Melnor, Inc
You will usually see on the bag numbers such as 10-10- 10 or similar on starter fertilizers. Those numbers stand for nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, or as some call it: "up, down, and around." Nitrogen promotes upward growth. Phosphorus encourages root growth, and potassium promotes lateral growth (generally speaking). I usually do a starter fertilizer on my first 1-2 applications of the year. The starter allows the grass to wake up slowly. Once the green-up has begun, you can increase the nutrient rates. For example, you can use a fertilizer like a 16-4-8, then even move up to a 24-0-11. You want to remember to ease into it. To get that extra punch of green, you need to look at that iron content on the fertilizer bag to show that domination line. Most bags have rates around 0.5 - 2.0%. Some fertilizers are designed explicitly for that punch of green by including "iron" or "green" in their name.
Spring One of the first things I do in the Spring is walking the yard. I look for trouble areas like disease, bare spots, pick-up sticks, etc. This will help in your program planning for the year. After the yard walk, I grab the rake and do a light raking of the entire yard. Raking lifts the blades smashed in the winter snow and dormancy and increases airflow and sunlight to the whole plant. I like one somewhat aggressive mow to start the year, to cut off the brown tips of the blades. Again, not breaking the 1/3rule. Now that the lawn is clean, it's time for a pre-emergent and fertilizer. For my Spring pre-emergent product, I like a product whose primary active ingredient is "prodiamine." Using pre-emergent helps prevent many weeds, including crabgrass. Alongside that application, I start the year with a low-rate fertilizer, known as a "starter fertilizer."
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