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Scotts turfbuilder again?
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Posted by
globe199 MN (
My Page) on
Fri, Jul 20, 12 at 13:52
| I applied plain old Scotts turfbuilder to my lawn the first week in May. I would like to do it again now if that's OK. Their website says it can be applied every 6-8 weeks, but I would like to solicit opinions on this.
Is it OK or will it harm the lawn to do it now and again maybe in October? Will there be any benefit? I'm getting patches of crabgrass now. I'm thinking it's because it's been hot and dry lately. Thanks for any advice. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Scotts turfbuilder again?
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| If you have a cool season grass (bluegrass, tall fescue, perennial rye) then no, you should wait till cooler weather, when the heat breaks and the rains return. Applying fertilizer to cool season grasses in the summer is not something you want to do, despite what that Scottish jerk on the commercials says. It forces topgrowth, using resources that the grass needs to get through the summer. The increased topgrowth also uses more water, and it creates a lush environment that is more favorable for fungal disease. Crabgrass grows when soil temps get above sixty degrees. It is an annual, so any seeds dropped last year wait for the warm summer temps this year. Fertilizer has nothing to do with crabgrass. |
RE: Scotts turfbuilder again?
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| You should be just fine. Scott's is less than 30% slow release, so 70%+ is fast release, so your lawn probably needs another hit about now. Since it is low slow release, most has probably leached out by now. |
RE: Scotts turfbuilder again?
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| Good point tiemco, my bad as I am a bermuda guy. |
RE: Scotts turfbuilder again?
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| It's mostly bluegrass. So I'll wait on the fertilizer. When's the next good time to do it? What do you recommend for crabgrass? It's astonishing how quickly it has popped up and proliferated. |
RE: Scotts turfbuilder again?
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| WeedBgone as a postemergent for crabgrass. Next spring apply a pre-emergent. KBG should receive 3-5 lbs of N per year per 1k sq ft at 1# per application. (the lesser amt for lower maintenance lawns given less water, the higher amt for high maintenance lawns with regular watering.) The recommended fertilization application for KBG is weighted heavily for Fall application. 1# N in late Aug., Sept./Oct., and November (3# total). The late Sept/Oct can/should be accompanied with a high K (1#)feeding (winterizer) for improved root health. If you are into high maintenance and are willing to water regularly you can add another 1-2# of N between Late April and June. (or bump up the fall application by .5# and reduce the Spring-early summer apps by .5#) Caveat: the Spring/early Summer fertilization can lead to increase chance of disease- more maintenance. Except for enviormental concerns, you can add some P&K with any of the feedings. Other than November, you should use slow release N. |
RE: Scotts turfbuilder again?
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| Okay we know you are in MN so I don't have to ask that. How often do you water and for how long? How high/low do you mow and how often? I'm concerned about crabgrass this time of year in a KBG lawn. KBG should not have crabgrass. Where did the crabgrass start? Near a concrete or asphalt edge or in the middle? Is there shade in the area? I guess I doubt there would because crabgrass is really a full sun plant. Something is thinning the KBG and allowing weeds to sprout and take root. That usually requires continual moisture and plenty of sunlight coming through a thin turf. I've never heard of using Weed-B-Gone on a grass. Usually it is used on broadleaf weeds only. That would be interesting news if it worked on a grass like crabgrass. First week in May might be a little early for fertilizer in MN. Memorial Day is easy to remember and would be good. Then the next app would be on Labor Day after the summer heat breaks. Third app would be toward Thanksgiving if you can make it that long. Maybe end of Sept if the grass is looking dormant-ish. Most of the N goes down in the fall. |
RE: Scotts turfbuilder again?
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| Here's a news flash for you (you can still say you haven't heard of it, but now you've read it): It's Weed B Gone Max plus Crabgrass. It works, but use per the instructions. |
RE: Scotts turfbuilder again?
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| David/Grass1950: Yup, easy confusion. There are numerous WBG products, and they don't get used interchangeably. Regular WBG or WBG Max won't work on crabgrass. The WBG + Crabgrass Killer product adds Quinclorac, which is an excellent treatment for postemergent crabgrass control. |
RE: Scotts turfbuilder again?
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| The confusion was my creation. I was lazy. |
RE: Scotts turfbuilder again?
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| Frankly I rely on these forums for updates on labeling. Last time I shopped for Weed-B-Gone they had three products: Weed-B-Gone, Grass-B-Gone, and Brush-B-Gone. Now they have well over a dozen varieties of the same chemicals at different concentrations with slightly different names. I no longer try to keep up. The one with crabgrass killer was definitely news to me. Down in the south we can use baking soda to kill crabgrass and Dallis grass. That doesn't work in northern lawns. |
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