Hey! I come from a family of garden center owners and landscapers.
The BEST thing for you to do is to go down to a garden center, explain the condition of your lawn and get recommendation.
My Aunt/Uncle/Cousin own Stables Garden Center, and specifically, if you go to the one in Port Jefferson Station, ask for Jim (that's my father), he's been doing this stuff his entire life. He has made so many lawns perfect.
So, I just called him and he said you really should come down to the store, because there are so many variables.
1. No matter what condition your lawn is in, in two years you can make it look like sod.
2. Was the lawn seeded last year? If so, you can wait until the end of April to put down seed...if not, the beginning of April.
3. Does your lawn have sun? IF so, then you probably have a crab grass issue, there are steps to be taken for that as well, but you can't seed AFTER you put crab grass preventer down...I didn't get into the details, but he knows how to do it correctly.
4. Lebanon Pro is a great fertilizer that my father recommends, it is the fertilizer used on golf courses...however, there are many different kinds for different types of laws (thin lawn, sunny lawn, shady, etc). so you should really discuss it with a professional.
It's not simply buying a bag of fertilizer and putting it down, there's a lot more to having a lawn that looks like sod.
I wish I knew all the secrets, but I don't, my father just comes over to my house and does all the lawn maintance and landscaping. When I find some pics, I'll post them.
FM me if you want more info about the location of Stable Garden Center, and like I said, if you do go there, ASK FOR JIM.
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