Im no pro but I do enjoy DIY of my lawn.

If you havent already,,,you need to do a soil test. You can start with your agriculture agency;or, find a commercial one.

Go from there.

If you dont do that. At least determine your grass type so you know the proper amount of fert to put on your yard.

Good luck,

John

You've heard the term, winterize, but maybe are not aware how it works. You apply a strong nitrogen fertilizer after the grass has fully stopped growing. Usually this is in late November. You wait until the grass has turned off, but the roots are not frozen. Then when you apply the nitrogen, the roots can take it up and store if for the winter. In the spring the roots will be fully charged as the temps rise. Fully charged means that you do NOT need to add more fertilizer at this time. Even with no winterizing, the roots work with the soil microbes to recharge. The difference would be that with no winterizing it might take a week or so longer for the grass to awaken. In either case the grass roots have enough stored nutrients to power through the entire spring. That means you do not need to fertilize early. Yes, I realize this advice flies in the face of all the people trying to sell you more fertilizer (than you need), but it works just fine if you don't do anything until May (warmer grasses) or late May (cooler grasses). The stores are packed with fertilizers and the airwaves are filled with people selling fertilizer, but NOW IS NOT THE TIME to apply. Save it for Memorial Day. Even if you do apply now, you will need it again in late May for the summer heat. Don't waste the time or money now.

The 4 or 5-step programs are a way to sell products so the company owners can make their boat payments all year long. You are correct to challenge the need for them. But having said that I can outline some steps that the lawn forum communities have come up with over the past couple of decades. You can call them steps or not - potato/potahto.

1. Early spring (late Feb because this product has a long activity period) - preemergent herbicide.
2. Mid April - post emergent weed control spray, NOT granules. With a spray you can spot spray only the weeds.
3. Late May - fertilize with a fertilizer only - not a weed n feed product.
4. September - fertilize again followed 2 weeks later by spot spray for weeds IF NEEDED.
5. Novemberish - winterize with a high N fast release after your turf has fully and completely stopped growing. Don't dilly-dally on this and wait too long or the roots will go dormant.

That is 5 steps if you want to think of it that way; however, you have many options of what you are applying and what not. What you are not applying is any insecticide. Not only to most lawns not need it, most soils will suffer terribly from unneeded applications of insecticide. Microscopic insects comprise a large fraction of the soil microbes which keep your soil healthy. If you apply insecticide, as is included in the Scott's summer application, you are going to change the balance of fungi, bacteria, and microarthropods (teensy insects) in the soil. The soil microbe populations will eventually rebalance, but why do the damage in the first place?? Most lawns don't have a problem. In my own (anecdotal) experience of 55 years of lawn keeping, I have never needed an insecticidd. And I might say that the advertising you see in the summer will lead you to believe your lawn is suffering from grubs, army worms, spiders, ants, or some other bug, but it almost never is. If you believe you have an insect problem, please write to a forum to ask. There are simple tests you can do to verify a problem and then make an informed decision about which products to use and how to use them.