What is the next move on growing a great lawn?

plant Zoysia and fertilize with 29-0-2...get ready to bale it

Get your fertilizer out now if you have a sprinkler system. Not looking like rain for a few days so it will need to be watered in by you.

I would get a soil test done. It's cheap, it can tell you a lot and if for nothing else get an accurate Ph of your soil. Regardless of your soil test Nitrogen will be a given. I only have Bermuda. If you have Bermuda and your lawn is very thin and needs to fill in a lot, you could easily apply 1lb of nitrogen per 1000sq feet every 4-6 weeks of the growing season.

To make it simple lets use Scott's Southern Turf Builder since it's popular and it's a very good product. 32-0-10 - If you buy the 5000sq foot bag that calculates to 1lb of nitrogen per 1000sq feet over 5000sq feet total. I would mark off my lawn into sections an know exactly how many square feet each section and you'll know how much of Scotts to apply to each of those sections. Example. Front yard/Front left/Easement etc.. That helps you to apply an exact amount of 1lb of Nitro per 1000, instead of applying .75 here and 1.5lbs there by just walking around until your spreader is empty.

If I remember correctly Scott's Southern is 10.5% slow release Nitrogen. So in that bag. 33% will be slow release and 67% quick release. The 67% will be used up and or gone for multiple reasons in about 3 weeks if not less. The 33% will be used up in about 5-8 weeks. So you could target a feeding every 6 weeks if you wanted.

If your Bermuda is thick and full you can back down the nitrogen to 1/2lb per 1000 to maintain. The 1/2lb per 1000 on thick Bermuda is enough keep it happy and lower your thatch problems by not pushing the heavier Nitro amounts.

Or you can keep it even simpler by just going off the Neil Sperry schedule of April 1, June 1, August 1 and October 1. Not a bad schedule at all. I just prefer a little more.

Do you mulch it when you mow, or bag it? I thought you got a pretty good amount of nitrogen by simply mulching the fresh cuttings.

I mulch. Only time I bag is when I scalp. Grass clippings are around 3% nitrogen per weight and about 90% water. Plus they return mircos and organic matter back to the soil. That is if you mulch correctly. Meaning mowing often so the clippings are very small. If you're keeping your height of cut at 1" and only mowing when it's at 2" and have tons of the large clippings on the lawn. That's not good. Not only does it not look good, it will restrict airflow in the lawn.

My lawn is not where I want it yet. But I'm getting there. Went from a 2-2-1/2" height of cut last year to a 3/4" right now. Took it down to dirt in February to start fresh. I'm slowly transitioning to nothing but foliar applications for fertilizer, micros, weed killer and pre emergent. I just started to use a plant growth regulator so I don't have to mow as often. I've been very impressed with it so far. Downside is I used just a bit too much and it caused my Bermuda to bronze just a bit. It will recover quickly though. I'm trying a few different formulations of foliar sprays. I'll have it dialed in by the end of the year and start next year on a good note. Shooting for solid line domination from neighbors.

I need one of you guys to come over here and help me. AHAHAHAHAHAHA

I'm just going to start buying Scott's Summer blend and be happy with what it gives me.

I wish I had Zoysia. Looks great.

Freshly mowed. Light pickup from the iPhone doesn't do it justice. Darker than the pic. I might stripe it next year.

Reel baby

I hired a yard service to take care of my yard, they mess with all the fertilizer, pre emarginated, etc

I have a mowing company mow every Friday, My yard looks like carpet when it is freshly cut, I couldn't be happier, and price is more than fair

soil test it will tell you what to use and it will tell you what not to use,soil test,soil test

And it's cheap. You can send one in to A&M for $20. Then you can compare it to MLSN (Minimum Levels for Sustainable Nutrition) on what you need to add or not. Plenty of guides online. This is just the first MLSN chart on a quick google search.

https://www.paceturf.org/PTRI/Documents/1202_ref.pdf