5 Best Fertilizer for New Grass Buying Guide and Review

Choosing the best fertilizer for new grass can be difficult, but it is incredibly necessary to keep the yard looking luscious and vibrant green.

It’s the best method to tend to new grass and restore brown patches in the turf. With the right fertilizer for the land and grass type, weather, and coverage, the lawn stays beautiful all year round.

Many fertilizer and grass seed variants are available, but the Scotts Turf Builder Starter stands out best. It boasts a remarkable NPK fertilizer ratio to keep the turf healthy and green for a long time.

There’s also no need to wait to see the yard transform as this mixture delivers 35% faster germination and 70%thicker lawn than unfed grass.

It’s the ideal turf food suitable for most lawn types as it’s safe to use on all kinds of grass. And while it keeps sod healthy and growing, it doesn’t promote weed growth. It’s the perfect fertilizer for prepping a new lawn, reseeding, and restoring damaged turf.

Best Fertilizer for New Grass Review

Scotts Turf Builder Starter Food for New Grass

Features:

• Coverage – 5,000 square feet
• Ideal for a new lawn, reseeding, sod, and grass plugs
• Safe for all grass types
• 24-25-4 fertilizer ratio
• Grows new grass 35% quicker and 70% thicker

What We Like

Growing new grass doesn’t have to take much effort with the right stated fertilizer, and the Scotts Turf Builder Starter Food is just the right one. It offers a blend of premium nutrients for new grass to grow for a greener and healthier lawn swiftly.

One of this starter food’s perks is the nutrition balance it can provide with the 24-25-4 NPK formulation, ideal for developing lawns. This turf food for new grass promotes quicker root growth and considerably better blade development. With a robust NPK ratio, this fertilizer can boost seeding results, making it ideal for sod and grass plugs.

This lawn fertilizer is an awesome way to quickly get a greener lawn, allowing new grass to grow 35% quicker and 70% thicker. It can boost the lawn for brighter green and vibrant grass in a couple of days. Plus, it’s safe to use on all grass types, making it ideal for fertilizing all kinds and lawns styles.

This fertilizer is perfect when starting a new turf, planting new grass, installing sod, sprigs, grass plugs, and reseeding grass. Although this lawn starter food will boost grass growth, it won’t do the same thing for weeds.

This Scotts Turf Builder Starter Food is ideal for prepping medium-sized lawns. Its 15-pound pack can fertilize up to 5,000 square feet of lawn areas.

What Can Be Improved?

This granular fertilizer is perfect as a turf food for greener and healthier grass, but it needs a lot of maintenance. Applying the fertilizer is not enough to get a luscious lawn. Watering at least once a day is necessary, much so when applying the fertilizer during summer, as it may burn the grass.

Jonathan Green 10323 Black Beauty Ultra Mixture

Features:

• Coverage – 10,000 square feet
• Ideal for sandy and clay soil in the partial shade or full sun
• Invisible waxy coating to preserve moisture and ward off disease
• Drought resistant
• Contains elite Kentucky Bluegrass, Black Beauty Tall Fescues
• Contains Rye seeds for faster germination rate
• Contains naturally-insect-resistant grass
• With roots that grow up to 4-feet deep
• Free from unnecessary fillers

What We Like

Jonathan Green is a well-known brand for those caring for green and luscious lawns, especially Black Beauty. The 10323 Ultra Mixture fertilizer, particularly, has been a huge favorite in several generations for many reasons, but mainly because it contains various grass seed species.

This mix includes Bluegrass and Fescue seeds, and an excellent mix to get an appealingly lush and rich green turf. The Bluegrass is also a fantastic choice to help cover damaged patches in the yard. Meanwhile, the Rye seeds in this mix are efficient in contributing to a much quicker germination rate to get a healthier lawn much faster.

What’s even better with this fertilizer and grass seed mixture is that it features a special formulation to grow in clay and sandy soil. Also, it can flourish in both lawn areas with partial shade or under full sun. Another perk is that it boasts a special wax coating that helps avoid diseases and provide moisture, made to be drought-resistant.

The 25-pound bag of Jonathan Green 10323 comes packed with the most amazing seeds to obtain the best-looking turf in no time. There are no unnecessary fillers, making it extremely valuable for the price tag. Also, this pack can cover large-sized lawns up to 10,000 square feet for reseeding purposes.

What Can Be Improved?

The Fescue seeds in this mix are excellent for a greener lawn, but they can get extremely tall when fully grown. The grass seeds also take quite a long time to germinate, not ideal for people who want to see quick and better results for the garden. It usually takes 2-3 weeks before changes in the lawn are visible.

Safer Brand 9334 Lawn Restore Fertilizer

Features:

• Coverage – 6,250 square feet
• 9-0-2 NPK balance
• No salt included
• Ideal for sod, new seeding, thin lawns
• Non-burning and long-lasting effects
• Greener lawns after three to five days
• Strengthens root system for thicker turf
• Effective year-round lawn care
• No manure odor

What We Like

Restoring a previously green and healthy turf can be tough, but it wouldn’t be with Safer Brand’s 9334 Lawn Restore mix. It facilitates a strong grassroots system with access to naturally occurring minerals to achieve a much thicker lawn. It’s the ultimate care for new sod grass lawn, ideal to use during planting, and to reseed to cure lawn patches.

One perk of this lawn fertilizer is its fast-acting ability, achieving a lusher sod lawn three to five days after applications. It’s one of the quickest ways to restore the sophisticated feel and look of the turf.

What’s even better than its quick results is the long-lasting coverage that this fertilizer can give to the yard. It ensures that grasses have enough food from germination to their maturity period, allowing the grass to withstand drought, heat, and the cold.

This lawn restores mix gives the much-needed boost that the turf requires to stay healthy all-year-round with three one-step applications. Each application provides a slow but steady nutrient release in the garden, lasting up to eight weeks.

Another advantage of this lawn fertilizer is it protects from diseases. It helps the grasses grow stronger to defend themselves against fungi, pest insects, and other diseases. The 9-0-2 NPK formula provides a healthy balance for a more vigorous and thicker lawn.

One other reason to use Safer Brand 9334 Lawn Restore fertilizer is that it’s safe for everyone like the brand name says. Freshly treated lawns are safe for the entire family, including the pets.

What Can Be Improved?

Maintaining that freshly treated turf takes a bit of critical thinking as this fertilizer is susceptible to the sod’s overirrigation.

WaterSaver Grass Mixture with Turf-Type Tall Fescue

Features:

• Coverage – 2,500 square feet
• 99.9% weed-free
• Ideal for yards, sports fields, golf courses
• Low-maintenance, self-repairing turf
• Less watering and mowing required
• Ideal for transition and northern climate zones
• Patent RTF rescue
• Color and disease resistant
• Offers remarkable protection against pest and insects
• Enhances drought tolerance

What We Like

Even the most beautiful turf will be susceptible to damage caused by either lack of nutrition, pest, insects, or diseases. When the lawn starts to show damaged patches, it usually requires reseeding or restoration to get back to its former glory. However, that hassle is not necessary when using the WaterSaver Grass Mixture.

One of the appealing qualities of this mixture is its self-repairing capability. It restores itself when damaged, so there is less maintenance needed. It will stay weed-free and with fine and lusciously green texture without so much effort. Once the grass grows mature roots, it will continue to flourish at a steady pace.

Another reason why this grass mixture is a huge favorite by lawn-owning homeowners and professionals is its fast-acting capability. The seed mixture germinates around one week after application, boosting healthy deep-rooted grass to withstand typical human traffic.

It also allows new grasses to be disease-resistant, offering protection against pests and other common diseases. This lawn seed mixture also withstands stressful and changing weather conditions, ideal for use in northern and transition climate zones.

Another convenient thing about this mixture is it’s fairly drought-tolerant, and it will require less watering and mowing than usual. It’s ideal for golf courses, sports fields, and backyards, although the 25-pound pack can only cover 2,500 square feet.

What Can Be Improved?

This mixture requires less maintenance than normal, which includes watering. However, it still may show drying signs when left unwater under the harsh sun for an extended period.

Jonathan Green & Sons Inc Winter Survival Fall Fertilizer

Features:

• Coverage – 15,000 square feet
• Ideal for preparing lawn for winter
• Ideal for fall seeding
• Promotes root growth
• Safe to use on centipedegrass even during the summer season
• Suitable for use on most grass types in cold and warm temperate climates

What We Like

Even the greenest lawns during spring are susceptible to issues later in the year, and when they start to turn brown, it decreases the yard’s beauty. Once they get to a near-death experience during winter, it isn’t easy to restore them to health during the spring season. However, that is preventable with Jonathan Green and Sons Inc Fall Lawn Food.

It provides the perfect nutrition for an earlier bloom and healthier bright green grass before winter starts. This formula is suitable for use on grass grown on warm or cold temperate climates. It’s ideal for boosting the lawn’s needs from September to October, allowing them to hibernate during winter instead of dying.

Once the snow is gone, the yard requires much less effort to go back to its vibrant glory, with the grass coming back to life with little to no maintenance.

With healthier and stronger roots before the snow starts to hit the ground, the grass has a higher chance of living through winter. What’s even better is it’s suitable for use on all grass types, including centipedegrass during the summer.

Overall, it’s an excellent lawn food designed to keep the lawn robust against the cold season’s stress. This mixture’s 45-pound bag is also suitable for use in large-sized areas up to 15,000 square feet.

What Can Be Improved?

This lawn fertilizer is suitable for use in all grass types and most lawn settings. However, it’s not an efficient lawn food in soil that is nitrogen-deficient.

Types of Fertilizer for Grass

There are many factors to check when looking for the best fertilizer for new grass, including the type of fertilizer.

Organic Fertilizers

Organic or natural lawn fertilizer is a mixture of many things, including natural minerals and plant and animal manure. This type may also contain cottonseed meal, rock phosphate, and fish by-products.

It is a slow-release fertilizer, making it ideal for applications during the fall season. It makes way for the grass to hibernate during winter and ready to bloom in spring.

Organic fertilizers are eco-friendly, and while it takes time for the grassroots to absorb them, it delivers long-term effects. However, it may attract bugs and other pets and is usually expensive.

Chemical Fertilizers

This type of lawn fertilizer features a super-concentrated mixture to enhance its absorption rate. It provides necessary nutrition for the grass much faster than organic fertilizers, making it ideal for spring applications.

Depending on the brand or specific fertilizer, it can restore the lawn in a couple of days to a few weeks. It delivers exact nutrient ratio as needed for the grass to flourish, but is susceptible to over-fertilization and may be toxic.

Ammonium Sulfate

This fertilizer lowers the soil’s pH level by providing ammonium sulfate to highly alkaline soils. It’s a chemical that grassroots absorb immediately, and it needs to dilute in water before application, although it would also be okay as top-dressing.

Urea

Urea is a type of fertilizer rich in nitrogen, made using ammonia, and offers a cost-effective solution for the yard. It’s a quick-release fertilizer and ideal for grasses that require slightly acidic soil.

However, Urea has beneficial gases that evaporate during nitrogen conversion, so it needs to get mixed with soil.

Weed and Feed

This type of fertilizer has a double purpose: It prepares the ground by killing the weeds and provides lawn food for healthier grass.

Weed and Feed fertilizers are perfect for use in lawns infected by weeds like dandelions and crabgrass. It ensures that the primary grass has enough nutrition to remain lush, abundant, and vibrantly green.

Features to Look for in the Best Fertilizer for New Grass

Lawn Starter vs. Regular Fertilizer

Grasses need different kinds of fertilizer depending on its current growth stage. Regular fertilizers provide necessary food and energy for most established grass. However, lawn starters have a special fertilizer ratio for newly emerging grass seeds, ideal for starting new lawns.

Choosing between a lawn started and regular fertilizer will primarily depend on the purpose of using the fertilizer.

NPK Ratio

The NPK ratio should be on the top priority of what to look for in lawn fertilizer. Different packs feature varying amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, and therefore serve different purposes.

Nitrogen-rich fertilizers are ideal for supporting overall healthy grass growth, perfect for achieving the grass blades’ deep dark green coloring. Meanwhile, potassium-rich fertilizers make grasses more robust and resistant to diseases, temperature or climate changes, and drought.

Phosphorus, on the other hand, is a necessary ingredient to boost the growth of new grass. Fertilizers rich in phosphorus help boost grass root development, and stronger roots are essential for overall grass growth.

Fertilizer Formula

After establishing the ideal NPK ratio, it’s time to choose the fertilizer formula, either granular or liquid.

Granular fertilizers are slow-release, usually taking at least a month to show visible results. However, it needs less follow-up and delivers long-lasting effects.

Meanwhile, liquid fertilizers may come in powder or liquid form, and both usually need to dilute in water. They are fast-acting but tend to require a frequent application to achieve the best possible results.

Coverage

Before buying the best fertilizer for new grass, measure the lawn area first. Some fertilizer mixes are only suitable for patch treatments of small-sized yards, while others can cover up to 15,000 square feet.

Grass Type

When buying fertilizer and lawn starter mixtures, it’s essential to know what grass seeds are there.

Consider the soil’s condition to choose the ideal grass type that would thrive there. Check the pH level and the soil type, which can either be clay or sandy based. Some grass types thrive best under full sun, while others will grow better under partial shade.

Cool Season vs. Warm Season Grass Seeds

Choosing ideal grass types of lawn food mixes should also depend on the climate or temperature. There are grass types that thrive best during colder seasons, while others are ideal during warmer months.

Care Level

Different grass types will require varying degrees of care. New grass will need watering to flourish for starting a lawn, especially when using the fertilizer mix during hotter months. However, some fertilizers are low-maintenance, less watering necessary.

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Frequently Ask Questions (FAQ)

Conclusion

The Scotts Turf Builder Starter Food is perfect for prepping a healthier and greener grass lawn. It can restore the yard in its former glory 35% quicker and with 70% thicker grass.

Choosing the best fertilizer for new grass is no easy task, but considering factors like fertilizer type and NPK ratios will help immensely.

Last update on 2024-02-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API