The Grass Doctor

How often can I or should I put fertilizer on my lawn?

We put the dry fertilizer on ourselves with a spreader. I was just wondering how often can I put it on when I'm not seeing the results I want in a couple of weeks. Our neighbors lawns seem so much greener and healthier than ours. Would power raking help or any other suggestions? We live in Utah, in new neighborhood. Neighbors have new lawns as well, and do them themselves. We may have differerent mixture of grass, don't know.

Public Comments

1. check out the site for answers http://lawncare.scotts.com/ We're on their monthly news update list.
2. u don't say where u live but i'll assume up north because of the raking thing. i would say u should fertilize in the spring and early fall. Any more often and u'll burn up the grass. Maybe ur neighbors have professional services and also u r not gonna see results in 2 weeks it takes years to get a beautiful lawn. Call ur county agriculturist and they can steer u in the right direction for ur immediate area
3. we live in tx. & we fertilize every 2 months. the grass will burn up if you dont water it. a nice green yard will not happen overnight but with time and care it can happen. good luck!
4. In general, you can fertilize every 6 weeks provided you water your lawn. Grass is 90% water. Nitrogen forces vegetative growth (new blades of grass), so fertilizing is going to require more water. Make sure you fertilize at the proper rate. Here in Illinois we need 1lb. of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet of lawn. Check with your local university Extension Service for proper rates in your area. Use a slow release type fertilize so yo don't burn the grass and the nitrogen is available for a longer period. Iron produces a darker green lawn without forcing growth. Check that your fertilizer has iron listed as a trace element. If your soil is alkaline, then sulfur also will increase the dark green color of a lawn. Again, check that your fertilizer has sulfur listed as a trace element. Make certain that your mower's blades are sharp. Dull blades tear instead of cut the grass blades. Use of a dull mower produces a lighter, hazy green color. It also stresses the grass and increases the risk of disease. Grass type plays a significant role in lawn color. Sometimes you can overseed with another variety of the same grass type that produces better color. Power raking helps with some types of grass that produce thatch. I've never been a fan of power raking because it causes so much damage to the lawn. It also opens the lawn to the germination of competitive grassy weeds when done here in spring. Again, check with your local extension service for their specific recommendation for your area. Below is the Utah State Extension Service pdf on lawn care recommendations.