A new study urges waiting a month after laying it down.
Gainesville Sun
By Tom Nordlie, Correspondent
Published: Thursday, May 6, 2010 at 6:01 a.m.
Florida homeowners and contractors laying St. Augustine sod this spring can save money and help the environment if they wait at least one month before fertilizing, University of Florida experts say.
A UF study published in the current issue of the scientific journal Crop Science shows that applying fertilizer to newly installed sod did little to help the grass and boosted the nutrient content of water passing through the soil, said John Erickson, an agronomy assistant professor with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
“That first 30 days, there’s limited rooting, so there’s that risk of loss of nutrients,” Erickson said.
The results from this study help confirm that healthy turfgrass with established roots will absorb the nutrients from properly applied fertilizer and minimize nutrient loss, said Terril Nell, director of UF’s Center for Landscape Conservation and Ecology…
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