Everything you need to know about turfgrass nutrition in 1 lecture

This is the handout for my guest lecture in Oregon State University’s HORT 314, Principles of Turfgrass Maintenance class.

A 1 minute version of nutrition and fertilizer requirements

If you do these things, the turf will almost certainly have enough of every element.

1. Keep soil pH above 5.5 and less than 8.3.
2. Apply the right amount of nitrogen.
3. Keep soil potassium above 37 ppm (Mehlich 3).
4. Keep soil phosphorus above 21 ppm (Mehlich 3).

The 1 lecture version of nutrition and fertilizer requirements

The presentation slides are here:

Everything you need to know about turfgrass nutrition in 1 lecture from asianturfgrass

For more information on this topic, see the Asian Turfgrass Center’s posts tagged fertilizer.

Links mentioned in the presentation:

• PACE Turf climate appraisal form for calculating the growth potential and the expected nutrient use at your site.
• The Global Soil Survey, a citizen science project to identify, refine, and improve soil nutrient guidelines for turfgrass.
• New and improved soil test interpretation with the updated MLSN guidelines.
• MLSN guidelines page on Facebook.
• The first year report of the Global Soil Survey, with more details and data about this exciting project.
• The article in GCM about using the MLSN guidelines, with example calculations.

More turfgrass info

You can find articles I’ve written about turfgrass management at the ATC Turf Information page. Follow my blog for updates about turfgrass management around the world, and for even more frequent updates, follow me on twitter.