Fertilizer Plans

With all the lawn products out there, sometimes it can be confusing to know exactly what your lawn needs and when. That's why it's so important to follow a balanced fertilizer program. It makes sure that your lawn gets just what it needs at each critical point in the season. Here at O'Toole's, we have four different fertilizer programs tailored to our Colorado lawns. Each week in March, we'll highlight a different program to help you select the one that's best for you. Click on the image for the pdf.

WaterSaver Program

This is Colorado's top selling organic lawn program. WaterSaver is an organic, slow-release fertilizer made out of dried chicken manure. It's non-burning and you could even apply it without watering it in. WaterSaver contains the same wetting agent that is found in Revive to help water penetrate our tough clay soils. In addition, WaterSaver also contains mycorrhiaze. Mycorrhiaze are soil-borne micro-organisms that attach to the root systems of plants and allow them to absorb more nutrients and water. This will help your grass more efficiently utilize the water you give it and lower your water bill. It all combines to create a stronger, healthier more drought tolerant lawn.

The WaterSaver Program includes one bag of WaterSaver SpringGreen + Iron, two bags of WaterSaver Lawn Food and one bag of WaterSaver Winterizer.

The Economy Plan

This is an easy, economical way to keep your lawn looking great all season long. The Economy Plan contains synthetic Colorado's Choice fertilizer that is balanced, easy to use and fast-acting. It covers all the most important feedings of the year including the all-important fall feeding. At just $39.99 for four bags that cover 5,000 square feet, this is the least expensive way to have a lush green lawn all year.

The Economy Plan contains 1 bag of Colorado's Choice Turf Food, 1 bag of Colorado's Choice Iron Aide, 1 bag of Colorado's Choice Super Turf Food and 1 bag of Colorado's Choice Winterizer.

The Four Step

The Four Step includes the same balanced, fast-acting Colorado's Choice fertilizers that Denver gardeners have always trusted. It covers all the major feedings of the year and also has an early spring application of Crabgrass and Spurge Control. This is one of the most effective pre-emergent weed killers available. Crabgrass and Spurge Control works by creating a barrier just below the surface of soil that stops weed seeds before they sprout. It also feeds your lawn with a high-nitrogen 24-16-12 fertilizer to give you a quick spring green up. If you've had some problems with crabgrass or other annual weed grasses in the past, this is the program for you.

The Four Step contains 1 bag of Colorado's Choice Crabgrass and Spurge Control, 1 bag of Colorado's Choice Turf Food, 1 bag of Colorado's Choice Super Turf Food and 1 bag of Colorado's Choice Winterizer.

The Five Step

The Five Step plan is similar to the Four Step. It too includes all the most important feedings of the year, but also adds an extra bag of Colorado's Choice Crabgrass and Spurge Control. This refreshes the weed barrier in the soil and prevents any late season weeds from popping up. If you've had heavy weed problems in the past, the Five Step will help keep your lawn weed free.

The Five Step includes 2 bags of Colorado's Choice Crabgrass and Spurge Control, 1 bag of Colorado's Choice Iron Aide, 1 bag of Colorado's Choice Super Turf Food and 1 bag of Colorado's Choice Winterizer.

Last time we told you about pre-emergent weed killers for your lawn, but did you know you can also apply a pre-emergent to your flower beds? You can control weeds in your garden before they ever come up with these weed preventers.

Now is a great time to start thinking about preventing weeds in your garden and lawn.   As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  One of the best ways to thwart weeds is by applying a pre-emergent weed killer.  A pre-emergent is an herbicide that kills weeds before they even have a chance to sprout. 

The first step in weed prevention is to identify which kinds of weeds are likely to invade your lawn.  Lawn weeds are generally broken down into two groups:  Grassy Weeds and Broadleaf Weeds.

 Grassy Weeds are nothing more than types of grasses that you don’t want in your lawn or flower beds.  They can be either annual grasses like crabgrass or perennial grasses like fescue.  An easy way to tell which kind of weed grass you have is to observe when it turns green.  Perennial grass will green up early, at the same time as the rest of your lawn.  Annual grass won’t appear until later in the season, around May. 


Broadleaf Weeds are all other weeds that are not grasses.  They are usually easy to spot, as they’re wide leaves stand out against they narrow leaves of grass.  Broadleaf weeds include repeat offenders like dandelions, chickweed and spurge. 

Broadleaf Weed Prevention	Grassy Weed Prevention	Organic Weed Prevention
GREEN LIGHT PORTRAIT Portrait is a unique broadleaf weed pre-emergent that provides season long control of tough broadleaf weeds.  Just apply to your lawn with a fertilizer spreader, and water it in.  Portrait provides 8 months of protection against any broadleaf weed that comes from a seed, including dandelions and clover.  In fact, Portrait is one of the only pre-emergent herbicides that can control the notoriously tough dandelion.  For the best defense against dandelions, apply a second application after about 8 weeks.  Portrait doesn’t leach into the soil, so you can reseed in the fall following a spring application.	CRABGRASS PREVENTER Green Light Crabgrass Preventer is a selective pre-emergent that controls most annual weed grasses like crabgrass for up to 14 weeks.  What makes Crabgrass Preventer unique is that it provides pre-emergent and early post-emergent control.  This means that it will kill crabgrass before and after it sprouts.  Crabgrass Preventer will kill seedling crabgrass 2 – 8 weeks after germination and emergence.  So even if you are a little late applying Crabgrass Preventer, you’ll still get effective control.	CONCERN Concern is a great organic option in weed prevention.  It’s made entirely of corn gluten meal.  Naturally occurring proteins in the corn meal inhibit the development of roots in weed seedlings, killing them before they have a chance to grow.  Concern is completely organic and safe.  In fact, corn gluten is often used as feed for farm animals.  With proper application, Concern can be up to 90% effective in controlling weeds like dandelions, clover, purslane and annual weed grasses like crabgrass.

AMAZE	PREEN VEGETABLE GARDEN WEED PREVENTER
Amaze is a selective, pre-emergent herbicide applied to the soil surface to prevent the growth of undesirable weeds and grasses.  You can use Amaze in established flower beds, around ornamental bulbs, ornamental ground covers, landscape and ornamental shrubs.  Amaze works by forming a protective barrier just below the surface of the soil, stopping weeds before they come up.  It’s important to use Amaze only around established plants, because it will stop the germination of any seeds beneath the surface, weeds or otherwise.  Amaze can be applied any time during the season, but it’s most effective to apply early, and then re-apply after about 4 months.	Preen Vegetable Garden Weed Preventer is a great organic way to prevent weeds in fruit, vegetable, herb or landscape beds.  Preen Vegetable Garden is a 100% organic corn gluten meal.  Proteins in the corn gluten stop root formation in new seeds, killing the weed before they can sprout.  It’s safe to use around any established edibles up to the day of harvest.  Preen Vegetable Garden can be applied anytime of the season.  For the best protection apply it early, and then reapply every 4 to 6 weeks.

By selecting the right pre-emergent and applying it at the right time, you can save yourself a lot of weed pulling down the line.  A little preparation now can help your garden can grow strong and healthy all season long.  Come on by, and we can help you get exactly what you need!

The groundhog saw his shadow and that means six more weeks of winter.  But if you're like us, that's way too long to wait for spring!  Right now is a great time to get a jump start on the growing season by starting your seeds indoors.  And we can help!

Coco Peat Pots	Seed Starting Kits
Peat pots are an easy and environmentally healthy way to start your seeds.  While the seeds are growing, the peat improves air circulation around roots and helps prevent root damage and transplant shock.  And they're made of natural coconut coir, so they're completely biodegradable.  In the spring, they can be directly planted into your garden!  How easy is that?	Need a little extra help?  Hydrofarm has some great seed starting kits that create warm, moist environments for your young seedlings, and increased growing success for you!  The Germination Station has a waterproof heat mat, 11"x22" watertight base tray, 72-cell seedling insert, humidity dome plus easy instructions and growing trips.  For taller seedlings, try the Hot House with a 6.5" humidity dome.
Seed Starting Mix	Soil Monitoring
When starting seeds, it's important to use a good seed starting mix.  Miracle-Gro Seed Starting Mix is a water-absorbent formula with sphagnum peat moss and perlite, specially blended for fast germination of seeds and enriched with Miracle-Gro fertilizer.  Plus it will help stop fungus disease and damping off.	New seedlings can be very temperamental and delicate.  Starting seeds indoors gives you the opportunity to control all aspects of their growing environment.  We have a wide variety of testers and meters to help you maintain optimal growing conditions all the time!