We're actually not a fan of Weed and Feed. The Weed part is of tolerable effectiveness, but you're broadcasting it around into areas that don't need it. The Feed part is delivered at the wrong time and tends to weaken the grass for summer.

We won't go into applying the stuff on damp grass to get the herbicide to stick. That's just asking for trouble with the feed.

General Care:

Spray weeds with any good herbicide as required through the season. I'd suggest a 1 gallon sprayer from your local big box store, and a good general weed killer like Weed B Gon. If you have a specific issue habitually, things like Weed B Gon with Crabgrass Control or Weed B Gon Clover, Chickweed, and Oxalis control can be used.

Feeding:

Synthetically, feed on Memorial Day, Labor Day, October 1 (optional), and when the grass is still green but stops growing for the season (Thanksgiving, plus or minus a lot).

Organically, May 1, August 1, September 1 (optional), October 1, and then use a good synthetic when the grass is still green but stops growing.

Zones are used to identify plants for winter hardiness. For example if you live in zones 1-6 you can grow the northern type grasses (fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, rye, bentgrass). If you live in zones 5-10 you can grow the southern grasses (bermuda, St Augustine, centipede, bahia, zoysia). After that the zone number doesn't mean anything. It is much more important to know whether you live in Denver or Anchorage (both same zone, but different frost dates). So, where do you live? That will help get your next fertilizer on the calendar. Generally fertilizing is done in the late spring, early fall, and late fall. When those dates are for you depends more on your location than your zone.

Skip all the weed-n-feed products. They are too hard to apply correctly, so most people are disappointed. Plus they waste a lot of herbicide you don't need. Plus the timing is wrong on 2 levels. When you need a fertilizer, use a fertilizer. When you need a herbicide, spot spray specific weeds with a targeted herbicide (like Weed-B-Gone for dandelions, for example). This will save you a lot of hassle and grief.

The beginning of May was not too early for your wnf product. Late may would have assured you were fertilizing after the spring flush of new growth. Early March would have been too early for certain. The idea is to not fertilize before the flush of new growth and to fertilize after the flush of new growth.

The deep and infrequent watering will help a lot with weeds. Not sure what your reference to weeds and synthetics was about. Assuming you were talking about synthetic fertilizer, those two things are unrelated.

I see morph and I were typing at the same time.

Thanks for the quick response both. I live in Massachusetts.

Pardon my ignorance, can you please explain the difference between synthetic and organic and recommend a synthetic. Organic I assume Milo fits the bill. When you say synthetic, are you suggesting a Scotts product, without the herbicide?

Morph- Since my synthetic went down early may and organic was applied in June. Shall I am for another round of milo now or wait till labor day for the synthetic? Or both? My lawn is starting to get stressed from the mid-summer heat.

"Synthetically, feed on Memorial Day, Labor Day, October 1 (optional), and when the grass is still green but stops growing for the season (Thanksgiving, plus or minus a lot).

Organically, May 1, August 1, September 1 (optional), October 1, and then use a good synthetic when the grass is still green but stops growing."

Last question- when would i overseed.

thank you

Synthetics are things like Scott's or Vigoro (although both companies also make organic fertilizers). They're usually white or white with bright green bits, and generally get applied in the 3 to 6 pound per thousand square feet range. These fertilizers are (usually) salt based (although urea can also be used, which isn't a salt).

Urea itself is a crossover. It's an organic molecule, but in use the amounts that go down and the general strength is more in the synthetic range. Blood meal would also fall into this range. Neither urea nor blood meal enhance the soil as classical organics would.

Organics are Milorganite, grains, feather meal, and so on. Colors vary, and the amounts applied generally range from 10 to 20 pounds per thousand square feet.

Which one to use is always an interesting argument. Properly applied, there's nothing wrong with a synthetic, but it's wise to keep a closer eye on your soil chemistry when feeding synthetically. They'll tend to deplete your soil a little more than organics will, leading to a see-saw effect.

Organics are a lot more wide open, although soil testing is also a good idea. Although I gave optimal dates for correct feeding, there's really no wrong time to apply organics (except maybe on frozen ground).

If you want to feed now, organic is your only option--it's too early for synthetics and they'd be an additional stress on the lawn.

Overseeding is done when daytime temperatures are just dropping off their summer highs, to about three weeks later. For you, that's in a week or so, all the way through very early September.

Thanks the the information. Side Note- It is too bad that Houzz does not allow a moderator to stick a post to the top of a thread. That way users would not have to keep posting similar questions. The search engine is not great and is very difficult to find. IMO- Houzz should bring a third party in to run their board to add additional functionality. I belong to 4-5 message boards and this on is the least innovative.

Overseeding- I trust I can use the manufactures instructions for spread rate. I'm guilty of not identifying my grass but I believe I have a mix of KBG, fescue, and rye. Should I opt for a grass blend or go for a seed that is the majority of my yard?

You're not the only one with Houzz complaints. I have many of my own!

Overseeding: Yep, the manufacturer's rates are, for once, actually pretty accurate.

In your locale, a tri-mix is the most probable, although it isn't completely impossible that you have a duo mix or a single species.

My general recommendation is to either match the lawn you have as best you can, or go with Kentucky bluegrass as long as it's already a component of your lawn.

Treated well, KBG fills its own holes so the lawn is much more self-repairing. Fescues and ryegrasses are clump grasses and don't repair when they die, leaving a hole.

Bluegrass is, however, the slowest to sprout of the three (14-28 days) and the slowest to develop (usually requiring the entire first fall). Once it gets going, however, the stuff is pretty amazing, but does require 4 to 5 pounds of nitrogen per thousand square feet per year as opposed to fescue's/rye's 2 to 3.

Back in 2002 the entire GardenWeb forum of forums was run by a guy named Spike all by himself. That was back in the day when he wrote and maintained the forum software. There were moderators back then. At about that time there were several parallel efforts at writing forum software, some of which have made the cut and are still in use. Somewhere along the line Spike sold to the ladies at iVillage. Surprisingly to many of us, nothing changed except the terms and conditions and the enforcement of T&C infractions. Oh and moderators lost control. Before iVillage if you violated the terms, you would get "sent to Disneyland," literally linked to the Disneyland website instead of posting your glowing prose. With iVillage you got banned for life with no apparent recourse. Frankly I was relieved to get out from under iVillage. I don't know who Houzz is, but they have allowed some stuff that would have gotten you banned before. But still there have been no improvements to the general mechanics of the forum.

I was previously a member of Garden Web before Houzz purchased the forum. Houzz must have seen value with the number of subscribers to the GardenWeb forum. Typically in this type of transaction the acquirer puts a price on each member X's the # of members= purchase price. What's the rationale behind this strategic acquisition? One, the move draws more visitors to their site who now view the photo, find pros, and shop pages. This way they can monetize forum members like you and I. Second, Houzz's customers aren't only us internet trolls posting. They also scout Pro's who, I'm sure pay a price to get listed on their site. More forum members means they can attract more pros. Third, all of these moves improve growth rates and revenue for the private company.

Back to the board enhancements. When there is a strategic acquisition they have to phase out the work. Phase 1 was to announce the change and get their customer base comfortable with the move. Phase 2, move customers over the the Houzz site. Phase 3 is to enhance the board. They are painfully slow with this last phase. See the link below on enhancements. It sounds like they have a team of one person supporting this board. If I ran the message board division of Houzz I would take customer feedback and get moving.

https://support.houzz.com/hc/en-us/articles/204631087

Morp and dchall,

Milo went down about 2 weeks ago. Today I picked up some of this grass seed made locally for Massachusetts. Overseeded my lawn 1k sq feet per 1 lb. See mixture below. Thoughts?

What should my water schedule be for the rest of the summer and fall. Go figure, avg high this time of year is mid 70's and we are expecting high 80 during the days, mid 60's at night for next 4 or 5 days. Do I need to fertilize now? I've read on various places that you should fertilize when overseeding. Or was my milo application from 2 weeks ago enough. FYIY grass is a bit stressed right now, milo hasn't had enough time to work it's magic yet.

http://www.mnla.com/?page=storeproducts

I'm not familiar with any of the bluegrasses and don't know fescues at all, except the general characteristics of the species.

For now, you'll want to water two to three times daily for short periods to sprout the seed...for about a month. Then back off slowly, first to once a day for somewhat longer, then every other day about a week or two later. And so on, until the soil stays damp on its own or the season ends.