Scotts Turf Builder Lawn Fertilizer with HALTS Crabgrass Preventer ?It Works!

Drive through any neighborhood in this, or any country and you'll see folks outside tending meticulously to their lawns and while it's a chore, many of us enjoy putting finishing touches on the green welcome mat that we all love to complain about. Spring is perhaps the best indicator of how our lawn is going to look in the summer, we learn that early. Dandelions sprout up everywhere under April showers, a call to action for which we all respond differently. I have a neighbor who refuses to put any chemicals on his lawn and you'll like see him on his knees hand pulling every Dandelion and weed he sees; he'll do it all season. Others take to their spreaders with a host of different products that they likely pick up on the weekly weekend pilgrimage to Lowes Depot. I too have experimented with many of the products, done all the research and consulted all that would listen on the secrets of the "perfect lawn" and after all that, I'm happy if it's all green, as little work as possible and is relatively free of weeds. One thing I do, year after year is use Scott products and this time of year you'll see me lug my bags of Scotts Fertilizer with Halts Crabgrass Preventer. Scotts has been around as long as I can remember, I'd know that logo anywhere.

Once April and May roll around you should have had your first application of some type of fertilizer and weed treatment down, especially if you are trying to control crabgrass which thrives in the thick of summers heat. I always try to put down one to two very thorough applications annually. Scotts Fertilizer with Halts Crabgrass Preventer comes in 5,000, 12,000 15,000 and 18,000 sq. ft applications. It's in your best interest to not try and cut corners here and stretch a 5,000sq.ft bag over 5 acres, you'll just waste your time, have disappointing results and end up writing a miserable online review somewhere. Read the instructions carefully and you'll quickly learn that Scotts Fertilizer with Halts Crabgrass Preventer is not for all grass types such as St. Augustinegrass, Floratam, Dichondra, Lippia, carpetgrass or bentgrass lawns. It's also a 28-1-4 fertilizer, which indicates a relatively high (28) of nitrogen which essential for strong green, blade growth. The middle value (1) indicates a low amount of Phosphorous which is used to hasten root growth and seed development and finally the last value (4) Potassium, indicates how well your lawn wards off disease, and how sturdy the stems are invigorating your plant to withstand changing weather conditions. By looking at your lawn you can almost pick out the appropriate fertilizer simply by looking at those values. Generally established lawns would require high Nitrogen and little else.

As Scotts Fertilizer with Halts Crabgrass Preventer also puts down a weed barrier, you are advised against seeding for up to four months, an important consideration if you're seeding though it's been my experience that the best seeding results are had in late fall allowing the root system to develop over the winter absent of the difficult drought and heat ridden conditions of the summer months. Raking that weed barrier compromises its effectiveness making your lawn vulnerable. Knowing that, you quickly realize that running a riding or push mower will essentially do that and perhaps you may have weeds, in spite of your best efforts, which has been my experience with any product, Scotts included but at a dramatically reduced rate.

Application is best made with a drop or rotary spreader. Personally I utilize a pull behind rotary spreader set at the specified drop rate, an important consideration if you want to get your application right. It's recommended you apply on a wet grass to both activate the product and get most of it in the ground and not airborne.

Results? Well, I've had a great looking lawn for years now. I try to act early on the crabgrass and find that Scotts Fertilizer with Halts Crabgrass Preventer gets most of it. I can spot weed as needed. Yes, I've tried other products and they are good but I find the most consistency of weed maintenance with Scotts Fertilizer with Halts Crabgrass Preventer. In addition, my lawn, a Fescue mix, takes on an emerald green appearance, which appeals to me. The heat of summer still affects mine and everyone else's lawn to which I simply water and allow the preemptive care I have taken with Scotts Fertilizer with Halts Crabgrass Preventer to do the rest. You will find Scotts products to be a little bit more expensive that its competitors.

At the end of the day I have to say it's a no brainer for me, I like Scotts products and chose to use Scotts Fertilizer with Halts Crabgrass Preventer simply because it works for me!