Organic lawn fertilizer in summer?

16 years ago

I'm a complete newbie to healthy (and organic) lawn care so please excuse my novice questions. Our last house had an established lawn that we let go dormant in the summer and did the bare minimum. With two young kids and two dogs we'd like to have a lawn we can play on and doesn't crackle under our feet in the summer.

We moved last year, did a gut and remodel that tore up the lawn, and are now focusing on the yard. We added soil amendment and hydroseeded the yard (approximately 4,000 sq. ft) in the spring and it is doing okay but not great. Some areas are lush, green, and thick. Others are pretty sparse and the grass seems to be struggling.

I'm wondering if we should be doing anything this summer to help it along. In my limited reading it seems that adding organic fertilizer is best to do in the spring and fall? Or could we do an application now? We're fine with just sticking with the mowing and watering through the summer, but if we can get a jump on improving the health of the lawn now, we'd love to.

Also, any recommended reading or websites for someone who is just starting out?

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Comments (6)

Kimmsr
16 years ago
What kind of grass do you have? A cool season grass or a warm season grass?
All of the cool season grasses, Bluegrass, Fescues etc., tend to want to go dormant in the summer although many water heavily to keep them green. Generally feeding dueing the hot, normally dry summer is not a good idea because that simply adds to the stress the lawn is put undeer in trying to grow when it normally is not. Warm season grasses, Bermuda, St. Augustine, Zoysa, are a bit different.
leatherneckjoe
16 years ago
I would agree with the heavy watering. You could also apply some Neptunes Harvest which will feed it but not cause it to stress out by growing a lot.
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dchall_san_antonio
16 years ago
You can apply organic fertilizer any day of the year, or every day of the year. One of the Pennsylvania guys on another forum applied 800 pounds per 1,000 square feet over the course of a season last year with no problems.
bpgreen
16 years ago
"One of the Pennsylvania guys on another forum applied 800 pounds per 1,000 square feet over the course of a season last year with no problems."

When he said "with no problems" what he meant was "with incredible results."
Kimmsr
16 years ago
800 pounds of what and hopw often?
For a good healthy stand of turf grass, aside from a good healthy soil, your turf might need about 2 pounds of Nitrogen per 1,000 square feet per year. Adding more is a waste of resources and is not organic, and will cause pollution problems which is also not organic. Being organic implies balance.
rcnaylor
16 years ago
"One of the Pennsylvania guys on another forum applied 800 pounds per 1,000 square feet over the course of a season last year with no problems."

When he said "with no problems" what he meant was "with incredible results."

Wow. Now there is a yard whacko. That would be over three tons of material on my yard.... I'm too lazy to do that every year even if money was no object! ;)

I did use a dump truck full of compost to top dress one year. And usually put out a pick up load every year though I missed it this year (trip messed up my timing). I have the weeds to prove it.