starter firtilizer

[Inthehollow]

Just wondering when to put the starter firtalizer down. Planted the seed last fall and wondered when to firtalize wait till grass comes up or do it before its up. ran out of time last fall snow hitting me in the face when rakeing it in. Thanks Bret

[Musky_Madness]

I googled the same question you had earlier this week and found the results surprising. The best times to fertilize are June, August, and October. Early spring fertilizing is actually detrimental because you are weakening the grass by feeding the blades and not the roots like you would do later in the year. If you fertilize in early spring, the grass will not be able to withstand dry spells and heat very well.

[LwnmwnMan2]

What Musky said is true, the later fertilizings are the most important.

However, with the starter fertilizer, it's not the same, as you're trying to stimulate the seed into even growing, let alone be weak or not.

I'd put it down when the grass starts to germinate. The grass will start to germinate when ground temps have been at roughly 54 degrees 3 mornings in a row at sunrise.

[Tom7227]

I presume you mean a fertilizer with some phosphorous in it to promote root growth. I have had excellent success with it but only in the late summer or early fall. I would be concerned about putting it down now because of the strong possiblity of rain causing it to run off the area pretty quickly. Phosphorous is very deterimental to lakes and rivers and they really don't need any extra.

[Inthehollow]

Thanks for the input guys. I will wait for the seed to germinate and watch the weather thanks Bret