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janicej11

Grass Prep for Winter

janicej11
15 years ago

Any suggestions on what to put down on the grass to generally improve it for next season? My husband usually puts down some Scott's Fall Feed followed by some general grass seed in November. Appreciate any recommendations for better products.

Thanks.

Comments (3)

  • Kimmsr
    15 years ago

    Any commercial synthetic fertilzier will have far too much Nitrogen for your lawn at this time of year. What you need to have a good, healthy lawn is about 1/2 pound of Nitrogen per 1,000 square feet with another 1/2 pound applied in late June. Most of what ever Nitrogen you applie beyond that 1/2 pound will simply flow out of your soil into the ground water as a pollutant. Look for a good organic lawn food with low amounts of Nitrogen and maybe even apply at 1/2 the recommended rate.
    I will be putting some Milorganite on my lawn later this month and that, 6 percent Nitrogen, is 1 pound of Nitrogen per 1,000 square feet, all that my lawn needs at this time of year.

  • billhill
    15 years ago

    In this one case, your husband is right. Use a chemical fertilizer this fall and then switch to organic fertilizers in the spring. Spend the Winter months reading here and there. Do some research and develop a plan for your organic lawn maintenance. There is little you could do better for your lawn than switching to organic fertilizers. There are many to choose from. For me, the workhorse of organic fertilizer is soybean meal. It is rich in nitrogen, cost effective and usually available at farm animal feed stores. Many like to diversify their fertilizers by switching between soybean meal and corn meal or cracked corn, Alfalfa pellets (rabbit food) is also used. Commercial organic fertilizers are available from Scotts, Milorganite and others. Both are generally available at Lowes, Home Depot, or Mennards. Used Coffee grounds are very good and available free for the asking from Starbucks and other coffee stores. Cultural practices are very important. Mow high and water deeply but infrequently. Congratulations on your decision to switch to organic lawn care.
    Bill Hill

    Here is a link that might be useful: Organic Lawncare FAQ

  • decklap
    15 years ago

    Its never too early to start improving your soil's OM content and getting off the chems. Contrary to popular belief excessive amounts of N in chem ferts don't necessarily encourage faster spring green ups or subsequently healthier lawns. If you're in Zone 5 you either have or are about to have massive quantities of leaves on your lawn. Mulch them directly into your soil. This is the biggest dose of free OM your lawn will see all season and it makes no sense whatsoever to treat leaves as refuse.

    If you want to use a product as well Milorganite is fine as Scott's Organic Choice, both of which can generally be found at your local big box.

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