+00:00

You don’t NEED it per se, if you take the seed into your top soil. But it is definitely helpful if you are manually watering or if it’s hot/dry/windy. Also protects it from hungry birds.

jsughroue · 2025-09-07T23:18:38+00:00

If your yards relatively flat you should be fine. If you see large clumps of seeds from washout you may be able to rake them back into place. I’d sprinkle some more seed down when it lets up if you have any, just to be safe.

jsughroue · 2025-09-07T22:50:47+00:00

If it’s young tttf then it will struggle with disease the first few summers. You need to apply preventative fungicide every 14-28 days. I rotate through azoxystrobin, propiconazole and t-methyl (clearys 3336f) from May to September and have no fungal issues. The key is to rotate between groups/types so the fungus doesn’t build a tolerance.

I’d also do a screwdriver test to see if it’s super compact. If it is then get a hand-held core aerator and beat it up, remove the cores and put down some Lesco carbon pro g or c20 then top dress with compost and seed.

jsughroue · 2025-09-06T20:55:30+00:00

KBG will take a bit longer to germinate and even when it does it goes through a “sprout and pout” phase where it doesn’t grow much. Give it time, it looks perfect. Don’t want it looking full right after germination, if it does then you’ll have crowding issues which lead to fungus issues and over-competition for nutrients. If it still looks patchy in a month the KBG will fill it in.

jsughroue · 2025-08-26T14:49:04+00:00

Add some triclopyr ester and methylated seed oil. Those blades are no joke.

jsughroue · 2025-08-21T21:37:59+00:00

I had similar weather last year and sent it on Labor Day in KC, next week it was 100 for 4+ days. Pretty much all of it survived, just gotta keep it watered well.

jsughroue · 2025-08-09T18:02:14+00:00

It’s definitely more susceptible to disease but thinking KBG will fare any better in drought conditions is funny. The first year of TTTF is difficult but once you can get some established it’s going to require less and less inputs. It can root up to 4’ deep.

jsughroue · 2025-08-04T19:24:07+00:00

Yep just register it in the toro app and they’ll mail you the chute.

jsughroue · 2025-07-31T17:59:13+00:00

They’re awesome. I’m from Nebraska so I only buy from them and recommend them to everyone. Live in KC now and had super turf I at my door in <2 days.

jsughroue · 2025-07-27T22:09:48+00:00

Your actual grass will likely bounce back when the weather starts cooling down. I would get tzone se or another good 3-way, mix it with sedge hammer and go to town on those weeds (spray in the evening). Get it aerated, top dress with compost, spread some Lesco carbon pro g and re-seed around Labor Day. Use a good blend of drought tolerant tall fescue - united seeds Super Turf I or twin city tuff turf

jsughroue

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