When to Fertilize Your Lawn

So about a month ago, I went down to Home Depot and picked up some Vigoro Ultra Turf Summer Turf Fertilizer plus Insect Control. I got some of this last year in the Autumn because I noticed some grubs down in the dirt when I was digging around doing something. Laura’s father has a grub problem and he lost about a half-acre of grass. I recalled reading on the fertilizer bag that this stuff took care of the grubs, in addition to a bunch of other things. We had a huge ant pile in the front lawn that was taking out some grass too.

The reason I bought this particular product last Autumn is that it had both insect control and fertilizer in one. I like that. Soooo…I put it down and waited. I did notice a drop in ant population in the front lawn and much better looking and fuller grass, but I have still noticed grubs. I suppose the grub feature was either in my imagination or just didn’t work. So, like I said, I bought some again this year and put it down. Well, currently, I have really green and lush spots of grass, but I still see those damn grubs. I am not sure about its insect killing capabilities because…well, I never saw many insects to begin with. I must say that our lawn looks a heck of a lot better than it did when we moved in.

Yesterday, I found myself down at Lowe’s purchasing some Scotts ProSelect 12-12-12 Flower, Tree and Shrub Fertilizer and some insect and grub killer. I made sure the package said grub control this time. Also, the thing I like about this fertilizer is that is has equal parts of nitrogen, phospherous and potassium…which all do different things for your plants. Nitrogen is mainly for green grass (and leaves), but I was looking for root strength and growth rate too, so I needed the other two at decent levels as well. On top of that, it is slow release, so it fertilizes over three months.

I will let you know what happens with that.

Anyway, when are you supposed to fertilize? Well, the answer relies on a few things:

– climate
– grass type
– the fertilizer being used
– how you want your lawn to look

For a very in depth look at this topic, you can read about it at “All About Lawns.”

After you fertilize your lawn and shrubs, let me know what kind of success you had and what you used. I am sure there are tons of tips out there.