I'm in the south with warm weather grasses. The hotter the better provided there is sun and water. My experiences might not directly match what you are seeing, but let me say.. I've had several lawn care (not mowing) services over the years and they always under fertilize. I have some problem areas in my lawn that I've corrected over the years by adding my own fertilizer even after the service treated and it's helped a lot in bringing those areas back. I call and complain, but it's always "we are treating at the prescribe levels."

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Originally posted by Sigmund:
SLight thread drift:

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Originally posted by frayedends:
...I just handed him the hand core aerator (bought at HD literally an hour ago). He is out there plugging away, literally.

Let me know how that works out. And what (if any) medical care he needs for his back. I'm thinking about one:

https://www.sportystoolshop.co...re-lawn-aerator.html

I have a .2 acre lot and have not paid for aeration in several years. I'm in good shape, doing it by hand shouldn't be too hard.

I showed him what to do. He's an adult in good shape. I don't see back issues doing this since you don't even have to bend. Just step on it, or stand if the ground is tough, pull it out and move to the next spot. But I will say he is taking frequent long breaks. This would take me a few hours. He will be working on it for a few days.

I realize it may not be the best time of year. But I'm on a mountain and it's a bit cooler up here (small mountain but for Massachusetts it's a mountain). I'm looking into soil tests also.

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Originally posted by frayedends:
I understand getting a soil test, but I would think because of the striping there is something else going on (the compaction issue). My soil is certainly inconsistent as the builder covered sand and the loam gets thinner and thinner the closer you get to the driveway.

One option for improving the soil is to do it slowly through yearly top dressing. Down here, we use leaf mold compost but not sure about the Northeast. I never did it when I lived in Upper Midwest, Canada, or Alaska but I have done it here in Texas. You get all of the macronutrients (N-P-K), micronutrients (iron, calcium, sulfur, etc), beneficial bacteria and microbes, and organic matter. Other benefits are leveling out bumps and low spots so its smoother to mow.

I’ve looked closely at the stripes and at my spreader. It seems to me the spreader is the cause along with compact soil. The spreader has a barrier on the back of the rotary piece. This barrier keeps the fertilizer from hitting my legs as it is spread. It would seem that causes a greater concentration of fertilizer exactly on the path I walk.

I would think the lighter areas haven’t gotten as much fertilizer. The lawn had been aerated so we will see if the stripes diminish as it gets watered more. Next time I fertilize I’ll use the Lesco product mentioned earlier.

Soil test soon but they won’t have results until early fall.

https://www.mowersdirect.com/E...VM8r4zEaAvNCEALw_wcB

I recommend this Echo spreader. Its the most bang for the bug. DO NOT but a Scotts spreader what ever you do

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Originally posted by gpbst3:
https://www.mowersdirect.com/E...VM8r4zEaAvNCEALw_wcB

I recommend this Echo spreader. Its the most bang for the bug. DO NOT but a Scotts spreader what ever you do

I’m using a Scott’s and just saw a video showing how the fertilizer hits the wheels causing my exact problem. I’ll check mine when I get home.

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Originally posted by frayedends:
Thanks for all the tips. I was thinking it isn't the spreader pattern but now that I look the curved stripes are newer and they are when I last fertilized and I did that criss cross pattern to avoid this. It obviously didn't work. I don't think it's actually the spreader itself but there is certainly some overlap happening and it's having trouble getting into the soil I guess.

If it were me, and I were in a hurry, I'd get some hose-sprayed almost-all-nitrogen fertilizer like Miracle Gro for Lawns and spray an out-of-the-way corner as a quick test. It is conceivable to overfertilize but if you apply as a liquid the risks are very low. And grass goes through nitrogen quickly (thus, the frequent-fertilization schedule.) What I'd expect would be that in about a week, maybe quicker, you'd start to see the yellowed areas turning a deeper green.

I would have suggested Ironite as well, as that can often green things up, but those dark-green stripes suggest your soil isn't iron-deficient. They also suggest there's probably not a pH problem, as that wouldn't be expressed as linear patches of OK-pH and inbetween areas with problems.

That said, I got out of the lawn-owner category about 10 years ago when we moved into essentially a forest, with old leaves for ground cover, so there may be newer products. But a sprayer and a small container of Miracle Gro for Lawns would make a cheap, easy test.

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Originally posted by Lineman101:
I'm only telling you what happened to me. I rinsed out an empty Diesel Exhaust Fluid container and poured it out on my grass. A few days later, I discovered that the areas where I had poured the DEF looked like grass on steroids! The grass in the area where I poured the DEF seemed 3 times higher that the surrounding grass and super green. Maybe some of the green thumbs can comment on this? Maybe it's a way to a green lawn always? DEF in a hose-end sprayer every so often?
Lineman

DEF appears to be a 32% solution of urea in water according to Wikipedia.. Urea's a good source of slow-release nitrogen and it's easy to believe it would have greened up the area you rinsed.

That said, for gardening, to get urea into a lawn (or elsewhere) it's generally available in agricultural quality in bags at garden centers, probably cheaper per pound that way.

quote:

Originally posted by Lineman101:
I'm only telling you what happened to me. I rinsed out an empty Diesel Exhaust Fluid container and poured it out on my grass. A few days later, I discovered that the areas where I had poured the DEF looked like grass on steroids! The grass in the area where I poured the DEF seemed 3 times higher that the surrounding grass and super green. Maybe some of the green thumbs can comment on this? Maybe it's a way to a green lawn always? DEF in a hose-end sprayer every so often?
Lineman

Joel9507 beat me by a minute . See post above.

Is it possible the more pronounced dark green is the result of the grass being taller in the depressed areas? I have Bermudagrass in the front and it's certainly has a much healthier color when it's taller. If I cut it short and wait too many days before mowing again, it looks a lot less healthy right after mowing. I'm cutting medium-short now every 7 days and the color is looking better even right after mowing.