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gregamy
join:2003-05-22
Middletown, CT

gregamy to geek

Member

to geek

Re: [House&Home] Lawn Care and Fertilizer

said by geek:

Wow, looks like we are the only two people on this board that fertilize!

No, I just agreed with his analysis.

I use the Agway 4-step and do not water the lawn, instead letting it go dormant in the Summer.

BTW, the time for thinking about improving the lawn is the Fall, not the Spring. In the Spring you're putting down pre-emergent, which does not allow seeds to germinate. Since seeds cannot germinate, you cannot plant seed to fill patches. Since you cannot plant seed to fill patches, you cannot remove patches of undesirable weeds (e.g., crabgrass and dandelions). Ergo, if you remove all the undesirables in the Spring, they either grow back ('cause no pre-emergent) or you have ugly mud spots until mid-Summer or later ('cause no grass seeds germinating).

Wait until the Fall, then go nuclear on all the undesirables and then fertilize and overseed. In the Spring use pre-emergent to keep them from coming back. And go buy yourself a Weed Hound to have fun attacking dandelions (I spent 10 minutes a day after coming home from work). After a few years of doing this consistently you'll have a nice lawn that requires minimal maintenance.

- GA
XXXXXXXXXXX1
Premium Member
join:2006-01-11
Beverly Hills, CA

XXXXXXXXXXX1

Premium Member

I guess my question is: what defines Spring and Fall? We've had some wacky weather in the last few years. Fall is definitely prime time for lawn care to finish out the season and prep for the following year, but when specifically should it be done? Post-Labor Day or wait for Oct/Nov? What say you CT lawn care adherents?