So here is the post that I was referring to in case anyone is looking for a pretty concise fertilizing schedule. Credit going to garycinchicago for the OP. Thank you gary! Posted by garycinchicago Z5 Chicago IL. (My Page) on Sat, Jun 20, 09 at 1:31 > "The pre-emergent I applied last fall, and which I was planning on applying again this fall, only contains Dimension, no fertilizer. In the spring, the product I put down I think was both a fertilizer and a crabgrass preventer combo (from the HD)." OK, thanks for the fill in. Like i said, I feel you have the right concept, just you need a little fine tuning - a little change of thought. This is what *I* would do on LI and basically what I do in Chicago. Your zone 6, I'm 5a .. you're just a little warmer than me .. earlier and later than me. [Keep in mind the times are generalized, not specific. Adjust accordingly for LI. but I'm close] Spring - April 1. PreM alone, no fertilizer. Watch forsythia. When they bloom yellow, it's time! Allow grass to green up naturally. Every year will be different. Some years spring is earlier, some are later. Some are dry, some are wet. Mother nature knows when the time is right - leave her alone, don't bother her! May 1, when grass is actively growing - when you actually gave it a complete hair cut, cutting every blade of grass ... go ahead and fertilize. Straight fertilizer, no step numbers. You pick which one (I'm cheap - I buy what's on sale like Scotts, Bill's, Joe's, Pete's etc - names, scnames. The main thing is nitrogen.) June 1, 4th of July, go ahead and drop that Milorganite. The lawn will love the iron. End of June - July 4, GrubX. Some will say don't apply unless you are sure you have grubs! I contend, don't drive unless you have insurance. Grab damage is BRUTAL. GrubX is cheap insurance. August's step #16 / Summerguard. Skip this. What's this protect you from, mosquitoes, house flys? It's too hot to fertilize. You end up stressing the lawn forcing it to grow when conditions aren't favorable for growing (notice now how you aren't mowing twice a week like you were in spring?)Your protected from grubs - you're good to go. Maintain irrigation throughout summer. Labor Day - whatcha got laying around. Turf Builder? That's fine - go ahead, temperatures are dropping which means favorable growing conditions again. PreM - now's the time to drop prevention against poa! Poa germinates when soil temps drop below 70 degrees. So like I said - whatcha got? Use it then. Still have preM alone and fertilizer alone, then you make two drops that day. Have Dimension w/fertilizer left over? Then that's what you use on or around Labor Day. Mid October - again, search the garage, use what you have. Did you buy the big bag of turf builder and still have some left? That's fine - USE IT! Don't fall for the marketing hype and names like "Winterizer" because that's a crock! In October, it's perfectly fine to apply a starter fertilizer too, *IF* your soil need the added phosphorous. University studies have proven that turf wants Nitrogen in fall, so it can store it as carbohydrates over winter to be used the following spring, NOT potash, which is what 'Winterizier' is full of. http://www.agry.purdue.edu/turf/tips/2008/09_03fallfert.html Now last thing and if you truly want to walk on the dark side of lawn geektom. Once top growth has stopped, when you make that final, last cut of the year, when you cut up mostly leaves not grass - drop the secret potion, Nitrogen. This needs to be fast release nitrogen, 46-0-0 urea (cheap, $23 for 50Lbs at Lesco) Urea is very strong and can cause nitrogen burn if too warm but not now because we're talking what? Thanksgiving? It's too cool outside for that to happen. The urea will not be used that fall but rather absorbed and then stored in the root system of the turf as carbohydrates until spring, when mother nature says "Wake up - it's time!" as noted above, LOL!!!!

It's fine to walk on the grass to lay hoses and sprinklers. You may find the grass flattened where a hose was, but it will pop back up. I don't leave the hose lying on the ground after watering. I often use a sprinkler that waters just to one side so I can put it on the edge of the yard and I don't have to walk out into the yard. If you have patches of bare ground, it may be that the seed hasn't germinated yet or something may have gone wrong (seed germinated and died). KBG can take 3-4 weeks to germinate. If it's fescue or rye, it should be up and you may want to think about putting a little more seed in the bare areas. If you can still see seed there, wait. Use your best judgment. Mow if the grass needs mowing. Don't water on the day you cut until after you cut. Be careful when you turn the mower. Make the turns on a sidewalk if possible. If the mower makes ruts, let the ground dry out more.

thanks to everyone for the comments. i posted this original item partially to help some beginners to avoid some of the pitfalls of lawn care (which this website allowed me to do) and partially to get some advice from the experts (i am no expect, me and my lawn are both works in progress). i am simply trying to fine tune my annual maintenance schedule and may post it when it is finalized. as far as chemical vs organic, i do have a 13 month old so am trying to transition to a more organic approach. but for crabgrass and poa control i will likely stay with pendamethalin (halts/dimension) and keep her off the lawn for a week or so. for antifungal, i will try to stay will fine cracked corn, but if major parts of my lawn are dying i reserve the right to treat with a more potent, target specific chemical (i realize then i will lose the option of using cracked corn/corn meal for 2-3 months). in the past i have been too quick to use chemicals for dollar spot/leaf spot when only a few small areas of lawn have been impacted, less than 1ft diam. spots turning brown/melting out.

Mine is a little similar to labrea's. I use Rose Tone (or similar) and kelp or fish emulsion. However, I also mix in synthetics like so: Wednesday Week 1 Organic granular fertilizer Saturday Week 2 Weak liquid fertilizer Wednesday Week 3 Fish emulsion Saturday Week 4 Weak liquid fertilizer Yep, that means I am fertilizing almost once per week, although I pass on the organic "Week 1" about half the time. However I feed very, very weakly. I also look at other factors like the weather. If it's scorching hot and 100 degrees in July then I cut way back. If I miss a week or two because of vacation then that's fine. However, in April, May, and September I am fairly religious about it because those spring and fall flushes are why I grow roses. For my climbers I usually dump something on them here and there when working in the yard, but I do try to give them a good half-strength liquid at least once per month. I should also mention that one reason I feel so often is that I grow a lot of plants (including roses) in containers. My roses that are planted in the garden get about 1/2 as much attention except in the spring when I am fertilizing the annuals all of the time and they are also beneficiaries.