Question
Ronald:  
A clerk in the garden dept. at home depot told me I should use Vigoro Ultra 28-3-3 weed and feed on my bahia lawm in December and lesco turf builder in June. Can you comment on whether this is correct advice?

Thanks!
Dennis

Answer
Dennis,
       I do not know where you are located but the guy at HD is essentially correct. Here are my owh thoughts on the question.
       Weed & Feed products work best when the turf is actively growing and can use the fertilizer; at the same time the weeds must be also growing (metabolizing) so that the weed killers will be effective. In Florida I would use them in the Spring and again in the Fall, after the summer and its heavy rainfall.
       If I am not mistaken, 'Turf Builder' is a registered brand of the O M Scott Company. A turf builder type of  product feeds the turf for an extended period (generally 8 weeks or so). The true value of a turf builder type of fertilizer lies in the components of its nitrogen fraction. Nitrogen is the first number on the label and there is another section on there which describes the nitrogen sources. In that section you will see how much of the nitrogen is from 'slowly available' sources. In general, chemical nitrogen sources are quite soluble and will dissolve and drain away rapidly. To offset this, the manufacturer blends in some specially treated material which dissolves more slowly and makes the nitrogen available over a longer time. Such specially treated products are expensive so you can expect to pay more; in direct proportion to the amount of these products present.