The Grass Doctor

Grass seed, lime, fertilizer question?

Ok - First off, I live in Georgia - I have a 2 acre yard, full sun for all of it. It's not a new years. It's been a "lawn" since 1979. There is plenty of grass, but I want my yard to look really good this year. I just got in from spreading about 5 bags of 10-10-10 fertilizer on it - I had my spreader about 1/2 way open - I was able to get about 3/4 of the yard. I'm going to go buy another 2-3 bags to finish. I also spread a handful of fertilizer around the base of the new trees that I planted last year. My question is, have I done enough? Do I need to spread just as much LIME as well? What exactly does LIME do? Is it too late to spread gass seed?

Public Comments

1. Don't spread any lime! Adding lime will alter the pH of your lawn which will take years to correct. Or a lot of cash. You can overseed with grass between now and Sept/Oct.
2. Don't listen to lazybone. Most soil is acidic. Most plants grow better in neutral soil. Acidic soil binds up the fertilzers and makes them unavailable to the plants. Lime raises the pH of the soil, reducing the acidity. You probably need 2000-5000 lbs of lime for your yard. It's easy to spread from a pickup with a leafblower.
3. First of all you need to contact county extension service and have them analyze your soil with a soil test. This will save you a lot of headaches and save you a lot of money . The soil test will provide you with the correct amounts of nutrient and lime your soil needs to produce a healthy lawn.( Do this every 3rd year). Lime will correct the ph but takes a few months to correct. Your lawn needs a balance of nutrients that it can not absorb if the soil has the wrong ph level the nutrients will be bound up by the soil and the grass can not absorb it. The soil test will tell you the correct amount of nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium to apply.These are what the numbers on the bag rerpesent. I have found that in central Alabama bermuda needs a 3-1-2 or 4-1-2 ratio, whitch means a3-1-2 would be 12-4-8 and 4-1-2 a 16-4-8 ratio. If you are required to put down 1lb nitrogen per 1000 sq ft. you take 100 and devide it by first number example 100/12 (12-4-8) this would equal 8.3 lb of product per 1000 sq feet. The question about seeding is that you need the moisture and a soil temp at 65 degrees to have germination. This means several days of 80 degree temps to warm the soil to 65 degrees. I hope this helps and remember that your county agent or the local co-op are there for your questions and needs.