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Saving a few bucks on lawn fertilizer

Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2021 10:06 pm
by MattA
My house came with 60,000ft^2 (square feet) of lawn which gets quite expensive to fertilize several times a year especially with Scott's products pushing $60 per 15,000ft^2 bag. A few years back I stumbled across Scott's weed and feed on sale this time of year in the local Walmart for $15 per 15,000ft^2 bag. For the past 2 years I have been buying Scott's weed and feed + Scott's crabgrass preventer at 50% off at Walmart during late July though September and storing the product for the winter. Scott's sale prices are in store only AFAIK.

This year I found Scott's turf builder triple action (fertilizer + weed and feed + crabgrass preventer) for $40 (normally runs $65). Seemed like a good deal at first until I realized the bags only covered 10,000ft^2 and I'd need 6 :roll: I ended up doing some research and figuring out that Walmart's Expert Gardener brand is actually made by Scott's. The formulation is a little different but at the price point, I figured why not give it a try. I caught the Expert Gardener triple action 4,000ft^2 bags on clearance for $5.58 per bag. I had to order it online but there was no shipping to the store option but Walmart literally shipped 30 bags to my house for FREE since my order was over $35. I swear Walmart lost money on the deal. Unfortunately Expert Gardener triple action is out of stock online now but you can score Expert Gardener weed and feed 4,000ft^2 bags for $3.91 each. So next year my lawn's going to be a discount fertilizer experiment.

Walmart links:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Expert-Garde ... /626925310
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Expert-Garde ... /603561302

I've also tried the Lesco starter fertilizer sold through Home Depot. The Lesco product comes as pellets and spreads really well. No clumps like Scott's :roll: Also seems to work well. I have not tried Lesco's weed and feed.

Re: Saving a few bucks on lawn fertilizer

Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2021 10:31 pm
by Eugen
You're got an amazing deal there Matt! That's great. I think if you had boys you'd think about a football field right there! It's a little bit of a predicament you're in, what are you gonna do with all that nice lawn? :rofl:

Re: Saving a few bucks on lawn fertilizer

Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2021 8:21 pm
by Seabee
Mow it 5 times a week!

Bill

Re: Saving a few bucks on lawn fertilizer

Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2021 11:03 pm
by Gordy
Yep Bill,
I spent money on weed and feed, then spent way more on gas than before :headbash: :54: Lucky for me the wife owns the mowing duty ;)

:cheers:
Gordy

Re: Saving a few bucks on lawn fertilizer

Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2021 11:20 pm
by Timj
Get some sheep and goats and they will mow it for you and fertilize it for free. :48:

Re: Saving a few bucks on lawn fertilizer

Posted: Mon Sep 20, 2021 4:26 am
by Toolslinger
I about killed my father last time he fertilized the grass out at the farm... For the life of me, I couldn't understand why he was fertilizing when it always stays green, and it's just fieldgrass... We have no animals to graze, and the more it grows, the more we have to mow... It was just insanity.
I like a nice lawn, but I've stopped all the additives at my house, other than mulching the grass back in. Grass has certainly thinned, but not terrible. I think if it died off, I'd probably put in all clover since that seems to do just fine with no help.

Re: Saving a few bucks on lawn fertilizer

Posted: Mon Sep 20, 2021 6:25 am
by Eugen
Clover lawns are all the rave in the gardening groups on this side of the world. I plowed and tilled a small area of the garden about a month ago and instead of weeds Clover took over in that area. I must say I really liked the look. Being on garden soil it'll gets turned and the nitrogen that it fixed goes back into the soil. Would actually like to have clover instead of grass everywhere, as I mow very rarely.

Re: Saving a few bucks on lawn fertilizer

Posted: Mon Sep 20, 2021 8:53 am
by Gordy
Timj wrote: Thu Sep 16, 2021 11:20 pm Get some sheep and goats and they will mow it for you and fertilize it for free. :48:
I don't have them, but I do have 3 doe white tails and 5 fawns come threw daily munching and fertilizing some grass, but not enough to matter. They do real well at cleaning up the dropped apples for me though :peace: And if there are not enough on the ground they will stand on their hind legs and pick their own apples ;) They seem to have adapted to the "Liquid Fence" I was using to keep them out of the squash, so back to "Irish spring bar soap and a vegetable peeler. They won't come within 15 feet of the squash now, but with resent rains and heavy morning dew the soap is about gone so I will need to reapply it after todays rain passes.

:cheers:
Gordy

Re: Saving a few bucks on lawn fertilizer

Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2021 9:45 pm
by MattA
Anybody own a decent tow behind spreader?

Re: Saving a few bucks on lawn fertilizer

Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2021 10:26 pm
by Timj
MattA wrote: Wed Sep 22, 2021 9:45 pm Anybody own a decent tow behind spreader?
I have a large Agri fab, I'd have to get the model off it. Works good, has pneumatic tires. I use it for food plots, don't fertilize my lawn.

You can borrow it if you bring it back. :rofl: