As spring quickly approaches, you have a tremendous amount of choices when it comes to caring for your lawn. While we'd love for you to hire a lawn care company (cough, Weed Pro), we realize that there may be some do-it-yourselfers that want to take a crack at it themselves. In that spirit, we'll take a look at a popular DIY lawn care fertilizer choice, the Scotts 4 Step Lawn Care fertilizer products.

The Pros

• Quality Products - Scotts fertilizer has been around since the early 1900's and have always had the reputation of being good, solid products that can help you take care of your lawn. The products themselves are quality blends of fertilizer, and are much better than some of the discount products you'll see at the big box store.
   
• 4 Steps is Better Than 0 - The Scotts 4 Step Fertilizer program provides some sort of scheduled nutrition for your lawn, which is better than trying to guess at when to feed your lawn. Most times, consumers wait until their lawn shows signs of stress before feeding it. A constant food source is the best defense against most lawn disease and weeds.
   
• Easily Accessible, Mass Distribution - Scotts 4 Step Program fertilizers are available everywhere from nurseries to the big box stores all across America. There is no searching necessary, with the local hardware store probably carrying the product.
   
• Snap n' Go Product - Scotts has made applying fertilizer easier with the invention of new application products such as the snap and go spreader. Sometimes the hardest part of fertilizing your own lawn is figuring out how much product to use and the mess it causes putting it into the spreader.

The Cons

• Larger Application Windows Leave Gaps in Coverage - Most lawn care companies in Ohio recommend six, if not seven applications of fertilizer throughout the year. While Scotts 4 Step Program is better than nothing, six applications of fertilizer provides season-long coverage and food supplies for your turf. Four steps of fertilizer often leaves gaps throughout the season where your lawn doesn't quite look right. 
   
• One Standard Product, Not Customized for Regions - Fertilizer should be customized to the area where you live and the current weather patterns. temperature and soil conditions play a HUGE roll in the health of your lawn, and a soil test should be taken to see what nutrients are needed, with a plan built around that. Scotts 4 Step Fertilizer is a quality product that is the same in all the different areas of the country.
   
• Products Need To Be Applied at Certain Times - Scotts 4 Step products are all granular, including the weed control. This means that when applying the product, the grass must be damp for it to stick to the weeds. This is why the directions state that fertilizer application should take place in the morning when dew is present on the lawn. Lawn care companies, such as Weed Pro, use liquid weed control so this is not necessary. 
   
• Weed Breakthrough Need Additional Applications - Scotts Lawn Care Products with weed control do a good job controlling most weeds. However, no weed control product can prevent EVERY weed from popping up. In this case, those weeds that aren't controlled will have to wait for a few months to get more treatment. With Weed Pro, our Year Long No Weed Guarantee allows you to call us to have weeds treated in-between treatments at no additional cost.  
   

Not Sure What to Look For When Hiring a Lawn Care Company? There's a Guide For That!

If you're ready to tackle lawn care on your own, hopefully we've given you enough information in this blog that you can keep in mind when using the Scotts 4 Step Lawn Care Program. However, if after reading this article you have decided that you may need a little help, but don't know what to look for when hiring someone, we have the guide for you! Weed Pro's Ultimate Hiring Guide is chock-full of great information that you need to know when comparing lawn care services. You'll learn what services you should be getting, licensing and certification suggestions, lawn care program guides, and more! The best part of this guide is it's yours absolutely free by clicking the button below!

Shaun Kanary has been a part of the Green Industry for the past 15 years. As the Director of Marketing for Weed Pro Lawn Care, a Cleveland and Columbus Lawn Care Service Provider, Shaun is a regular contributor to the Weed Pro Blog, and other industry magazine and blogs.  Shaun on Google+     Shaun on LinkedIn     Shaun on Twitter