I got a yellow bag of the Scott’s Weed&Feed for my lawn, my neighbor lent me his spreader and I put it down Thursday AM when the grass (cut a few days before) was nice and damp with dew and we aren’t due for any rain for 2 whole days (a miracle in this insanely rainy spring and summer here in PA).

I have never done this before and put down what I thought was a proper amount but came home and the lawn looked COOKED. Starting to get dried, dead looking sections and stripes already. I asked my neighbor and he thinks I put way too much down. Dammit, did I just kill my lawn? How bad did I screw up here?

This is from my LR window, it looks much worse actually than that closer up:

none of those dead/light areas were there this morning

Relax. Don't panic just yet. One good rainfall, and I think things will clear a bit.

Besides, Black will be along soon to provide his recommendations for new "classy" wheels for all those naked minivans parked along your road...

Looks like weeds dying off. Give it another week or two and the grass will take over those spots. Did you follow the settings listed on the bag for the spreader you used?

Usually this time of year weeds are part of the lawn and you only notice them from afar because of the different growth rate of the grass. The feeding part of your treatment will help the grass take over the bare spots the dead weeds leave behind. Unfortunately dead weeds will be visible before the grass can grow over.

Pre-emergent early spring and late summer (for the fall weeds) will help keep them at bay for the next growing season. To put it simply.

Good luck.
-TVz

It may be a combo of fertilizer burn, and some weeds dying off.

Extra watering for a week or two will help with any burn, especially since it's not too bad. I'd also consider aerating and seeding.

I will also say, for weed control I've never really liked Weed & Feed, or similar products. I prefer one of the inexpensive all purpose fertilizers, and I spray my lawn with either Bayer Season Long Weed Control or Spectracide Weed Stop for lawns. I spray once in the spring, and once in the fall.

I also aerate both in the spring and fall, and lay down fertilizer and seed immediately after aerating.

Another tip for maintaining a green lawn is to mulch, rather than bag your grass clippings. It's a myth that mulching rather than bagging causes thatch. Mulching actually puts nutrients back into the soil, as the clippings decompose.

https://sigforum.com/eve/forums...450077144#5450077144

Looks to me like you may have burned it. Water the piss out of it and you should be OK.

It may take awhile, but it'll come back.

As other's said.

Mostly salts are what bring the burn. Water is the curative, as soon as possible, and time to heal.

Most of the time it is the broadcast spreading of dry product and the "overlap".

Sometimes the liquid in the bottle you attach to a garden hose provides better/even application, as long as it is not windy.
It might cost a bit more and take longer to apply, but easier to get it right without experiance.

I can't believe you used a spreader on that little spot. Hand tossed is about as much needed.
Nitrogen burns up a sunny yard. Lime will neutralize nitrogen. Put it on really thick.
Water it, it'll come back maybe.

The temperature and the time of year might also be contributing factors. Many fertilizer recommendations are to apply 4 times a year. Early Spring,Late Spring,Early Fall,late Fall.

Also broad leaf herbicides applied in high temperatures can stress the grass.

Not sure applying a granular product to wet grass was a good idea, based on my memory of label instructions on the bag I bought.

quote:

Originally posted by wcb6092:
The temperature and the time of year might also be contributing factors. Many fertilizer recommendations are to apply 4 times a year. Early Spring,Late Spring,Early Fall,late Fall.
Also broad leaf herbicides applied in high temperatures can stress the grass.

Yep.
August probably wasn't the best time for your Weed & Feed. But cheer up: September is coming! Just rake out any dead stuff, core aerate, over seed, and lightly (starter) fertilize. It'll be looking great by October.

It’s REALLY difficult to burn your lawn with Scott’s.

Either it is the weeds dying off or you grossly overdosed the lawn. The recommended dosing and spreader settings are on the back of the package according to spreader type (rotary or drop), spreader brand and spreader model.

If it is weed kill congratulations. That’s great performance!

If it is grass kill, did you follow the instructions?

Either way, I’d keep the lawn hydrated (but not too wet to walk on) the next week or two.

Well, I watered it really well today and will again this evening.

I definitely went way overboard with the spreader which I realized was kind of broken and the hole in the bottom was stuck open.


I’m either going to have the BROWNEST lawn in the neighborhood soon or the GREENEST in time. Maybe both.

This experience has kind of scared me off doing this ever again, are there more natural ways to keep the crappy grass and weeds down without chemicals?

quote:

are there more natural ways to keep the crappy grass and weeds down without chemicals?

You can pull them by hand....

So.... worst case scenario, you are done cutting grass for the year? I'm not sure I see the problem here..

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
Well, I watered it really well today and will again this evening.

I definitely went way overboard with the spreader which I realized was kind of broken and the hole in the bottom was stuck open.


I’m either going to have the BROWNEST lawn in the neighborhood soon or the GREENEST in time. Maybe both.

This experience has kind of scared me off doing this ever again, are there more natural ways to keep the crappy grass and weeds down without chemicals?

I use Milorganite fertilizer it is an organic slow release fertilizer. Mow your grass at a higher setting to shade out weed seed growth.

Fertilize in the early Fall and late Fall to develop health grass roots.

I have had great luck with a product called Q4 plus if you are over run with weeds, (early to mid Spring)and then when they under control you can hand weed.

I would definitely dethatch and over seed about six weeks before the first frost in the Fall. The grass will sprout and will develop good roots before the next season.

somebody here said "if it's green, and I can mow it, it's grass. If it's green, and I can't mow it, it's a tree". That has become my lawn care motto.

Future note to self: 1) Don't combine feeding and weeding. 2) Use time-released fertilizers on your lawn.

If it were evenly over applied I would expect to see it evenly dying.

Try to ID the dying plants, it quite possibly could be that your lawn was crabgrass, etc. I've got several places in my yard that look just like what you are showing. I sprayed a few weeks ago and most of the green was crabgrass and creeping charlie.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
This experience has kind of scared me off doing this ever again, are there more natural ways to keep the crappy grass and weeds down without chemicals?

There is info available, from reputable sources, to help with lawn care. In the thread I linked to in my previous post, I had information about lawn care from the Colorado State University Turf Grass program. They have information about proper watering, fertilizing, aeration, mowing, etc. There are other similar sources, that probably have additional information specific to your area.

At a minimum, aerate in the spring and fall, apply a good weed killer again in the spring and fall, apply a good fertilizer in the spring and fall, then mulch rather than bag when mowing. It's really not all that complicated.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DMF,

Back when I lived somewhere and needed to care about what my lawn looked like, I preferred the fertilizer that comes in a spray bottle and you hook up to a hose to spray on the lawn.

As you learned, less is always more when it comes to these things.

But honestly with all the cars in the street I don’t think anyone will even see your mistake.