Hi Sheryl,

In hot weather you want to avoid synthetic fertilizers, as it sounds like you know, and besides you are posting on the organic forum so I probably shouldn't have even mentioned it...

It would help to know how you fertilized last fall, this spring, and (to a lesser extent since you are in WA) what kind of grass you have. But if you think you need more fertilizer now you could add some grains or another name brand "organic" fertilizer so long as it does not contain a lot of bloodmeal. I have never used Ringers - I have tried mighty hard to, but can't seem to find it locally - but one thing I have noticed from the name-brand organics I have seen is that their recommended application rates seem kind of low to me. I used a Jonathan Green product earlier this year, and after considering what was in the bag, the temps and my own personal circumstances, I think I doubled the recommended rate, and it worked well.

Also, how much and how often are you watering, and how much rain are you getting? I wouldn't think water is a problem in Washington this early in the season, but it would still be good to rule it out if we can.

Finally, when you say "get it green" do you mean green rather than brown, or darker green than it is? If the latter, have you had a soil test done recently? Do you think your soil may be alkaline? Again I suspect you need more fertility, but these things could point to something else.

Please let us know.
Paul

It would also help to know where in WA you are. Most people probably think of Seattle as the model for weather in Washington, but if you live someplace like Pasco, you can be in the desert.

I live in Spokane and it is a semi-desert area. My lawn is green now but not as green as I'd like. It's been raining quite a bit until the last couple of weeks (excluding yesterday) and always when the rain lets up, the browning begins.

Sheryl

It sounds to me like the problem has more to do with water than fertilizer. If your grass needs fertilizer, it's more likely to turn yellow than to turn brown.

What kind of soil do you have? Is it more clay or more sand? In semi-desert, I'm assuming it's low in organic matter and also likely to be somewhat high in pH, too. It's difficult to combat the pH over a large area like a lawn, so I won't get into that.

If you're not mulch mowing, you should do so. Also, raise the mower deck to around 4 inches (or the highest setting if that's lower than 4 inches). Water deeply and infrequently. Most lawn grasses need about 1 inch of water a week. In desert areas, due to evaporation, they may need more than that. Try to water no more than twice a week, but measure how much you're putting down, using empty tuna cans or something like that. You may need to water for a long time to get enough water, but you want to apply a half inch on each of the two days.

You may find that you'll get brown spots in the lawn. Rather than water the entire lawn for a spot that dries out before the rest of the lawn, hand water that area with a hose.