OK to plant grass seed and fertilizer at the same time?

[AnyMal]

Bought a house couple of months ago. Previous owner passed away over a year ago and nobody took care of the yard other then cutting it for a year. Needless to say the grass is in a pretty sorry shape and there are many bold spots and weeds on the lawn.

There will be few days of rainy weather come Wednesday and I was going to plant seed today. Is it OK for me to throw down some feed/fertilizer as well?

 

[Cooler]

Originally posted by: AnyMal
Bought a house couple of months ago. Previous owner passed away over a year ago and nobody took care of the yard other then cutting it for a year. Needless to say the grass is in a pretty sorry shape and there are many bold spots and weeds on the lawn.

There will be few days of rainy weather come Wednesday and I was going to plant seed today. Is it OK for me to throw down some feed/fertilizer as well?

I cant help you I have the thumb of death. All that I ever grow are weeds.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Apply the fertilizer either before seeding or after you get sprouting.
Doing it at the same time could burn the germination.

 

[Kelemvor]

Read the bag. Some fertilizers specifically say they are not compatible with new grass seed as they literally burn it out and kill the seed.

 

[Queasy]

Yep. Get the weeds somewhat under control first and then plant the seeds.

My new house's yard is a wreck as well. My mother-in-law did a good job of taking care of it until she opened her second business. It's been downhill for the yard since. I'm thinking of calling out Scott's Lawn Service to do some work on it and then take over once the weeds (and even mold!) are under control.

 

[Axoliien]

Aye, read the bag. Many fertilizers also have weed protectant that keeps new weeds from sprouting, but this also keeps new seeds from sprouting as well. If you apply only a fertilizer with no weed control, pesticides, etc then you should be able to apply seeding a little bit after, but I have heard you should wait until the first rain because high amounts of fertilizer can burn seeds. The latter may be an urban legend though.

Just be sure to read your bag or check on about.com or someplace like that for more info.

 

[AnyMal]

Originally posted by: Axoliien
Aye, read the bag. Many fertilizers also have weed protectant that keeps new weeds from sprouting, but this also keeps new seeds from sprouting as well. If you apply only a fertilizer with no weed control, pesticides, etc then you should be able to apply seeding a little bit after, but I have heard you should wait until the first rain because high amounts of fertilizer can burn seeds. The latter may be an urban legend though.

Just be sure to read your bag or check on about.com or someplace like that for more info.

OK, if I apply fertilizer now and it will rain for three or four days, is it bad? Should I wait, or rain will help fertilizer to "settle" in the ground and work its majic?

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: AnyMal

Originally posted by: Axoliien
Aye, read the bag. Many fertilizers also have weed protectant that keeps new weeds from sprouting, but this also keeps new seeds from sprouting as well. If you apply only a fertilizer with no weed control, pesticides, etc then you should be able to apply seeding a little bit after, but I have heard you should wait until the first rain because high amounts of fertilizer can burn seeds. The latter may be an urban legend though.

Just be sure to read your bag or check on about.com or someplace like that for more info.

OK, if I apply fertilizer now and it will rain for three or four days, is it bad? Should I wait, or rain will help fertilizer to "settle" in the ground and work its majic?

Now is fine.

 

[mercanucaribe]

What makes you think you have to fertilize???

 

[AnyMal]

Originally posted by: mercanucaribe
What makes you think you have to fertilize???

Our soil here is pure crap. Mostly clay/sand mixture, not much for grass to feed off.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: AnyMal

Originally posted by: mercanucaribe
What makes you think you have to fertilize???

Our soil here is pure crap. Mostly clay/sand mixture, not much for grass to feed off.

Well if it is really that bad have you thought about just redoing the lawn? If it's in really bad shape it could take years to get it really healthy.

You could put down some sand and 4 inches of topsoil and then reseed or sod?

Or other things like aerating your lawn to help with moisture?