English Deutsch Français Italiano Español Português 繁體中文 Bahasa Indonesia Tiếng Việt ภาษาไทย
All categories

I live in Massachussets, and is it's chilly up here already -not really cold- and Idon't know if it's too late.

Please let me know what I should buy and how to use the spreader, since I have no experience. Last year, my husband used a whole bag in our front yard alone, and burned the lawn. I will do it this year, but do not want to make the same mistake.

2007-11-25 08:33:41 · 5 answers · asked by ivory 4 in Home & Garden Garden & Landscape

5 answers

I also live in Massachusetts and majored in Biology at U. Mass. When we tried to figure out plant needs for the State we found that it had 5 0r 6 different zones for lawn and gardens. When you look at a Scotts bag it shows the Northeast as one zone. The towns in Northern Maine differed than lets say Truro, Mass. There were different extremes in amount of snow, rain and temperatures. We have some guidelines you can get from the University at the Extension Service for your needs for your location. We can get a few rounds of golf in sometimes in January down the Cape and 4 ft of snow for skiing in Maine. Now that's extreme.
With that said I will try to answer your problem the best I can with what I have. First of all at this time of the year lawns in our area do not need fertiliser on them. If your lawn hasn't been limed in a few years it will not hurt to dump a few bags on it now. Read the bag as it will tell you how much per square foot. It takes a while before it breaks down and works into the soil. Water and heat are helpful. I wouldn't be too concerned at this time if it wasn't fertilized as moisture, heat and non dormant grass is needed to do any thing. Since we don't have warmth and most plants are dormant or almost there is no need to waste money and feed something that is going to sleep very shortly. The best thing for a lawn right now is to keep it cut and rake off most leaves and debree. Here is what you will have to do in the Spring. Clean the lawn and remove all winter debree. Most fertilise companies have a 4 step program for your lawn. In the spring. Do not use any pre-emergent fertiliser as this is non selective and will kill any grass seed planted at this time. I like to use a starter fertilizer and cover any bare spots with some grass seed. Seed for sunny and semi sunny to shaded areas can be applied at this time. Check for areas that are sunny in the Spring may be shady in the summer. You can either call or go on-line for the extension Servises locations and how to have your soil tested. It was free, but think they have a small fee. It's worth it Look at the bag of fertiliser and it will or should tell you the setting for your spreader for the fertilizer. Nitrogen for greening the grass. Phosphorus for root, stems.and flowers Potassium for strong roots and plant health. Check back in the spring and I will give you more information. In the mean time enjoy the winter and the Holidays and try to keep warm

2007-11-25 16:18:04 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

Don't lime your lawn unless you have your soil tested and find out that you need it, that is one mistake that many people make. It is a bit late, but you can get Winterizer fertilizer at your garden center, it feeds the roots that grow all winter, even though the leaves are dormant. Follow the directions on the bag and only spread as much as it calls for. One bag should cover about 5,000 sq ft, that means measuring your yard to find out how big it is. (That would be about 50 x 100 ft for example) Winterizer is sold under several brands, one of which is Fertilome. It will have 3 numbers, NPK, the last number is potassium and it will be the biggest, for root growth. It is 10-0-14. Do not use 13-13-13 at this time of the year, you do not need high nitrogen or phosphates,

And don't scalp your grass, that is not a good thing. Mice aren't gonna eat the roots.

2007-11-25 09:48:09 · answer #2 · answered by Isadora 6 · 0 0

Easy way to remember NPK= Up, Down, All Around. N= Up: for "greening" the grass blades. P=Down: strong root production. K=All Around: works the way a multi-vitamin does on humans for general health. This is an answer in the simplest form.

2007-11-25 10:32:48 · answer #3 · answered by no ego 2 · 0 0

Put out some lime now. Takes time to work. Let your husband go nuts with the hole bag and turn the yard into a white snow if you get the white powder. Use dolomite lime. Don't use hydrated lime because that will burn your husbands hands and eyes.
I would wait to put out the N-P-K fertilizer like your 10-10-10 until early spring now.

2007-11-25 08:42:33 · answer #4 · answered by Carl 6 · 0 2

If it hasn't snowed enough to cover it, cut it very short. If it is long, mice will travel between later snow cover and the ground, eating the roots in late winter.

2007-11-25 08:48:12 · answer #5 · answered by Bibs 7 · 0 2

fedest.com, questions and answers