Use Scotts Organic Choice according to the directions, apply after spring regrowth or after your 2nd spring mowing.

If you use organic (and I second that suggestion), be advised that it will be three weeks before the grass greens up; however, when it does green up, the green will be darker than what you can get with chemicals. Chemical fertilizers work much faster but cannot get quite as green a green. So if you wanted it dark green for the wedding reception in June, apply in early May.

Why do you recommend organic? I'm new to all this, we just bought a brand new house on 1/4 acre and want the lawn to look good this summer.

coolbrze,
It is a little more work than just dumping some fertilizer. Don't go overboard on fertilizer in the spring - it is the wrong time for cool season grasses. I'll assume you have some type of mixed grass of unknown origin. Normally, a yearly recommended nitrogen amount is 3 to 5 pounds in Virginia for cool season grasses. The first number in the NPK listing on the bag is the nitrogen content as a percentage of the bag weight. For Spring, I'd recommend not more than 1# of your annual application be applied. Most nitrogen needs to come in the fall. Companies like to sell their product. A high dose of nitrogen in the spring promotes top growth and does green up quick. You will pay for that with poor summer performance, high water bills and an unhealthy lawn. Nitrogen can be derived from an organic or chemical fertilizer so it is your choice about how you treat your land. I know the urge is to get a quick Spring green-up, but you need to look at what it takes to have it healthy and green all year long. Check the link below for a lot of good articles from VT

Here is a link that might be useful: VT Turf

Thanks! I'm not sure what type of grass we have here, it's standard sod the developer put down last year. How do I tell if it's cool season vs. warm season grass? I want a healthy green lawn, year round if possible, w/ the least amount of maintenance & water.

I was just wondering if those Scotts products sold at Home Depot are any good. I think I'll try the Scotts Organic Choice, I don't care if it takes 3 weeks.

I just got back from Home Depot, the Scotts Organic Choice lawn food is 11-2-2. Is this a good mix? It said to apply 4 times/year, does this sound right?

Also, 1 bag is 29.1 lbs. and will cover 4,000 sq. ft. We have 1/4 acre, how many bags should I put down? Finally, should I add a grass seed or turf builder this spring also?

1/4 acre is 10890 sq ft or a little more than 2.75 times the stated coverage rate. If you're aiming for 1 lb of N per 1000 sq ft, 1 bag for 4000 sq ft is a little light. I'd use 3 bags if I had your lawn.

If you have sod from last year and it is in fairly good shape you should not have to seed or use turf builder this spring. Overseed, if needed, in the fall. Your next question will be about how to control the weeds. Again, if your sod is thick and in good health there won't be many, and you could just spot spray if you have some come up. Bayer and Ortho make some. Is your lot size total a 1/4 acre which means you need to subtract out the house or actually a 1/4 acre of grass?

Thanks! I'm not sure what type of grass we have here, it's standard sod the developer put down last year. How do I tell if it's cool season vs. warm season grass? I want a healthy green lawn, year round if possible, w/ the least amount of maintenance & water.

Where do you live? If you have snow and suffer through winter you have a cool season grass. If your winters are lovely you have a warm season grass.

With organics you feed the soil (via addition of grains) which in turn feed your grass. With chemicals you feed the grass (via nitrate salts mostly) and kill the soil.

I prefer to work from the ground up.

I'm not sure if the entire lot size is 1/4 acre or if the grass we have now is 1/4 acre. The sod is in relatively decent shape.

I live in VA & we get some snow here, winter temps fall below freezing so I guess that means we have cool season grass. Learn something new everyday :)

From what I'm gathering from you all, it sounds like organics are definitley the way to go, not chemicals.

...or you could ease into a complete organic program by still continuing to use chemicals and appending that with organic applications during the warmer months until you feel comfortable with it. I do both.

Somewhere in your closing packet should be a lot survey or a house plat that will tell you your lot size. Subtract out the house and driveway or just step off your lawn and compute square feet of grass. You need to know so you know how much product to put down. You can have a decent lawn through chemicals, but beware that you are posting on an enthusiast site and as such the recommendations are skewed in that direction. Organic or chemical is your decision. I like the organic approach because long term sustained performance comes with good soil and organics build better soil than chemicals, IMHO.

Is milorganite a good organic fertilizer for grass or is it too weak to help much?

Is milorganite a good organic fertilizer for grass or is it too weak to help much?

A qualified yes and yes, at least if you apply it at the same rate as synthetics.

Some people don't like the fact that Milorganite is processed sewage sludge. It does contain some heavy metals (as does every other fertilizer) as well. It does meet the requirements for high-quality fertilizer.

On my 7,000 square feet or so of lawn, I used around 40 lbs of winterizer. On the same area the month before, I used 100 lbs of Milorganite. In September I went closer to 150. You have to use more Milorganite per square foot for the same amount of nitrogen, but as long as you follow the recommendations (or make your own calculation on the matter), it's fine.

The advantages are that, like other organics, it doesn't burn unless you really work at it. It does a good job for a longer period as well. Although it doesn't green up as fast, the green last a *lot* longer.

All things considered, I give it my stamp of approval, although soybean meal gets more stamps than Milorganite does. If it were the only thing available in my area, I'd use it without a second thought.