Lawn repair and fertilizing

psilva8

Gentleman,

I have a few bare areas in my lawn that I would like to repair. Over all the lawn is in very good condition. I would like to fertilize my entire lawn and was curious if I could just use Scotts Turf Builder on the entire area including the new seeded areas instead of using starter fertilizer?

Would appreciate any advice.

TarheelTerp

You should do that.
Iron rake to remove all the old and bad down to known good soil.
Add soil to grade as needed, fertilize, seed, water.

Around here "entire lawn" fertilizing is a fall project.
(aerate, lime, fertilizer, seed, etc) Check local sources for YOUR area.

DrHicks

You'll be fine. I'd just suggest staying away from the Turf Builder PLUS. It has 2,4d in it - and there's the possibility that it could stunt the germinating grass seed. Probably wouldn't, but could.

psilva8

Thanks for the reply. Being in Ontario, Canada, Scotts Plus isn't even an option with the pesticide ban.

I'm going to try the coated grass seed from Scotts. Have any experience with it?

Tarheel: We fertilize typically 4 times per year. Early spring, just before summer, late summer and fall. Seems to be working for me so far.

Regards

bubbler

As someone else mentioned... make sure that whatever you put down is compatible with new grass seed, otherwise the grass seed won't germinate.

The Turf Builder with any sort of a weed control will stop the grass seeds from germinating correctly.

Be careful also about over fertilizing/etc.

Last year I bought $40 worth of that Scotts Smart Seed w/ the coating. I also bought a couple of bags of their Starter fertilizer. Well, whatever i did wrong, those smart seeds never started... not one in the whole dang bag. Earlier in the year (last year) I had used some of their EZ-Seed, that stuff came up like gangbusters and this year it has returned just as lush.

I just laid down some of their "2 in 1" which is seed + starter fertilizer to over seed some areas and start growth in others. I was very careful to follow their recommended drop spreader numbers this year. It's started to come up on the bare spots and it is looking good... so you might want to consider the "2 in 1". It's about $10 cheaper per lb then the EZ-Seed, and of course with the EZ-Seed half your weight is "mulch", so you need double or triple the weight for the same coverage (but boy does that mulch stuff work).

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sdsester

This time of year you should be able to buy nice, super fresh turfgrass seed in just the formula you want and in bulk for a fraction of a Scott's product. Nothing really against Scott's but I can send you an empty box with a pretty picture of a lawn and you can pay me what you pay them for packaging and marketing? or if you have a decent inkjet printer and a box you can print your own pretty picture and not even pay me?

Remember that different grass species germinate at different rates. Many blends include annual rye to appease anxious homeowners. These grasses germinate in around 5 days but only last one season. Perennial rye hybrids germinate in about 7-10 days and bluegrasses and fescues take 14-21 or more so you have to be patient and keep them moist that long even if it looks like nothing is happening.

psilva8

The content of the Scotts coated grass seed is 42% Creeping Red Fescue, 34% Kentucky Bluegrass, 24% Turf-type Perennial Ryegrass.

I understand what your saying though. I had a Home Depot coupon for it and only paid about $10 so I figured I would try it out. My neighbour had some success with it aswell.

I ended up buying a bigger bag of starter fertilizer and using it on the entire lawn. What was left of the seed bag I overseeded the rest of the lawn with after cutting it short and using a garden rake to loosen the soil.

Thanks for all the comments.

psilva8

I have a follow up question. I realize how long it takes for these blends to germinate. My new issue is when to cut my lawn. Since I repaired some low areas and overseeded some thin areas, the established turf will need cutting before the new seed has an opportunity to germinate. I always cut on the highest setting but wondering if it would be okay to still cut my grass and if so should I bag the clipping so they don't choke out the new seedlings or mulch?

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

sdsester

It will look goofy but if the patches are large you can mow around them a time or two. However, if you must mow all be sure your blade(s) are nice and sharp. What you don't want to do is have the blade "tug" at the seedlings and pull them out of the ground.

Unless the lawn is overgrown, and assuming you have a mulching mower, you do not have to bag the clippings.

pucks101

Someone already mentioned EZ Seed above. It works great. If you know what kind of grass you have currently (or what the dominant grass is, as most lawns tend have a blend of grasses), grab a bag of that seed. Do as suggested and remove the dead stuff, loosen up the soil, spread some regular seed and cover with the EZ Seed. The EZ seed has some mulch and starter fertilizer mixed in it so you don;t have to do anything but keep it watered.

I think the EZ Seed is mostly tall fescue, so the reason I suggest you get some seed of your current grass in addition to EZ Seed is that, for example, if you have Kentucky Blue Grass, a spot of tall fescue will always look like a spot. If you add in some your current lawn's seed with the EZ Seed, it will blend in better.