Fertilizing my lawn for initial spring application

CYdTracked

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Mar 23, 2006
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Grimes, IA
What did you do for treatment last year?

I switched last year from Scotts to the Fleet Farm brand and didn't notice a difference (other than in my wallet). Just do 5 treatments a year (+ grub killer). Start in... late April and then it's about every 6 weeks with a different color bag.
My main issue is I am getting an infestation of Canadian thistles that spot spraying is just not knocking them out enough and also some various broadleaf weeds like clover and spurge and some other random ones that I just can't keep on top of with the size of my yard and lack of time. I've used Scotts and other off brand programs myself and while the grass looks healthy it's not enough to knock out the weeds at this point.

A+ did a great job the last time I used them cleaning all that up, just wanting to get a few quotes from other places to see if I can save a little more before I just go back to them. When we moved into this place 12 years ago the lawn was terrible and I realized after a couple years I needed a lawn service to get it to the point that I wanted it at. I never hired one at my previous house but I had a smaller lawn in a very established neighborhood so had much better soil quality there. I think I used A+ 2 or 3 years and my lawn looked great and even my neighbors commented it looked better than they have ever seen it prior to us owning it so I canceled my service and was able to maintain it pretty well. But the last 2 years the weeds have gotten out of hand again and with my kids having stuff going on 5 days a week sometimes just finding time to mow it is a challenge some weeks let alone really be diligent on the other aspects of lawn care.
 

CYdTracked

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Thanks, they are right up the road from Grimes it looks like so probably request a quote from them.
 
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CYdTracked

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IMO, stay away from the big guys and find a small company where the owner is still involved in the process. Generally, they're going to care far more than some dude making 15 bucks an hour. There are a ton of them out there.
Kind of what I am looking for really but just don't have much for 1st hand recommendations on local ones so far. Several of my neighbors use TruGreen which I have never got a competitive quote from them when I've inquired. I tried a local place last fall for just a 1-off weed treatment and they did a poor job. The invoice I got said they "spot sprayed" for weeds which I could tell because some places they got a decent kill on them and other parts of the lawn I questioned if they even hit the weeds with anything and I was pretty clear when I setup the treatment I wanted the entire yard sprayed.
 

NickTheGreat

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- 1 for A+. They are a garbage company run by garbage people.

They wouldn't show up and would go weeks between mowings. I finally mowed it myself after it got over a foot tall. They were very quick to bill me and keep charging me after I told them to GTFO my property. Was supposed to make my life easier with our new baby, but it was quite the opposite.
 

NoCreativity

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FYI, A+ has gone to **** over the last few years. IMO they got too big and the quality control just isn't there anymore.

They completely tore up my lawn doing aeration and I'm pretty sure the seed they put down was half weeds. We had a lot of weeds pop up that had never been there before and I'm still fighting them years later. The tall fescue patches were awful.

They dropped oil all over my FILs driveway and left it. They drug a flat tire across my neighbors lawn with the aerator and scalped strips across the entire thing. We have two neighbors that use them and the lawns just don't look great. A lot of retreatments.
They aerated our lawn last fall and forgot to do at least 1/3rd of it.
 
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BigTurk

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Anyone know someone that would roll a lawn here in Ankeny? My lawn is so rough and uneven and I good rolling would do wonders.
 
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Big_Sill

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Repeating myself from last year: Still true

I Live in Ankeny

After using both A plus and True Green over the last 11 years, I'm now doing it myself through the Earl May program, and I won't go back. This isn't an Earl May commercial (I just buy it through them)

Its not much cheaper (about the same price), and you have to spend the time to do it, but I've found that having ultimate control over WHEN I apply is a huge benefit that has done wonders for my yard. Especially with how dry its been, matching up an application to a pre rain event seems to have been really positive.
 
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cyfanatic

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Repeating myself from last year: Still true

I Live in Ankeny

After using both A plus and True Green over the last 11 years, I'm now doing it myself through the Earl May program, and I won't go back. This isn't an Earl May commercial (I just buy it through them)

Its not much cheaper (about the same price), and you have to spend the time to do it, but I've found that having ultimate control over WHEN I apply is a huge benefit that has done wonders for my yard. Especially with how dry its been, matching up an application to a pre rain event seems to have been really positive.
Earl May is the best product I have used for lawn care. It is not cheap. But it works! I have not used it the past couple of summers because I got tired of getting to June and my grass goes dormant until September due to lack of rain and high temps! Not Earl Mays fault...their products are the best! I just decided to quit watering my lawn during those months.
 

Big_Sill

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Earl May is the best product I have used for lawn care. It is not cheap. But it works! I have not used it the past couple of summers because I got tired of getting to June and my grass goes dormant until September due to lack of rain and high temps! Not Earl Mays fault...their products are the best! I just decided to quit watering my lawn during those months.
Agree

I swear... I'm not intending an Earl May advertisement here... but when this happens to me they allow me to carry over any unused applications to next year. I buy 7 applications, similar to you I've only used 5 or 6 in the past years.
 

BigTurk

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Given the amount of warm weather we are having, and that my grass is starting to green, should I put down my spring fertilizer application now? I honestly have no idea on these things.
 

ackatch

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Given the amount of warm weather we are having, and that my grass is starting to green, should I put down my spring fertilizer application now? I honestly have no idea on these things.
I have an Ag buddy who doesn't recommend putting anything down until soil temps are consistently above 55. In Dallas county right now we're hovering around 45.

I'm waiting till April, but the lawn companies have been out in full force in my neighborhood this week, but if it's anything like the past few years, people that hire it out won't have as nice of lawn.
 
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cycloner29

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Mine is greening up and debating on putting fertilizer down. Snow mid next week is probably going to lean me more to April.
 

houjix

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In my experience, the lawns that green up last are the ones who look the best come summer. The homeowners who rush to green up their lawn are stuck with either dormant summer grass, or MASSIVE water bills when the heat comes.
That could be entirely dependent on the type of grasses present in the lawn.
 

Big_Sill

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I have an Ag buddy who doesn't recommend putting anything down until soil temps are consistently above 55. In Dallas county right now we're hovering around 45.

I'm waiting till April, but the lawn companies have been out in full force in my neighborhood this week, but if it's anything like the past few years, people that hire it out won't have as nice of lawn.
Curious -- is your Ag buddy talking specifically about residential lawn applications?
 

spierceisu

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Jan 28, 2007
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Given the amount of warm weather we are having, and that my grass is starting to green, should I put down my spring fertilizer application now? I honestly have no idea on these things.
Did you fertilize at all late fall? If you did this should get the grass going. I would wait to put anything down until later (maybe at least mid April) I think the normal rule for first spring fertilizer is around mid-end of May but each area is different.
 

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