Autumn / Winter Lawn Fertilizer

[Dim]

I recently seeded my front lawn (approx a month ago), and it's done well, is full, and is lush ....

I never used a pre-seed fertilizer, it would be good to give it the final application for the year, and am looking at the NPK ratios of the 2 most common (chemical) lawn fertilizers that are marketed at garden centres for Autumn/Winter application ...

Lawn Builder Scotts Autumn Lawn Food: NPK 16-0-16

Evergreen Autumn 2 In 1 Lawn Food : NPK 6-5-10

I don't have weeds or moss (yet) and it is bad practise to use weed and feed on newly seeded lawns, so I'm looking at other organic alternatives .... I recently 'foliar fed' the lawn with a mix of seaweed and fish hyrolosate

Best (cheap) alternative that I can find is 6X chicken manure (not the pellet form) which has an NPK of 5.8-3.5-3 .... At my local garden centre, a 60 litre bag costs £9.99 ...

I've never used this on lawns, and it's raining now, so I think I will nip off to the garden centre in a few minutes and get a bag ....

http://www.greenfingers.com/superstore/ ... id=LT1334D

Anyone else tried this on lawns so late in the season? ....

[Kristen]

Too much Nitrogen I think Dim.

I'm surprised how high the Nitrogen is in the Lawn Builder Scotts Autumn Lawn Food: NPK 16-0-16 (call it 1-0-1), I would have thought 1-1-2 (or 5-5-10 or some other similar, relative, ratio) would be more like it - which is what the Evergreen Autumn 2 In 1 Lawn Food is.

Your 6X chicken manure at 5.8-3.5-3 is approx 2-1-1 which is far to high a Nitrogen component to my thinking.

[multim]

I am lucky enough to have some Scotts Autumn feed, the professional blend, and the NPK ratio is 6-5-10.
You really don't want to apply too much nitrogen at this time of the year.

[Dim]

Too much Nitrogen I think Dim.

Too late now .... I have fertilized with 6X and have watered it in ....

The reasoning of using low Nitrogen fertilizer on lawns during Autumn and winter is a 'myth' according to this article ... (That is what spurred me to use it)... I have read similar on other sites aswell

http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/CoopExt/ ... thwint.htm

snip:

We hear a lot about using a "winterizer" fertilizer on our lawns during the fall months. Such a fertilizer will, according to claims, "enhance winter hardiness" of our grass.

But, will it? Only if the fertilizer is high in nitrogen, and you will know that by understanding how to read the numbers on a bag of fertilizer.

Most "winterizer" fertilizers marketed at this time of year, contain higher percentages of phosphorus and potassium and lower levels of nitrogen. This might be expressed on a fertilizer bag as "8-18-22" fertilizer -- 8 percent nitrogen, 18 percent phosphorous and 22 percent potassium, listed in that order.

Those who advocate using fertilizers with this type of formula say that the need is based on research. But, the research has been done with WARM-SEASON grasses, such as Bermudagrass or Zoysiagrass, neither of which is well-adapted to our climate (and should not be fertilized with nitrogen in fall anyway!) No evidence is available to suggest that extra phosphorus and potassium in fall benefit COOL-SEASON grasses used here, such as bluegrass, fescue or ryegrass.

The most important nutrient for fall fertilization, as with earlier-season applications, still is NITROGEN. Nitrogen applied in the fall is the most important lawn fertilization of the year. Use a high-nitrogen fertilizer, such as 25-5-5 or something with a similar formula. Because of the widespread acceptance of the "winterizer" myth involving phosphorus and potassium, high-nitrogen lawn fertilizer may not be readily available at this time. If you have high-nitrogen fertilizer left from earlier applications, use it. If you're out, use urea (46-0-0) at 2 lbs/1000 square feet or ammonium sulfate (18-0-0) at 5 lbs/1000 square feet.

Next year, be sure to buy additional high-nitrogen lawn fertilizer for use in fall. Store under dry conditions until use. Follow fertilizer applications with lawn watering.

Make your fall application to the lawn about October 15, while grass still is green and while 2-3 weeks remain before the ground freezes. If you have very sandy soil (uncommon in the metro area except along South Platte and eastern areas) do not fertilize later than late September, as nitrogen leaches readily through sandy soil, especially during winter months, and will contaminate ground water. On sandy soils, it's best to use "slow-release" nitrogen fertilizers such as organics, IBDU, or sulfur-coated urea, to reduce potential for groundwater contamination.

[Kristen]

They may be right, of course but its an american article for may be more suited to their climate.

I would be hesitant to put Nitrogen on the lawn now, spurring it into grow with cold weather ahead, and less opportune times to cut it (i.e. when dry, rather than wet)

Might suit a young lawn better to encourage it to grow, and thus tiller, rather than fortify its roots - which might be better suited to a mature lawn?

[Dim]

They may be right, of course but its an american article for may be more suited to their climate.

I would be hesitant to put Nitrogen on the lawn now, spurring it into grow with cold weather ahead, and less opportune times to cut it (i.e. when dry, rather than wet)

Might suit a young lawn better to encourage it to grow, and thus tiller, rather than fortify its roots - which might be better suited to a mature lawn?

In April next year, I will let you know how it worked

the article states that cool season grasses such as ryegrass needs nitrogen during winter .... the seed that I used contains 100% Ryegrass:

EUGENIUS Perennial Ryegrass 25%
CADIX Perennial Ryegrass 20%
CARNAC Perennial Ryegrass 20%
VESUVIUS Perennial Ryegrass 20%
LUCIUS Perennial Ryegrass 15%

I can however say, 6X has a very strong smell ... neighbours who walk past my home with their dogs, walk on the opposite side of the road on their return

[Kristen]

I can however say, 6X has a very strong smell ... neighbours who walk past my home with their dogs, walk on the opposite side of the road on their return

Might be worth marketing it as a neighbour-deterrent then?!!

[multim]

I guess that you were going to use 6X anyway.

[Dim]

I guess that you were going to use 6X anyway.

I have been contemplating using it for a week, after reading a few articles about using a higher Nitrogen feed during the colder months ... its the same price as a small box of Autumn lawn feed by Scotts

I was going to buy a bag yesterday, but changed my mind ....

I woke up this morning, and one of my jobs was cancelled due to rain, so I decided to give it a go

I was just curious if anyone has tried it on lawns in autumn/winter

I've used it before (Musa respond well) ... I also add some to my compost bins ...

its not all that high in nitrogen, but it also has elements such as Magnesium, Calcium and trace elements which Autumn lawn chemical fertilizers don't have, .... and it's good for the soil/microbes

suppose that time will tell if it was a good idea or not, but I feel confident that I have done the right thing ... irrespective of how much nitrogen or other elements you give lawns, when the soil temp drops below 6 degrees C, the lawn stops growing .... (thats as I understand it)... here is more detail about grass:

Cool Season Grasses
90F Shoot growth ceases.
77F Root growth ceases.
70F Maximum temperature for root growth of any consequence.
70F Time to plant grasses in late summer.
60-75F Optimum temperature for shoot growth.
50-65F Optimum temperature for root growth.
40F Shoot growth ceases.
33F Root growth ceases.
20F Low temperature kill possible if temperature subsequently drops
rapidly below 20F

[multim]

I must say that I haven't used it on lawns but it should work if you don't apply at too higher rate. This rain will help wash it in and the grass may well grow like stink!
Every bag should come with a free peg to put on your nose

[Dim]

I must say that I haven't used it on lawns but it should work if you don't apply at too higher rate. This rain will help wash it in and the grass may well grow like stink!
Every bag should come with a free peg to put on your nose

In South Africa, I used to use a similar product called Guano Plus ... that was seagull droppings mixed with some chemical fertilizer granules ...

you had to mow the lawn 2-3 times a week, and it turned into a very dark green colour (depending on the light, it almost looked dark blueish)....

amazing stuff for lawns, but we had a different grass type (Kikuyu), and a different climate

[Dim]

another thing that I will do this year after the last mow in a few weeks time, is add a bag of volcanic rock dust to the lawn

... it has more than 78 minerals, and only costs £5,98 for a 10kg bag from B&Q ... I use this a lot on vegetable patches that I maintain .... it's good stuff