Scotts weed& feed is a post emergent......I think the pre-emergent is called 'Halts' . Scotts is ok, but in the future it would be best to use organic fertilizers over the long haul. They are better for the soil. Not sure about the moss.

Is it possible to return the unopened bag of Weed n Feed? In general the wnf products don't work like you want them to. If you apply them in April then you are feeding the grass about a month too early. If you wait until late May then you got the fertilizer timing right, but you missed the best time to use herbicide. The best plan is to use the three products (fertilizer, herbicide, and preemergent) when they are needed and not get them mixed up.

Use a preemergent herbicide at the first sign of the forsythia blooming in your neighborhood. You can reapply later in the year.

Use a broadleaf herbicide like Weed-b-Gon spray in mid April. You can reapply as needed. Some broadleaf plants reseed quickly so the first few times might seem frequent, but once the seeds have all germinated, sustaining the remaining grass should be easier.

Use fertilizer for the first time in late May. Use it again in early September and finally in the Thanksgiving time frame. That is all you need. Scott's will tell you otherwise, but they have boat payments to make all year long. We aren't selling you anything.

You say you have a typical lawn. In your area typical could be fescue, rye, and/or Kentucky bluegrass. Fescue and rye grow from individual plants and do not spread to fill in thin spots. KBG grows and spreads to form a more dense and predictable sod. If your grass looks thin in late July, then you have a mix that does not include KBG. You can either seed KBG in once or continue to seed more fescue and rye every fall. Late summer is the ideal time of year to reseed your northern lawn. For you that is probably August. By seeding in August you have time for the grass to come in, get evaluated for density, and even reseed before the first frost. You might see thin areas of your yard now, but spring is a poor time to seed new grass. Why? Because now is the time crabgrass seed wants to germinate. When you water new grass seed, the first grass to come up is crabgrass.

When your grass starts to come in, mow at your mower's highest setting. Mowing high has several benefits. It shades the soil to cool it, it shades the weed seeds to keep them from germinating in the sunlight, it allows the chlorophyll in the blades to feed the roots, and it develops deep, drought resistant roots.

Now is the perfect time to learn about proper watering. It is easy to be tempted into watering too frequently. The following is something I've been using for years after years of reading and interacting with experts here and other forums.

Watering: Deep and infrequent is the mantra for watering. This is for all turf grass all over the place. Deep means 1 inch all at one time. Put some cat food or tuna cans around the yard, and time how long it takes your sprinkler(s) to fill all the cans. Memorize that time. That will be the time you water from now on. My hose, sprinkler and water pressure takes 8 full hours to fill the cans. Your time will likely be less. I like gentle watering. As for watering frequency, that depends on the daytime air temperature. With temps in the 90s, deep water once per week. With temps in the 80s, deep water once every 2 weeks. With temps in the 70s, deep water once every 3 weeks. With temps below 70, deep water once a month. Note that you have to keep up with quickly changing temps in the spring and fall. This deep and infrequent schedule works in Phoenix and in Vermont, so it should work for you. The reason for deep and infrequent is to grow deeper, more drought resistant roots and to allow the soil to dry completely at the surface for several days before watering again. If it rains, reset your calendar to account for the rainfall.

I'm not going to address the other issues you mentioned. If you water and mow properly, most problems go away.

I realize this is a lot more than you asked for, but you identified yourself as new to lawns, so this will get you going the right direction. If you feel tempted to do anything in addition to what I've mentioned, please ask first. Tom mentioned using organic fertilizer. If you would like more information about that, please ask. I have been fertilizing only with organics since 2002. While I agree with him, I am not as forceful about it as I once was. There is room for chemicals in a lawn, but I would suggest making at least one organic app per year to keep your soil happy.

Wow dchall_san_antonio thank you SO much for all this information!!! This is really going to help us so much. I can’t return the weed and feed because the bag is open (we used it once last year in June, grass got a beautiful green color but as you mentioned it was far too late to do anything about the weeds). Oh well, I suppose we can just give it to a neighbor or something and I’ll buy be Weed B Gone. Live and learn.

Wow I had no idea there were so many types of grass in this area. During the spring when the grass starts to revive I’ll have to figure out what kind it is so that I can take better care of it. Based on a quick Google search I think it’s either Rye or Fescue.

I will get the Weed b Gone, I think I might need the kind that hooks up to a hose or granular since we have over half an acre to treat. I’ll then follow your advice about the fertilizing/watering schedule :) luckily in my area it tends to rain a fair bit (central Massachusetts), so I’ll make sure to monitor the weather forecast so that if no rain is coming, I’ll know when to intervene. I hate to say last year we never watered the lawn and just let nature do it (it was an extraordinarily wet spring/summer/fall, that actually helped to kill all the gypsie moths though). We don’t have any sprinklers but I can buy some hose-attachable ones.

Thank you again so much! I’ll take all your advice and I’m sure the lawn will be looking great in no time :)

I live in the Texas Hill Country (high 90s all summer) and I hardly watered at all last year. We got a couple of heavy rains that were timed perfectly. So I did not water all of June and most of July. I watered for a couple weeks and we got another heavy rain which took us most of the way through the year. I cannot go by rain forecast. Rain, even the possibility of rain, is a big news event here, so they talk about it a lot more than it actually happens. Anyway, deep watering is magical and easily the most important part of lawn care.

Kentucky bluegrass often turns brown in the winter, especially if it was neglected in the summer. If your lawn remained green all winter, then you likely don't have KBG.

Since you cannot return the wnf, apply it about the 3rd week of April. Read the directions about applying to wet grass. It might help if one of you sprays the grass in advance of the other one applying the dry product. Applying to dry grass is another reason wnf products don't work. Before that, though use a preemergent with the forsythia trigger and then wait to use up the wnf. If you want to use an organic fertilizer in late May, the soil would appreciate that. My favorite organic is alfalfa pellets at a rate of 15-20 pounds per 1,000 square feet.

I suggest weed-b-gon because it is a liquid. Only spot spray the weeds where you see them.

Mass has sandy soil near the shore and more firm soil inland. Are you in the firm soil area?

My favorite sprinkler is the turbo oscillators. Use a 3/4" hose (not 1/2"). The turbo type sprinklers do not have any exposed linkage controlling the arm. Those things break sometimes before you use them once. The turbos work under any water pressure and last for several seasons.

Thanks! I’ll use the Wnf in may, and beforehand use a pre emergent :)

I live more inland where we have dense clay soil (decent for the gardens once it’s amended for drainage though, lots of nutrients and worms).

Great advice on the hose and sprinkler!