The Grass Doctor

How important is fertilizer when seeding yard?

I just put out some grass seed to fill in some bare patches and overseed the rest. The seed package says I should fertilize the fresh seed. How important is this? I'm trying to keep project costs down, but I don't want to be so stingy on fertilizer that I waste the grass seed by not feeding it properly. It's fescue, and I'm in Missouri if that's relevant.

Public Comments

1. you shouldn't fertilize it till it's at least 6 to 8 weeks after you seeded it. just go and get a bag of compost and top dress the area...spread about 1/2" of compost over the area...you'll probably get good results in those areas ...you'll have to over seed and top dress the whole lawn next year!
2. fertilizer will help it grow quicker. You can buy a 1 lb.. You just need alittle on it. Everytime i plant new grass, i use it. its great. It has everything in it that the new grass needs. All I use is scotts. Go to scotts.com. You can even ask questions.
3. As "d2" stated, you should wait a few weeks until it gets established. You don't want excessive top growth in the early stages. The roots are the main concern at this juncture. The energy needs to be in developing a good root base. There is enough natural nutrients in the existing soil to take care of the germination process and get the new grass started. Hope this answers your question... ...$Billy Ray$