I guess it’s a lot easier to just spend a little money and do what the advertisers suggest than it is to figure out what’s going on. Let’s just say that if you fertilize cool-season grasses such as fescue in the spring and summer, it will be more susceptible to disease. And if you “winterize” bermuda or zoysia grass with a nitrogen fertilizer in the fall, you make it more susceptible to cold injury. When you read the ads, you need to know which kind of grass they are talking about. And you need to know which kind you have.

Fescue grass is a cool-season grass that will thrive in our area from approximately September to May. It does not thrive in the summer and should not be pushed then. So, if your fescue lawn has been languishing through the summer, it was predictable (not your fault). And September is a good time to renovate it.

Start with a soil sample. Samples submitted to Raleigh today are being reported back in about 7 working days. That analysis will answer the question of if you need lime and what kind of fertilizer.

Rent an aerator or hire someone to aerate it with a core aerator. A core aerator punches holes and removes plugs about the size of your finger. Most heavy soils will benefit from the aeration, and the grass will show the results.

Seeding rate for fescue on bare soil is 6 pounds of seed per thousand square feet. More is not better. Too much seed results in too many (weak) plants competing for the same limited resources.

For renovating a thin lawn the appropriate rate may be more like 1 – 2 pounds of seed per 1000 square feet. Some spots may require more seed than others.

Seed is not a good place to save money as you can actually purchase weeds that are all but impossible to get rid of. Look at the tag on the bag. The combination of “weed seed” and “other crop” can total less than 1%. If noxious weeds are listed, don’t buy it. And figure the price per pound rather than the price per bag. Multiply pounds in the bag X % pure seed X % germination. (That’s the most seedlings you can expect from the bag under ideal conditions. Divide the total price by the pounds you figured. That gives you the price per pound of live seed. Sometimes the “more expensive” bag actually turns out to be cheaper – especially if the weed/other crop content is high.

Fertilize your fescue lawn in September, at Thanksgiving, and at Valentine’s Day. One pound of nitrogen to a thousand square feet for the first two applications, half that much in February. If you don’t know how to calculate a pound of nitrogen from the numbers on the bag, give me a call. Fertilizer (whether organic or synthetic doesn’t matter) is the #1 contributor to reduced quality of streams in Chatham County, and lawns are a big source. You are concerned about water quality. That means you need to be concerned about how you fertilize.

If you have a warm-season lawn of bermuda, centipede, or zoysia, you may be ready for your last application of nitrogen fertilizer. Apply no more nitrogen after mid-September. Your next application will be after (not before) it greens up next spring.