Reference

How often to fertilize your lawn, and how much seed and fertilizer per 1,000 square feet

Every lawn product is rated per 1,000 square feet, and every lawn question comes down to the same two numbers: pounds of seed, and pounds of nitrogen. The rest is arithmetic on the bag.

How often to fertilize a lawn? 2–3 times a year for cool-season grass, up to 1 lb of nitrogen per 1,000 sq ft each time. Warm-season grasses differ widely: Bermuda 3–4 feedings, zoysia 2–3, centipede only 1–2. That is 4.2 lb of a 24-0-6 bag, or 10.0 lb of 10-10-10.

How often to fertilize lawn

Cool-season lawns (fescue, bluegrass, ryegrass)

September	1 lb N, once daytime highs are out of the 90s — the most important feeding of the year
Mid-October	1 lb N, optional, for a lawn left thin by summer
Early November	1 lb N, near the last mowing while the lawn is still green

Bermuda

Mid-May	1 lb N, once the lawn has fully greened up
Mid-June	1 lb N
Mid-July	1 lb N
Mid-August	1 lb N, the last feeding of the year

Zoysia — lighter than Bermuda

About 3 weeks after green-up	0.5 lb N, if there is no soil test to say otherwise
Late June or early July	0.5–1 lb N
Mid-August	0.5–1 lb N, the last feeding; none in fall — never more than 4 lb N a year

Centipede — fed the least of all

Mid-May	1 lb N — never earlier; this is the basic program
Mid-August	1 lb N, only if the lawn needs more than the basic program; use a fertilizer without phosphorus

Never more than 1 lb of nitrogen per 1,000 sq ft in one go — more burns the grass and washes into the drain. Feed each warm-season grass on its own schedule: centipede fed like Bermuda thins out and declines.

Grass seed per 1000 square feet and per acre

Overseeding an existing lawn takes a half to a third of the new-lawn rate. An acre is 43,560 sq ft.

Grass	New lawn, per 1,000 sq ft	Overseed, per 1,000 sq ft	New lawn, per acre	50 lb bags per acre
Kentucky bluegrass	2 lb · 0.98 kg/100 m²	1 lb	87 lb	2
Tall fescue	8 lb · 3.91 kg/100 m²	4 lb	348 lb	7
Perennial ryegrass	6 lb · 2.93 kg/100 m²	3 lb	261 lb	6
Fine fescue (creeping red, chewings)	5 lb · 2.44 kg/100 m²	2.5 lb	218 lb	5
Sun and shade mix	6.7 lb · 3.27 kg/100 m²	2 lb	292 lb	6
Bermuda (hulled)	1 lb · 0.49 kg/100 m²	0.5 lb	44 lb	1
Zoysia	2 lb · 0.98 kg/100 m²	1 lb	87 lb	2
Centipede	0.5 lb · 0.24 kg/100 m²	0.25 lb	22 lb	1

How long each grass takes to come up, and when to plant it, is on the germination guide.

Fertilizer per 1000 square feet by NPK

The first number on the bag is the percentage of nitrogen. Pounds of product for 1 lb of nitrogen = 100 ÷ that number.

Fertilizer	For 1 lb N per 1,000 sq ft	Per acre	Also puts down
10-10-10	10.0 lb	436 lb	1.00 lb P₂O₅, 1.00 lb K₂O
24-0-6	4.2 lb	182 lb	0.00 lb P₂O₅, 0.25 lb K₂O
29-0-4	3.4 lb	150 lb	0.00 lb P₂O₅, 0.14 lb K₂O
32-0-4	3.1 lb	136 lb	0.00 lb P₂O₅, 0.13 lb K₂O
5-10-5 starter	20.0 lb	871 lb	2.00 lb P₂O₅, 1.00 lb K₂O
16-4-8	6.3 lb	272 lb	0.25 lb P₂O₅, 0.50 lb K₂O

How much lime per 1000 square feet

Best after a soil test. Lime on soil that does not need it locks up nutrients, and the right amount depends on the soil as much as on its pH — a clay soil needs far more than a sandy one to move the same distance. The test report gives the figure for your lawn. Never lime blind on alkaline soil — much of the arid West is already above pH 7, and lime only pushes it higher.

Situation	Lime per 1,000 sq ft	40 lb bags per 1,000 sq ft
No soil test, no lime for several years	40–50 lb · 19.5–24.4 kg/100 m²	1–1.25
Soil test asks for more than 50 lb	Split it: no more than 50 lb at a time, spring and fall	1.25 per application

When to overseed

The same windows as a new lawn: late August to mid-September, when soil is 50–65 °F and nights are cooling for cool-season grass, late spring to early summer, after soil reaches 65 °F for warm-season. Mow short, rake or core-aerate so the seed reaches soil, spread the overseeding rate from the table, and keep it damp for two weeks. The grass seed calculator and the fertilizer calculator turn these rates into bags for your lawn.

Work out your fertilizer →

Seeding rates and days to germinate: University of Tennessee Extension W160-B, Turfgrass Establishment: Seeding (Samples and Sorochan); new-lawn rates are the top of its range for bluegrass, the fescues, ryegrass and Bermuda, and overseeding rates half of that (University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension, Spring Lawn Overseeding: overseeding cuts the rate by up to 50%). Zoysia seeding rate: University of Arkansas MP476, Establishing Seeded Zoysiagrass (1–2 lb per 1,000 sq ft). Centipede seeding rate: NC State Extension, Centipedegrass Lawn Maintenance Calendar (¼–½ lb). Sun and shade mix: Scotts Turf Builder Rapid Grass Sun & Shade Mix label coverage. Soil temperatures, planting windows and first mowing: Penn State Extension, Lawn Establishment. Nitrogen rate and cool-season schedule: Purdue Extension turfgrass program, Fall Fertilization and AY-13. Warm-season schedules: NC State Extension Bermudagrass, Zoysiagrass and Centipedegrass Lawn Maintenance Calendars. Lime: UNH Extension, Lime; University of Maryland Extension, Lime and Lawns. Sod watering and rooting: sod-grower care guides (Sod Solutions, Super-Sod). Accessed 2026-10-16. Rates are for a typical established lawn; a soil test from your extension office replaces the lime figures here.

Seed and fertilizer questions

How many pounds of grass seed per acre?

348 lb of tall fescue for a new lawn, 87 lb of Kentucky bluegrass, 44 lb of hulled Bermuda.

How much fertilizer per 1000 square feet?

Enough product to deliver about 1 lb of nitrogen: 4.2 lb of 24-0-6, 3.4 lb of 29-0-4, 10.0 lb of 10-10-10.

How much does a bag of fertilizer cover?

Read the label — at 1 lb of nitrogen per 1,000 sq ft a 15 lb bag of 29-0-4 covers about 4,350 sq ft, a 30 lb bag of 24-0-6 about 7,200.

Can I fertilize and seed at the same time?

Yes, with a starter fertilizer (something like 5-10-5) spread at the label rate the day you seed; regular high-nitrogen fertilizer waits until the new grass is established and has been mowed a few times.

The rest of the yard

These are the weights, coverages and rates every yard calculator on the site runs on. Each tool applies them to one material.

Tools for the job

What makes this job easier

Tools and materials that suit this kind of job. These are affiliate links: if you buy through one, Renovimo may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes the figures on this page.