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May 10, 2008 11:06 pm US/Central
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Who Has The Best Deal On Lawn Care Products?
(WCCO)
After the winter we've had, it's no wonder our lawns look tired.
WCCO shopped six different locations, including three big box stores and three big garden centers to price the same lawn care items on the same day. The businesses were Home Depot, Lowe's, Menards, Bachman's, Gertens, and Linder's.
All the big box stores sell the Scotts brand, which makes it easier to compare products based on price.
Fertilizer A product most people use during gardening season is fertilizer. Scotts brand adds in a weed preventer.
A 14 pound bag of Scotts Turf Builder With Halts Crabgrass Preventer is cheaper at Menards and Home Depot. It'll cost you $16.44. You'll pay 50 cents more at Lowe's.
Buy the bigger 42 pound bag you'll find Lowe's and Menards have the best deals, at $43.34. There it's 10 cents less than Home Depot.
The closest thing to that at the garden centers is Ferti-lome's Weed Free Zone plus fertilizer. The same 20 pound bag costs at least $5 less at Gertens, at $17.99. Linder's charges $22.99, Bachman's $24.99.
Grass Patch
Scotts Patch Master is often used to help fill the holes in your yard. The five pound bag from Menards leaves less of a hole in your wallet, at $7.88. Lowe's charges $8.97, Home Depot charges $8.99.
Grubs can feed on the roots of your grass, so keeping them out of your lawn is key. WCCO found Bayer's Grub Killer Plus in every store except Home Depot. A 15 pound bag of the bug killer can take a much bigger bite out of your budget if you buy it at a garden center. You'll save between seven and 12 dollars buying it at Lowe's or Menard's. Gerten's and Linder's both charge $24.99, Bachman's charges $29.99.
Tip: Chances are you'll see three different numbers on the bags of many of the products you buy. The first number is the percentage of nitrogen, the second phosphorous and the third potassium.
These help you choose the correct fertilizer for your lawn, which is why it helps to have a soil test ahead of time to know what your yard really needs. The
University of Minnesota will test your soil for $15. It takes about a week to get back the results, however this time of year it may take a bit longer. It's a good idea to do this before adding something like Lime or Gypsum to your lawn.
Lime Lime raises the pH level of the soil. This is one instance where it pays to shop the big box stores.
A 40 pound bag of lime costs the least at Lowe's or Menards, at $3.49. Linder's charges the most and gives you the least. There a 30 pound bag of lime costs $13.
Gypsum WCCO found the same to be true when pricing gypsum. That nutrient helps if you've got excess sodium, like bare spots caused by a pet. Again Linder's charges the most at $13.99, compared to $3.97 Menards.
Our shopping trip shows that it is possible to save some green by shopping around for lawn care products. Big box stores in particular seem to save you money, but remember you will find more gardening expertise at the garden centers, which specialize in this sort of thing.
You can see a complete spreadsheet of prices from the day WCCO shopped
here. You can also go to
Terri's blog for more great lawn care tips.
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