Question
Hi Kenneth,

I am a new homeowner and I have Bermuda sod grass.  I am wondering what type of fertilizer should I used.  My builder recommended Triple Ten, but I can't seem to find it.  Also, I have some patches in the year of brown grass.  Any advice that you can give will be greatly appreciated.

Answer
Triple 10 is a good choice if you have just established the lawn. For an existing lawn, however, use regular scott's turfbuilder (29-3-4) or similar. Any good garden center will have an all purpose lawn fertilizer. Typically the first number will be higher than the others. If your soil type is sand, sandy loam or similar, then you can also look for the so-called turf type fertilizer which has higher potassium ratios (last number) such as 14-5-14, 10-2-6, etc.

Go take a walk in a garden center or home improvement store (home depot) and look at their selection of lawn fertilizers. As long as it is formulated for lawns (you can usually know by the fact that the lable says so) it should be ok. If in doubt, make sure the first number on the bag is bigger than the others. Fertilizer bags (typically smaller packs) with higher middle numbers are for flowers and vegetables.