Q: I know you say not to fertilize Fescue grass in the summer months and I have had relatively good success not doing that but I get brown spot every year. I have seen the advertisement for Scott’s Summer Lawn fertilizer and they mention it could help the brown spot problem. Is this just a way for them to sell a product that could possibly hurt Fescue grass?

A: Scott SummerGuard Fertilizer contains a high percentage of slow-release fertilizer, which would be better for grass in summer than the fast-release ammoniacal nitrogen I discourage.

In general, I think folks get excellent results with Ironite plus a couple of 1/4 strength applications of a fertilizer that says it contains lots of slow-release (water insoluble) nitrogen.