NJ Lawns Community

Hey everyone, just bought Milorganite for my backyard in Ridgewood and I'm completely new to this. The bag says to water it in but I'm wondering - do I HAVE to do it immediately or can I wait until tomorrow morning? I applied it late this afternoon around 4pm and it's supposed to get down to around 55 tonight. Not sure if that temp is too cold to water now or if I should just wait. My lawn is mostly tall fescue if that matters. Thanks in advance!

You definitely want to get it watered in ASAP - like within the same day if possible. The nitrogen in Milorganite needs moisture to start breaking down and getting to the roots. If you wait till tomorrow morning you're probably fine since it's only been a few hours, but don't let it sit for days. That 55 degree night temp is actually pretty good - won't evaporate as fast as during the hot midday sun. I'd water it in tonight if you can, even if it's just a quick light watering to activate it.

I agree with Steve - same day is best practice. I've been using Milorganite for years in Englewood Cliffs and what I learned is that it really does need that initial watering to start the microbial process. One tip though - if you laid it down and it's already been a few hours and the granules are still sitting there dry, you might want to check if they're absorbing moisture at all. Sometimes in our clay soil here it helps to water lightly first, then come back 20 minutes later for a deeper soak. That prevents runoff which is a real issue on some of the slopes in this area.

Professional landscaper here working all over Bergen County. You basically have a 24-hour window so tomorrow morning is totally fine - not ideal but won't kill the product. The more important question is how much are you applying? A lot of beginners overdo it because they see results and think more is better. For tall fescue in this area we're recommend about 1 pound per 1000 sq ft, and honestly most bags don't make it clear. Check out the Lowe's on Route 17 if you need a spreader - they've got the Scotts broadcast ones that work pretty well for Milorganite. Hit me up if you need help calculating your yard size.

Thanks everyone! Got it watered in this evening and it looks like it's soaking in pretty good. @GrassGuru thanks for the tip on the amount - I was thinking maybe 1.5 lbs per 1000 just to be safe but I'll dial it back. Already seeing some darkening where I put it down so hopefully it'll kick in. This community is so helpful!

Good call dialing back! Too much Milorganite can actually burn your grass, especially when temps start climbing in May/June. We've had some brutal heat waves hit Paramus the last couple summers. Once it starts warming up you'd be surprised how fast you can overapply. Keep us posted on how it looks in a couple weeks!