Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

INTRODUCTION The soil is not the best in our yard. Most is clay while other sections are sand! Since we moved in five years ago, we have been seeking to do our best to keep our yard green, lush and full. For the first year we used synthetic fertilizers. The past few years we used nothing but Milorganite. This year we moved to Lawn Restore 2. In my mind here is why Lawn Restore wins out! But first some words on why organic. ORGANIC? Why organic? I really don't care if a product is natural or synthetic. I just want what works. When we put down synthetic it worked but only while the product lasted. In other words, our soil was givin the nutrients rather than producing the nutrients. So, when the granules completely resolved after an extended time (2-3 weeks), the soil had nothing left to give feed the grass. The yard then NEEDED more synthetic food or it would go south pretty quickly. Once I switched to organic the soil was given food rather than the grass. In other words, the soil was given organic food that the soil had to break-down with bacteria. The soil thus had all the living organisms to feed the grass naturally. The natural fertilizer took more time to initially green, but lasted much longer because of healthy soil. The yard is MUCH more resilient to drought, heat and neglected care because the soil is no longer like a dead sponge that has to be given its food. Let me put it this way. High nitrogen fertilizer burns and kills the natural bacteria and living organisms in the soil. Natural fertilizer feeds them and causes them to thrive. The difference is similar to my human body. Would I rather have energy because I have a buzz from a Redbull or would I rather have energy because I had a good nights sleep and a healthy breakfast? The more of the latter makes for a much helthier me in the long run. I noticed the same difference in my yard once I switched to the organic fertilizers. OK, now that this is out of the way, let's get to the comparison between two organic fertilizers: Milorganite vs. Lawn Restore. WHICH WORKED QUICKER? The very first time I used each product they took two weeks before I saw results. This is because it took that long for heat and water to break down the product and get those natural processes thriving in the soil. If the fertilizers are used subsequently howeve (while the soil is still actively decomposing the previous feed) then it only takes 2-3 days to see the effect. WHICH GREENED BETTER? When I switched to Lawn Restore I was concerned that the lack of iron (Milorganite contains iron) would cause the greening effect to be not as dark. To my surprise there has not been a difference! I don't understand this because iron is needed for a dark green. But in practice, Lawn Restore greens every bit as much as Milorganite but lasts longer. WHICH LASTS LONGER? Both fertilizers say to use every two months. My experience with Milorganite was that it looked its best only for a period of 2 weeks. In other words, once laid, it took about two weeks to look good, but the look only then lasted for two weeks. Ideally then, spreading it every two weeks would have kept my lawn looking awesome. I could only afford monthly however. As a result, the lawn looked tired for the first couple of weeks of the month before the Milorganite kicked in. Lawn Restore, on the other hand also took two weeks to look good initially. The difference is that the look lasted 6 weeks! No kidding! A full month and a half of lush green. I discovered that if I spread it every six weeks then there is no gap. Indeed, Lawn Restore is slow release! WHICH SMELLS WORSE? Milorganite is literally little granules of cooked turd. It's smell (fortunately) is subtle. Basically, your yard smells like a farm for a couple of days after laying it down. The smell is worse when it is hot out. Lawn Restore is composed of dried flakes like an oatmeal or a smaller variation of Frosted Flakes. It smells like baby formula. Not entirely pleasant, but not revolting either. The difference, is that Lawn Restore smells when you lay it, but that is the end of it. Water it down and you will not smell the fertilizer again. WHICH IS MORE COST EFFECTIVE? Milorganite cost me about $12 a bag but I needed 4 bags to cover the yard with the recommended amount = $48. To be honest I could not afford this, so I spread half the amount st a cost of $24 per application. In contrast one bag of Lawn restore does my whole yard at its recommend rate. So $28 per application of lawn restore. It's a no-brainier. CONCLUSION Both products are unique enough that if I were rich, I honestly would apply both for an INCREDIBLE lawn. But since I am not I am sticking with Lawn Restore. Four applications during growing season. Total cost of $112 for one of the most beautiful and hardy lawns on the block. GREAT!