Best bang for your buck on fertilizer, pre-emergent, etc....

[hoggs222]

I'm looking to go out and pick up the usuals. It is for a private residence so huge quantities aren't necessary. What brand do you feel works best for fertilizer, etc. I started last year with Scotts and then switched to Lesco half way through. Any thoughts on the cheaper brands that Fleet Farm carries?

Thanks,

Hoggs

[LwnmwnMan2]

Short answer, I'd personally stick with the Lesco brand.

Second somewhat short answer, you're going to get what you pay for, to a point. Meaning if you see Scott's ads multiple times per day on the tv, flyers, radio ads.... someone's paying for those.

Long answer...

The reason that I say stick with the Lesco brand, will be tied to the pellet itself.

It's coated in sulfur, so it's a slow release product. The higher the slow release, the better, IMO, the fertilizer. The reason I say this, is because you're going to get a broader range of breakdown for that pellet, so you're not going to get a spike in growth, and then no growth.

This is what happens when you start running ag type fertilizers, or 'cheaper' brands. You're going to get a quick breakdown of the fertilizer, so you're going to have extremely heavy topgrowth for 2-3 weeks, but then it'll wash out of the soil just as quickly, thereby needing to reapply sooner.

Now you're either mowing every 2 days, or bagging, or just letting the clumps sit, which isn't doing much for the turf.

As far as the 'ingredients', just make sure you're comparing apples to apples.

As far as using ONLY Lesco, especially for outstate guys, Lesco is a brand. If you can do a search for a UAP dealer in your area, or maybe a John Deere Landscapes, they're all going to carry the higher end 'commercial' grade fertilizers. The last couple of years, Lesco brands of fertilizer have been carried in Home Depot stores as well.

[hoggs222]

I did pick up the Lesco at Home Depot. Would I be better off getting outstate a little? I know you can't put down certain mixes in the TC area. Why is it that you need the 0 phosphorous here?

[LwnmwnMan2]

Truthfully, if you do a soil sample, most likely there's no need for phosphorous. What's been determined is that the phosphorous run-off is something that leads to more algae blooms in lakes, which is not a good thing.

If you're just starting a lawn, you can use a fertilizer with phosphorous, but it's to help the lawn start. Once it's established, you don't need it.

You're not really needing to go outstate for your fert.

I just said that for the guys that are already outstate, so they can have a different access, if they wanted to try something new.

[hoggs222]

Gotcha! One more question, how often do people overseed? We've got a few areas that are a little more thin.

[Moose]

I agree with Man2. Lesco has a very good product with a huge variety. The key is look at the % of coated nitrogen the higher the % the slower the release on the product. This is listed on the label.

I actually had good luck with a Menards brand Forever Green I think was the name. It had 16 % slow release which is pretty good for an off brand. Man2 is right to look for the sulfer coating or also called Poly coat. This is what makes the fertilizer release slowly. I also like to have 1-2 % Iron or FE it gives the grass that rich green look. The entire Metro area is prohibited from using phospherous unless you are starting a new lawn.

[hoggs222]

Thanks! If I'm using a sandpoint well, am I getting some iron then already?

[LwnmwnMan2]

Maybe, maybe not....

Do you have alot of rust stains on the side of your house from the irrigation??

You COULD be getting some, but where I'm at, it's completely sandy soil, and virtually no iron in the water.

Some of my properties, or if you look at the north side of the Gander Mountain building in Forest Lake, you can see exactly where the irrigation hits, because there's orange streaks from the iron in the water.

A heavier soil will hold more iron.

[hoggs222]

Nope, we usually get the white stain on the darker colored door that we have in the back. I think my best bet is to get a soil sample in the spring and go from there, what do you think?

[Moose]

We have really high Iron in Anoka from our wells and it still helps with greenup to use a product with Iron in it. Sometimes the Iron from the water just covers up the plant leaf and doesn't make it to the root zone. The peletized Iron in fertilizer is heavier and drops to the soil level where it's usable by the plant. A soil sample always helps just contact the county Agriculture extension agency and they will be able to tell you the cost and procedure.

[LwnmwnMan2]

Also, one other thing, which will be moved to a sticky again a little more towards spring....

I had a thread on here last summer with the info from the U of M on how to obtain soil samples.

So for the new people on the board, you can be watching for that to reappear sometime around mid-March / early April, once the ground starts to thaw.