Vigoro vs Scotts

[greenbaypackersfan]

Just curious here and want to ask some experts here on LAWN FERTILIZERS.

Last year, I used Vigoro Super Green Lawn Fertilizer and the results were fantastic. Not only it makes the lawn green, it actually made it super DARK green and can visually see the difference between neighbor's lawn and mine. I love the product and it was definitely cheaper than the Scott's brand.



However, Vigoro does not have the 4 step treatments like Scott's. Scotts has the pre-emergent, spring, summer, fall/winter which is easy to buy. Where as Vigoro, I would always use the same bag for the entire year. Even though the lawn was green with Vigoro, I had some weed invasions.

Starting this year, I began trying out Scott's and noticed the color of my lawn isn't as DARK (green) as when I used Vigoro. Perhaps it's still early in the spring.... ( I live in New Jersey) or it's the product from Vigoro that makes the color different...

What are your thoughts between the 2 brand? I'd love to stay with Vigoro, but I don't welcome the weed invasions.

 

[Firemark]

I thought I saw the Vigoro in Spring with the crabgrass preventer available. As for weed control, use the Weedbgone with a hose end sprayer. You only have to do this once in May before it gets too hot. If you have a large lawn get the concentrate bottle and a separate hose end spray bottle with an adjustable dial but make sure you use the proper setting. Too much will kill your lawn not to mention pets, wildlife, etc.

The Dark green you notice isn't really the best sign of a healthy lawn, just the chemical makeup of the fertilzer(compare the middle number listed on the bags). You could actually be putting too much down leading to ground water pollution. NJ had a very wet summer last year so you may have had a break using 4 heavy applications. Fertilizer and hot dry weather don't mix very well so be careful with the mid-summer application.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[tate16t]

Can I use Vigoro Lawn Weed Control two weeks after applying Scotts Turf Builder With Halts Crabgrass Preventer?

 

[Firemark]

If it is ONLY weed control and contains no fertilizer, yes. Otherwise, choose a Weed Control product only.



Fertilizer and weed control

 

[tate16t]

Thanks. I ended up getting Ortho Weed-B-Gone with the hose attachment sprayer. I was not able to find any opinions of Vigoro Lawn Weed Control online and the big box stores did not have it.


Ortho Weed-B-Gone

 

[bigdog418]

vigoro vs. scotts

For the most part, all manufacturers' weed and feed products are useless. They green up the lawn nice, but along with the lawn, they also green up the weeds. Whether it's Vigoro, Scotts or someone else, none of them work. Best bet is to get on your hands and knees and pull out each weed by hand - roots and all - because if you leave one root, next week it will be back. They should change the name of their weed and feed products to feed the weeds. I've never had bigger, stronger, more resilient, greener weeds than ever. And that goes for the liquid spray weed and feed products as well that you attach to your garden hose.............useless in killing weeds. If you use something like RoundUp, that leaves big brown splotches on your lawn. Weeds are like cockroaches - they are indestructible. Find a crack in your driveway or sidewalk, add one grain of dirt and in one week a weed seed will find it's way into the crack and grow. You don't have to water, fertilize, or do anything.......they just grow. They're............THE TERMINATOR. So...........if you don't want weeds, save the $50 on the weed killer and just pull them out. If you keep the receipts and upc labels from the bags, boxes, bottles of weed killer you purchased this year and found they don't work, write a letter to the mfgr and request a refund.

 

[hj]

quote; Find a crack in your driveway or sidewalk, add one grain of dirt and in one week a weed seed will find it's way into the crack and grow.

Actually, as I always tell people, "If you could get grass to grow as good on your lawn as it does on concrete sidewalks, you would ALWAYS have a beautiful lawn".

 

[MoneyMogul]

For the most part, all manufacturers' weed and feed products are useless. They green up the lawn nice, but along with the lawn, they also green up the weeds. Whether it's Vigoro, Scotts or someone else, none of them work. Best bet is to get on your hands and knees and pull out each weed by hand - roots and all - because if you leave one root, next week it will be back. They should change the name of their weed and feed products to feed the weeds. I've never had bigger, stronger, more resilient, greener weeds than ever. And that goes for the liquid spray weed and feed products as well that you attach to your garden hose.............useless in killing weeds. If you use something like RoundUp, that leaves big brown splotches on your lawn. Weeds are like cockroaches - they are indestructible. Find a crack in your driveway or sidewalk, add one grain of dirt and in one week a weed seed will find it's way into the crack and grow. You don't have to water, fertilize, or do anything.......they just grow. They're............THE TERMINATOR. So...........if you don't want weeds, save the $50 on the weed killer and just pull them out. If you keep the receipts and upc labels from the bags, boxes, bottles of weed killer you purchased this year and found they don't work, write a letter to the mfgr and request a refund.

Actually both the Virgo and Scotts products are great at fertilizing your lawn. You will need to go back with a weed killer also. If you like the Virgo product you can use that in the Spring and Summer and use the Scotts in the Fall and Winter.

 

[Landscape Rock]

Fertilizer, pre-emergence, and post-emergence are all just chemicals. Look on the back of the bag and see what you're getting. Chemicals are chemicals and it doesn't matter whose name, scotts, vigoro, or ortho is on the bag as long as you know what you need to put in the lawn and the bag has it in it.

 

[Jessejames]

Me and 2 of my neighbors had very similar yards one year in a track home neighbor hood. We all decided to follow the same regimens but different brand names. I used lesco, next door used Scott's, and across the street used vigoro. We applied the same days and watered the same amount and mowed the same heights. All three were Bermuda grass. (It was a fun challenge) we did this for 12 months. At the spring of the following year the lesco and Scott's looked identical. (Ok but not impressive) the vigoro looked like a golf course. Me and the Scott's guy switched to vigoro and by fall we all 3 had people stopping and asking what we used on our yards. Since then I have put in and rehabbed several other yards using only vigoro and have had incredible results. Not saying others aren't good but I have a 5acre yard now and would never consider any other product than vigoro. Just my experiences!

 

[JpNH]

I have had great luck with products made by Lesco. They are owned by John Deere now and sold through JD Landscapes stores. A little more expensive, but everything I've tried and been 10x better than the off the shelf, big box store equivalents. They will also give you good advice in the store. May be worth checking out.

https://www.johndeerelandscapes.com/

Lesco Catalogs: (JD really needs to update these)

https://www.johndeerelandscapes.com/home/news-events/catalogs-11-20-12.aspx

 

[Garden guru]

The vigoro brand is manufactured by Scott's. The Scott's brand has 28-0-3 per GRANULE. Scott's is well aware that some folks just want a cheaper alternative so they developed Vigoro. The difference is the Vigoro brand has 29-0-3 per BAG. It doesn't spread evenly due the fillers. No two yards are the same, either the dirt has variations of nutrients, the seed planted is different, and yes there are a hundred different versions of Bermuda, Zoysia etc... and no two people are going to water equally, cut the grass the same or be equally vigorous about weed control. Even if they tell you they treat their yard with this and that they are usually just too embarrassed to admit they didn't treat it properly. Gardening is different for everyone. Find something that works for you, that you feel good about and stick with it.

 

[tate16t]

The vigoro brand is manufactured by Scott's. The Scott's brand has 28-0-3 per GRANULE. Scott's is well aware that some folks just want a cheaper alternative so they developed Vigoro. The difference is the Vigoro brand has 29-0-3 per BAG. It doesn't spread evenly due the fillers. No two yards are the same, either the dirt has variations of nutrients, the seed planted is different, and yes there are a hundred different versions of Bermuda, Zoysia etc... and no two people are going to water equally, cut the grass the same or be equally vigorous about weed control. Even if they tell you they treat their yard with this and that they are usually just too embarrassed to admit they didn't treat it properly. Gardening is different for everyone. Find something that works for you, that you feel good about and stick with it.

Does Virgo have a Lawn Food like Scott or can I simply use Scott Lawn Food at any time?

 

[SteveW]

Since this is basically a plumbing site at its core, it's appropriate to bring up Milorganite. If you haven't heard of it, it is basically Milwaukee sewage, processed and made into granules that you can buy at the big box store and use as lawn fertilizer. It's organic and doesn't burn your lawn if you over-apply it (as some fertilizers can do). Some homeowners that have switched over to organic fertilizers like Milorganite, or Ringers, believe that if you consistently use organic products, over time the basic structure of your lawn gets healthier and you have less disease. The micro-organisms in the soil multiply and good things happen thereafter.

Not sure if it's been proven or not, but last year I decided to try it, so will see how it goes over the next couple years. So far, so good. Unlike all my neighbors, I never use grub control or other pesticides, and only use spot weed controls like Weed-B-Gone, instead of broadcasting weed/feed or spraying the whole lawn. Not a tree hugger by any means, but on the other hand, I've seen birds and even a beloved family dog succumb to some of the toxins we apply to our lawns, so I want to minimize the amount of non-essential chemicals I put on the lawn.

 

[tate16t]

Since this is basically a plumbing site at its core, it's appropriate to bring up Milorganite. If you haven't heard of it, it is basically Milwaukee sewage, processed and made into granules that you can buy at the big box store and use as lawn fertilizer. It's organic and doesn't burn your lawn if you over-apply it (as some fertilizers can do). Some homeowners that have switched over to organic fertilizers like Milorganite, or Ringers, believe that if you consistently use organic products, over time the basic structure of your lawn gets healthier and you have less disease. The micro-organisms in the soil multiply and good things happen thereafter.

Not sure if it's been proven or not, but last year I decided to try it, so will see how it goes over the next couple years. So far, so good. Unlike all my neighbors, I never use grub control or other pesticides, and only use spot weed controls like Weed-B-Gone, instead of broadcasting weed/feed or spraying the whole lawn. Not a tree hugger by any means, but on the other hand, I've seen birds and even a beloved family dog succumb to some of the toxins we apply to our lawns, so I want to minimize the amount of non-essential chemicals I put on the lawn.

What do they process it with? So you're basically putting garbage on your lawn? Does this invite other issues?

 

[SteveW]

They use high heat dryers to make sure the disease-causing bacteria get killed off. It's pretty safe. About the only issue is that dogs sometimes will eat it if you don't water it into the lawn; doesn't seem to hurt them.

 

[WoodenTent]

This is where marketing has clearly won. Ignore the brand/marketing pitch/etc. The key is to just look on the bag for the composition, ##-##-## N-P-K . This is what matters. Scotts and the other companies have no ability to make propriatary Nitrogen atoms. Scotts tends to make this number hard to find on the bags, but it's there, by law. You will quickly see no matter what they call it, it's all the same. Like 29-0-4 and similar. There is nothing special about "turf builder" or this or that. A lot of the time the numbers are the same. Starter fertilizer is one of the few that is slightly different as it will have more phosphorus and potassium which is generally helpful for root growth, not just making stuff green.

One area of difference is Nitrogen comes in 2 forms, regular slow release stuff, and fast release stuff, which is basically Urea, so it releases very fast, which also means you can burn stuff quickly.

Before you do anything, get a soil test done. See if your state has a ag. extension from one of the universities, they usually test your soil free to cheap, or see a local garden center who might do it. See what your soil needs or doesn't need. Lawns don't need anywhere near what we give them, most of what goes on will just run off and get into the water system and cause algee blooms.

Also knowing what you are trying to do. A tree is not grass. Landscaping plants may have desire for certain things, thats where the specialty bags calling out specific plants come in.

Far as weed and feed, the US will probably start doing as Ontario Canada has done and outlaw it, it's just plane stupid. There is no reason to combine the 2 things, and a lot of reasons not to. If you got weeds, you need to get rid of the weeds, that doesn't mean your lawn needs fertilizer too. By combining them, people are just over fertilizing lawns in an effort to kill weeds. Apply weed killer as needed, apply fertilizer as needed. The odds of the timing and amounts of weed killer and fertilizer matching up are very slim.

Also remember what your lawn is seeded with changes things a lot. Different types and mixes are around the country. But you can also have a lawn where someone picked a very specific grass. I did that with mine, I have just one type of grass, not a mix. It looks completely different than my neighbors lawns which are all just "midwest mix". It's not the fertilizer that is making it look different. I pick it out, so it's different. One size does not fit all on grass. Soil type, sun light, shade, etc make a big difference in what to have.