Question
Hello Ken,

I live in Chicago "The Windy City" and we just recently bought our own little home so we try to do our gardening every weekend to keep it looking as nice as possible.
 
A few weeks ago, maybe a month already, my wife decided to do a bit of gardening while I was at work.  Well she noticed we had some weeds and crabgrass in the front lawn and decided to use some Scotts Turf Builder with Plus 2 Weed Control that had been left there by the previous owners.  She took the spreader and spread it only over the areas that she thought needed it.

Well the next day I get home from work and right away I notice all these yellow dry patches. Everywhere she had spread the Scotts weed control the grass had turned yellow and dry looking.  We waited a couple of weeks, watered it, raked it and hoped that it would return to it's original color and back to life.

Last week I bought some Scotts Turf Builder Lawn Fertelizer with 2% Iron, hoping this would help, and spead it all over he front lawn but nothing.  It looks the same maybe even a bit worse because of the cooler temperatures and heavy rainfall we've been having lately.

I don't kow what to do anymore, we were so happy we had a nice looking front and back yard when we gotteh house, but now the front looks terrible.  I was thinking of buying some Scotts Liquid Turf Builder as is or some with Plus 2 Weed Control and hoping this would help.  We even already bought some Winterguard but have yet to spread it.

WHAT DO I DO?  Should I just leave it as is untill next spring?  

Answer
STOP FERTILIZING.

Fertilizer will not help.

First of all, broadleaf weeds such as dandelions, clover, etc can be handled by one of 3 months: hand pulling, spraying directly on the weeds with a liquid BROADLEAF weed killer, like Ortho's Weed-B-Gon, etc, or you can apply a fertilizer w/broadleaf weed control (Weed-and-Feed, such as Scott's Turfbuilder Plus 2). This will not control grassy weeds, like crabgrass.

If you use fertilizer w/broadleaf weed control (Weed-and-feed) then it must be applied in SPRING or FALL when daytime temperatures are below 85F consistently. Do not apply during hot summer months, when cool season grass is stressed. Also, weed and feed (as the only exception) must always be apply to a WET LAWN so the grannulles stick to the grass (and weeds) and you should not mow before applying. After the time listed on the lable, you should water in well.

Since the lawn turned yellow before you could do anything, I suspect that a) too much product was applied, b) the lawn was stressed due to lack of water or too high temperatures, c) the product was too old and the herbicide reacted unpredictably. I suspect maybe all of them ??

Ok, here is what you need to do:
- Do not fertilize now. Wait until late October and then fertilize one more time with some regular Turfbuilder 29-3-4, or Winterizer. Do not use any weed products etc now.

- Next spring (in May), you can rough up the dead areas with a rake, and then sow grass seeds. Use rather heavily. Then water (without washing seeds off) and then keep the spots watered and never allow them to dry out before the seeds sprout (germinate). Do this by watering several times per day. If you buy a bag of mixed kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass, it should take 14-21 days.

- You can spread lawn fertilizer:
late may, early september and late october. Do not fertilize during hot summer months. Never. No matter what the commercials say. Always apply to a DRY lawn (but not draught stressed lawn, so water a few days before). Then water in well with plenty of water. Do not leave the fertilizer dry on the lawn for a long time. Only exception is "weed-and-feed" (see above), but I do not recommend using this type of fertilizer. I would rather use "regular" lawn fertilizer.

- If you need to battle weeds, do so in late spring or early fall or late fall. I prefer to buy a bottle of "Weed-be-Gon" and spray weeds directly when daytime temperatures are consistently between 50F and 85F. Do not use too much product.

If crabgrass is a problem, you can add an application of SCOTT'S TURFBUILDER WITH HALTS (or another brand of lawn fertilizer w/crabgrass control). For this to work, it must be applied in EARLY spring as the yellow forsythia bushes start to leaf out. This would be early to mid April in your area. Apply to a DRY LAWN and then water in with plenty of water to activate the herbicide. Only use this if you have a lot of crabgrass. Must be applied timely as seeds must be billed before the sprout in early spring (which happens according to temperature).

BUT --- BUT --- YOU CAN NOT use fertilizer w/crabgrass preventer (halts) in spring if you plan on sowing seeds. Therefore, while I give you the above advice, do not use it this spring because you will be seeding.

E.g.
- do not worry about the lawn now. Fertilize one more time in late october.
- continue to mow the lawn regularily. Hand pull weeds for now.
- re-seed bare areas in May. Water frequently to keep the seed bed moist. You can cover the areas lightly with straw or well mulched shredded leaves (save a few bags from this fall) to increase humidity around the seeds). The seeds do not mind being covered lightly.
- apply fertilizer in late spring, early fall and late fall. Do not fertilize in hot summer months. In other areas, you can apply fertilizer w/crabgrass control in very early spring.

Note: do not double up and use starter fertilizer and then fertilize again. Just forget names such as winterizer and starter fertilizer. If in doubt, go for regular lawn fertilizer and follow the above 3 x year fertilizer schedule.

Good luck

-- Kenneth

P.s. if you could use the above reply, can I ask you to kindly rate my performance. Thank you.