My neighbor Jerry told me I was fertilizing my lawn at the wrong time of year for 5 straight seasons

He said I was feeding the grass in August when it was dormant, so the nutrients just washed into the storm drain, and now I'm trying his spring schedule but has anyone else had good luck with a fall-only approach in a dry climate like Phoenix?

3 comments

3 Comments

vera1951mo ago

My friend Sarah out in Mesa tried the fall-only thing for two years. Said her Bermuda grass looked awful by winter and the weeds took over like crazy. She switched back to spring and summer feedings and it bounced right back.

murray.cora1mo ago

Got to disagree with your friend's take @vera195. Down here in Phoenix, I did the opposite - cut way back on spring feedings and only gave Bermuda a light one in late May plus a heavy one in September. Grass went dormant cleaner in winter and weeds didn't get nearly as bad because the turf wasn't so lush going into fall. Different soil types matter too, clay holds onto nutrients way longer than sandy stuff out in Mesa.

ivan_murphy8029d ago

Honestly I saw a study out of Texas A&M last year that said the timing of that heavy September feeding is way more important than people realize. They found if you hit it too early in the month the grass stays green longer and that's when winter weeds get a foothold. I've been doing a single light application in early June and then a bigger one around September 20th on my tall fescue and the difference in spring green-up was night and day. Ngl my neighbor who does the traditional three feed schedule has way more poa annua popping up right now.