Okay, a few days ago I planted an area of lawn where ths kids fort use to be and I also re-seeded and area that was looking a quite bare. I finally got around to adding the lawn fertilizer to both spots yesterday. I should have added the fertilizer before I seeded the area, but I didn't have any lawn starter fertilizer at the time and I was keen to get going. Next time I will make sure I put down the fertilizer first.

There is a few reasons for this. The first reason is that it is probably better for the lawn to have the fertilizer down first. "Well this is what the experts say to do." The second reason is because when I was putting down the fertilizer a whole bunch came out at once and made a big pile. This was a bit tricky to fix because the seed and the layer of topsoil was already down and I didn't want to mess things up. If I put the fertilizer down first and had this kind of accident it would have been easy to fix.

Usually, I use a spreader to put down fertilizer. I put it down in one direction and then put it down perpendicular to the first direction. This provides good coverage. Make sure you don't put down to much fertilizer or you can burn your lawn. I've done this and it can take a long time for the area of grass to recover. Good idea to follow the manufacturer's advice on how much to use per square foot. Since I was just doing a few small patches I did it by hand. I purchased lawn starter fertilizer: 15 30 10. Don't get too hung up on the exact combination of fertilizer. I've now seen three different recommended amounts for this. The Garden Works brochure recommends: 13-26-6. The key is to use a lawn starter fertilizer.

I found the Garden Works brochure on line, here's the link to the pdf version if you are interested: Starting Your Lawn. The first page of the brochure is marketing and an explanation of their grass seeds, the second page has the "how to information".

Curious what the three numbers on fertilizer mean? It's the percentage of food in the fertilizer: Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potash. I used 15 30 10, so it has:

• 15% Nitrogen
• 30% Phosphorus
• 10% Potash

And don't forget to water the newly planted area.