You just need to shop where the pros shop. Lesco / John Deere Landscapes has 50Lb bags of fertilizer generally under $30 / bag. See link

PS - A good spreader will go a lot further on that much property.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lesco store finder

Is that $94 per application or per MONTH?

price seems okay for the ft sq., 94 $ is still decent money and while for some things it may be cost effective you dont want trubrown doing applications you dont really need. i dont know what their "full monty" is up there but say 8 visits a year adds up to a lot of money.

shop at a lesco dealer like the PP suggested, invest in a commercial grade lesco push spreader, and DIY. you can always come in here when specific issues pop up for advice.

if all youre after is thick green turf give it the same junk food TG uses, 34-0-0. a hair over 3lbs per 1000 ft sq.
let them spray the fall and spring pre-emergents and you do the rest.

awesome, thank you garyinchicago! a store just 10 miles away. obviously im new to the area as well as new to knowing where to look

It was $94 per application, and they were saying every month to apply an application..or I could space them out more, either way it does add up.

chad_la, is there something they do different for fall and pre-emergents that I'd want them to handle and not do it myself?

Also, 3lbs per 1000? I thought I remember reading 1 lbs / 1000 sqft. I take it the Lesco guys would know what I need and dont need (ie dont try to 'sell me')

thanks again

I would go to Lesco store. Better stuff at better price. It's easy to do pre-em. Just use rotary spreader just as you'd do with fertilizer. You only fertilize every 2-3 months (go with 50-100% slow release). For example over here, Lesco sells 100% slow release 39-0-0 for 25 dollars for 50lb bag which would cover 18,000 sqft. For pre-em - I forget how many pounds in that bag but it covers 12,000 and it isn't that expensive. You do that twice a year.

Of course, it depends on your soil test on whether you need more Potassium and Phosphorus or not.

most turfgrasses (with a few exceptions of course) do well with a rule of thumb rate of 1 lb of nitrogen per 1K ft sq.
using a 34-0-0 product that comes out to a tad over 3 lbs per 1000 feet. when it comes to preemergents i prefer liquids. better control of where you get the product and it does a better job. a trubrown type company is better equipped to handle this. i'd suggest you find an independent local company to do this for you. make sure they are insured, and LICENSED!!!! you will pay more for their applications up front but much better off.

i cant say about up north where you are, are winter weeds a problem or is it snow? no use spraying fall pre- if its not needed. so now youre looking at one maybe two spring sprays and the rest you do yourself a few times during the growing season. a lot better than 94 bucks a month from a questionable company.

Gotcha on the lb useage, I missed it was referring to nitrogen only not total weight, thx :)

Any recommendation on a good soil test kit or are they all pretty much the same. Do you guys test before each application or just once a season?

This is my first winter here in Mich, I dont see any weeds in the yard, so I'd guess snow is my problem. There was a lot of snow. Some areas of the yard the grass looked like it was compacted down and had a layer of dead grass. I broke that up with a rake after a few rains not really loosening it up at all.

Is Lesco the type of place that can make recommendations or do I need to go in knowing my soil test results and knowing the product I want before hand. I'll do some searching here on 50 vs 100% slow release

For most people, the best soil tests are the ones available through your local cooperative extension service. In many cases, they will even help you interpret them - they have a pretty good feel for what is normal in your area. Basic tests are generally $3-$5, full tests $12-$15. You can also post the results in forums and get other folk's ideas.

Unless you're doing something dramatic to your soil, most people only test once a year (or even every other year).

I wrote an article on soil testing and management that adds a soil structure test and a percolation test (both done free at home) at the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Soil Testing

Thanks andy, that was a good read. Also, never knew about cooperative extensions before

45,000 sq/ft of grass is alot of grass. There is about 43,500 sq/ft in an acre so if your lot was just 100% grass that would work out to 52,000 sq/ft. You need to subtract for the footprint of your home, driveway, walk, patio, deck and any non-grass areas to get the correct amount of grass IMO.

rschmitty -

The amount of slow release in the fertilizer probably depends on what you're looking for. You may want 100% slow release during the summer so you don't get too much growth out of it. In the spring, 50% fast release 50% slow release may help lawn green up faster. In the fall, someone mentioned about using mostly fast release just before first freeze or was that after? It has been talked about so i suppose you will have to search for it in this forum.

Do any of your pets have cancer yet? I'd very seriously do my research before applying any external fertilizer. It's not a joke and not exaggerated. Tufts University has a study on dogs living on and around chemical lawns having a 70% chance of getting cancer. 70% folks!! That's HUGE! What do you think it's doing to you? All for green grass and a weed killed? Is it worth it when there's alternatives?

I can guarantee you can do better than the commercial services, both on price, as well as quality. Business overhead is high, labor costs, corporate tax &c. This isn't a dig at outfits like ChemLawn.

You can tailor your lawn care regimen and cultural practices to your desired intensity and budget. For example, for northern cool season grasses like KBG, a spring fertilizer application makes no sense to me, and it greens up fine and takes off like a rocket. Fall application is preferred on into winter, just before the ground freezes. Instead of shoot growth, the nutrients build a better root structure.

Spot treatments with herbicides use less chemicals, and the homeowner can avoid high temperatures and lawn stress. It seems like the lawn services are on a schedule. You get the treatment regardless of weather conditions, to some extent.

Some lawn care companies seem to want to "upsell" their programs, and the $$$ expenditure can get fairly high in terms of value, in my opinion. If you have the time and inclination to do your own lawn care it can be gratifying.