NJ Lawns Community

Hey neighbor - fellow Bergen County lawn lover here. I've been in the lawn care biz for about 12 years now, mostly servicing Bergenfield, Englewood, and Tenafly areas. The clay soil situation you're describing is REAL - our soil pH tends to run around 6.2-6.8 depending on what part of town you're in. Personally, I've moved away from Scotts completely. Their Turf Builder is designed more for the all-purpose Midwest market and doesn't account for our heavier clay. Jonathan Green's Annual Lawn Feed (the black bag stuff) is actually formulated for cool-season grasses which is what most of us have - tall fescue and KBG blends. The key thing with JG is timing - you want to put it down when soil temps hit about 55 degrees. Usually that's late March to early April in Bergen County. If you go too early, you're just feeding the weeds before your grass wakes up.

I'll respectfully disagree with GrassGuru here. I've been running Scotts Turf Builder Plus 2 for the past 3 seasons on my fescue mix in Paramus and honestly haven't had any burn issues. The trick is watering it in RIGHT after you apply - I do a quick 15 minute cycle on my sprinklers within 2 hours of spreading. Scotts gets a bad rap because people don't read the label. You gotta apply half rates if you're doing it early and your temps are still cool. There's a reason Home Depot on Route 4 stocks so much of it - it works for most folks who actually follow directions. Also - the weed control in the Plus 2 version has been a game changer for my dandelion situation. Anyone else try the new Scotts with halts?

As someone who installs sprinkler systems for a living across Bergen County, I've seen both products wipe out lawns - probably 50/50 honestly. The real issue isn't always the fertilizer brand. If your irrigation isn't set up to actually MOVE that product into the soil profile, you're gonna burn regardless of what you buy. For clay soils especially, you need either a soil penetrant or multiple short watering cycles. I'm in Bergenfield too - the clay layer around here is brutal, starts about 6 inches down. My recommendation: don't lock into a brand war. Get a soil test done first through the Rutgers cooperative extension. They'll tell you exactly what your lawn needs. Most guys throwing down Scotts or JG without testing are essentially guessing and then wonder why they get brown spots.

Ivan makes a great point about the soil test. But since you asked directly about the products - I'll give you my honest take: Jonathan Green Annual Lawn Feed has a higher nitrogen content (around 26%) compared to standard Scotts (around 28% but slower release). For early spring on clay, I'd actually go LOWER nitrogen. Look at JG's New York/New England blend - it's 20% nitrogen with sulfur-coated urea which releases slower and won't burn as bad. What I tell my clients in Bergenfield: wait until you've mowed the lawn twice before your first application. That usually means mid-April. And for God's sake, don't skip the watering-in step. Mike's right about that. Also - check out Jonathan Green's Love Your Soil product too. It's a gypsum-based amendments that helps with clay compaction. Running that in combination with a light fertilizer feed has given me way better results than either product alone.

Fair points from Gurusu on the lower nitrogen approach. I might try the JG stuff this season honestly - the Home Depot on Old Bergen Turnpike has been stocking it more consistently lately. Quick side note - anyone else notice the price increase on Scotts? Last year I paid $42 for the big bag, this year it's pushing $48. JG is running about $38-40 depending on the store. At those prices, maybe trying the regional blend makes sense cost-wise too. What's everyone paying these days at the local supply places?

@MowerMike - hit up John Ralph's in Englewood if you want JG - they're usually cheapest in the county around $36 this time of year. Ace Hardware in Bergenfield also competitive. Back to the original question though - for YOUR situation specifically (clay soil + early spring + burning issues), here's what I'd recommend: 1) Go lighter than the label says - cut your rate by 25% 2) Apply when grass is dry but soil is moist from morning dew 3) Water in TWICE - once right after spread, then again 30 minutes later 4) Don't apply if temps are forecast above 75 within 48 hours That protocol has saved countless lawns in my route. Whether you choose JG or Scotts honestly matters less than application technique.