My Florida friends, the calendar is closing in on June 1, and that means the summer fertilizer blackout is about to start in most counties south of I-10. If your lawn looked good in April, you have one window left to set it up for a green, healthy summer — and that window closes the last week of May.

I'm Allyn Hane, The Lawn Care Nut, and I created Pre-Ban 40-0-0 specifically to solve this problem. It's a polymer-coated, controlled-release nitrogen fertilizer that you apply before the ban begins. Once it's watered in, it trickles out a small amount of nitrogen every week for four months — carrying your lawn all the way through the blackout while staying fully compliant with your county's ordinance.

This guide walks through exactly what the Florida fertilizer ban is, why it exists, when it starts in your county, how Pre-Ban works at the chemistry level, and a step-by-step application walkthrough so you get it down right the first time.

In This Guide

• When Does the Florida Fertilizer Ban Start?
• Why Florida Bans Summer Lawn Fertilizer
• Which Florida Counties Have a Fertilizer Blackout?
• What Is Pre-Ban 40-0-0?
• How Pre-Ban 40-0-0 Works
• Why Pre-Ban Won't Wash Out in Heavy Rain
• How to Apply Pre-Ban (Step-by-Step)
• Pre-Ban vs. Other Slow-Release Options
• Is Pre-Ban Legal During the Florida Ban?
• Application Rate Quick Reference
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Get Pre-Ban Before the Deadline

When Does the Florida Fertilizer Ban Start?

In the vast majority of Florida counties with a summer fertilizer ordinance, the blackout begins on June 1 and runs through September 30. That's four full months where you cannot apply any fertilizer containing nitrogen (N) or phosphorus (P) to your lawn or landscape — and most ordinances carry real fines for violations.

A few jurisdictions extend the window further. Palm Beach County, for example, runs its rainy-season blackout from June 1 through October 31. That's five months. Always confirm your specific county before you apply anything.

According to the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), at least 36 Florida counties and 98 additional municipalities have enacted fertilizer ordinances, and many of those include the summer nitrogen blackout. The fastest way to verify your local rules is the UF/IFAS Fertilizer Ordinances lookup app — it lets you type in any Florida address and see exactly what restrictions apply.

Why Florida Bans Summer Lawn Fertilizer

The reasoning behind the ban comes down to one word: runoff.

If you've lived in Florida through a summer, you know the pattern. Clouds build all morning, and by 2 or 3 PM the sky opens up with hard, rushing rain that lasts five to ten minutes but dumps an incredible amount of water. That pattern repeats almost daily from late June through September.

Now imagine you fertilized that morning. The prills are sitting on top of the turf, not yet watered in, when the storm hits. Those rushing rains can carry the fertilizer off the lawn, into the gutter, down the storm drain, and ultimately into one of Florida's many lakes, rivers, or coastal estuaries — and out to the Gulf or Atlantic.

That nutrient overload is the fuel for red tide, blue-green algae blooms in places like Lake Okeechobee, and the dead zones that occasionally wreck commercial fishing and tourism along the coasts. The summer fertilizer ban is the state's attempt to break that pipeline at the source.

The tradeoff is rough on lawn enthusiasts, though. Summer is when warm-season grasses are at their most vigorous — when St. Augustine fills in thin spots, when Bermuda grabs new territory, when Zoysia really thickens up. Taking nitrogen away during the most active growth months of the year is the exact opposite of what your lawn wants. Which is why Pre-Ban exists.

Which Florida Counties Have a Fertilizer Blackout?

Practically every county in South and Central Florida has a summer nitrogen blackout in some form, and a number of counties in North Florida do as well. Common South and Central Florida counties with bans include Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, Collier, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Hernando, Polk, Orange, Seminole, Volusia, Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade — among many others. Several North Florida counties, including Duval and parts of the Big Bend region, have ordinances too.

Rather than maintain a county-by-county list here that could go stale as ordinances change, we keep an up-to-date version in our help center:

👉 Yard Mastery: Florida Counties with Fertilizer Blackout Periods

For the official source, use the UF/IFAS Fertilizer Ordinances app and type in your home address — it will return the exact ordinance, dates, and restrictions for your jurisdiction.

What Is Pre-Ban 40-0-0?

Pre-Ban 40-0-0 is a granular nitrogen fertilizer with an N-P-K analysis of 40-0-0. That means every prill is 40% nitrogen by weight, with zero phosphorus and zero potassium. It's a high-octane nitrogen-only product engineered for one specific purpose: keeping your lawn green and growing through the four-month Florida summer ban.

What makes it different from a regular bag of high-nitrogen fertilizer is the polymer coating. Every single prill is encased in a thin polymer shell that controls how fast nitrogen escapes the granule. When you water it in, the prills nestle down into the thatch and the polymer coating starts slowly metering out nitrogen — about ½ pound of N per 1,000 sq ft per month, every month, for four months.

That polymer technology is what makes Pre-Ban both safe (no burn risk, even at the heavy 5 lbs/1,000 application rate) and compliant (the application happens before the ban starts; the release happens passively during the ban). I had this product custom-made by my fertilizer manufacturer in Sebring, Florida, specifically to meet UF/IFAS guidelines for summer ban compliance.

How Pre-Ban 40-0-0 Works

Controlled-release coated fertilizer technology has been in commercial agriculture for decades. The mechanism is simple in concept: a polymer membrane surrounds the nitrogen-rich core of each prill, and water vapor diffuses through the coating to slowly dissolve and release the nitrogen over a programmed period.

For Pre-Ban, that programmed period is four months. Here's roughly how the release curve plays out after a late-May application:

• June: ~½ lb N per 1,000 sq ft released
• July: ~½ lb N per 1,000 sq ft released
• August: ~½ lb N per 1,000 sq ft released
• September: ~½ lb N per 1,000 sq ft released

That's a total of 2 lbs of nitrogen per 1,000 sq ft delivered over the entire blackout, in a smooth, gradual feeding curve — exactly what warm-season turf needs to maintain color and growth without overwhelming the soil or the watershed.

This approach is explicitly endorsed by UF/IFAS in their Green Industries Best Management Practices manual. On page 51 of the GIBMP manual, the University recommends polymer-coated, slow-release fertilizer applied before the ban as the standard practice for maintaining turf through the blackout. Pre-Ban 40-0-0 meets that specification exactly.

Why Pre-Ban Won't Wash Out in Heavy Rain

Remember the runoff problem? Pre-Ban solves it because of how and where the prills sit after watering-in.

When you apply a regular granular fertilizer and a hard rain hits before you've watered it in, the prills sit on top of the turf canopy. They get washed sideways into the street and down the storm drain. That's the runoff scenario the bans exist to prevent.

Pre-Ban is different for two reasons:

1. You water it in deliberately. The application protocol calls for ½ inch of irrigation immediately after spreading — 30 to 45 minutes on most sprinkler systems. That water drives the prills down through the canopy and lodges them at the thatch/soil interface.
2. St. Augustine and other warm-season turf hold the prills in place. St. Augustine especially has a thick, spongy stolon base — that "thatchy" feel that holds weeds out and water in. Once a Pre-Ban prill is settled into that mat, it physically cannot wash out. It stays put for the full four months while the coating slowly releases.

The polymer shell also makes the prill heavier and denser than uncoated fertilizer, so even before it works its way down into the canopy, it resists being moved by surface water.

How to Apply Pre-Ban 40-0-0 (Step-by-Step)

The application itself is straightforward, but timing and watering-in are non-negotiable. Here's the exact playbook.

Step 1: Time it to the last week of May

Apply Pre-Ban during the final week of May, ideally on a day with no rain in the immediate forecast so you can control the watering-in yourself. In most counties this gives you a clean window before the June 1 blackout begins. Don't wait until May 31 — give yourself a few days of buffer in case the weather doesn't cooperate.

Step 2: Measure your lawn

You need an accurate square footage to calculate the right amount of product. Measure each turfgrass section, multiply length × width, and add the sections together. A 5,000 sq ft lawn needs 25 lbs of Pre-Ban (5 lbs × 5). A 9,000 sq ft lawn needs exactly one 45 lb bag.

Step 3: Calibrate your spreader

Pre-Ban applies at 5 lbs per 1,000 sq ft. Set your spreader to the manufacturer's setting for that rate, or use this rough guide as a starting point:

• Scotts rotary spreaders: Start around the "6" setting and adjust based on coverage.
• Lesco / commercial rotary spreaders: Start around the "F" or "G" setting.
• Drop spreaders: Usually run higher numerical settings than rotary; start mid-range and test.

The safest approach is to weigh out exactly the amount of product for a known area (say, 1,000 sq ft) and apply it in a test pass. If you finish the area with product to spare, dial the setting down. If you run out before finishing, dial it up.

Step 4: Spread using a two-pass pattern

For even coverage, divide your total product in half and spread in two perpendicular passes — for example, north-south for the first half, east-west for the second half. This eliminates streaking and ensures the nitrogen reaches every square foot evenly. With a coated product like Pre-Ban there's no burn risk if you double up, but uneven application means uneven greening, so it's worth doing right.

Step 5: Water in with ½ inch of irrigation

This is the critical step. Within a few hours of spreading — same day, ideally within an hour — run your irrigation system for 30 to 45 minutes across the entire lawn. The target is ½ inch of water. That's enough to drive the prills down through the canopy and lock them into the thatch layer.

If you don't have irrigation, hand-water with a hose-end sprinkler, or time the application so a soaking rain is forecast within 24 hours. Just don't rely on a fast Florida thunderstorm that lasts five minutes — you need a sustained soak, not a flash dump.

Step 6: Walk away for four months

Once Pre-Ban is watered in, you're done. No reapplications. No additional nitrogen needed until October when the ban lifts. Mow at your normal height, water normally, and let the coating do its work. You should start seeing color response within 10-14 days, and the green will hold steady straight through September.

Pre-Ban vs. Other Slow-Release Options

Slow-release isn't a single thing — there's a spectrum of products marketed under that label, and most of them are not built for Florida's summer ban. Here's how Pre-Ban compares:

Standard slow-release blends. Most "slow-release" lawn fertilizers on the shelf are blends of fast-release nitrogen (urea or ammonium sulfate) with a portion of slow-release nitrogen — typically 30-50% slow-release. That fast-release fraction is exactly what gets washed out by summer rains, and it's what the ban is targeting. Pre-Ban is 100% polymer-coated, so every prill releases slowly.

Organic and natural fertilizers. Products like Milorganite, Sunniland Multi-Purpose, and similar organics deliver nitrogen too — and that nitrogen still counts under the ordinance. Most county ordinances ban any product containing N or P during the blackout, organic or synthetic. Organics also typically deliver their nitrogen over weeks, not months, so they don't carry the lawn through the full ban anyway.

Iron-only and 0-0-K products. Iron applications and pure potassium products are generally allowed during the ban and are useful tools for green color and stress tolerance — but they don't feed nitrogen, which is what drives growth and the dark green that homeowners actually want. Use these as a complement to Pre-Ban, not a replacement for it.

Pre-Ban 40-0-0. A single late-May application delivers four months of even, metered nitrogen release. Fully coated, no burn risk, ban-compliant by design, backed by UF/IFAS recommendations. That's the entire pitch.

Is Pre-Ban Legal During the Florida Ban?

Yes — when applied correctly. The mechanics that make Pre-Ban legal are worth understanding clearly:

The Florida county ordinances generally prohibit the application of nitrogen-containing fertilizer between June 1 and September 30. They do not prohibit the presence of slow-release nitrogen in your soil during those months. As long as the application happens before June 1, the polymer-coated nitrogen sitting in your turf and releasing slowly is fully compliant.

This isn't a loophole — it's the explicit strategy UF/IFAS recommends. On page 51 of the Green Industries BMP manual, the University describes polymer-coated slow-release fertilizer applied just before the ban as the model approach for maintaining healthy turf without contributing to runoff.

If you have questions about your specific local ordinance, the UF/IFAS Fertilizer Ordinances app is the authoritative source — and you can always contact your county extension office for clarification.

Application Rate Quick Reference

• Application rate: 5 lbs of Pre-Ban per 1,000 sq ft
• Nitrogen delivered: 2 lbs N per 1,000 sq ft (across 4 months)
• Monthly release: ~½ lb N per 1,000 sq ft per month
• Water-in: ½ inch of irrigation immediately after application (30–45 minutes)
• Timing: Last week of May (before June 1 blackout)
• 18 lb bag: Covers ~3,600 sq ft
• 45 lb bag: Covers ~9,000 sq ft
• Compatible grasses: St. Augustine, Bermuda, Zoysia, Bahia, Centipede

Frequently Asked Questions

When does the Florida fertilizer ban start in 2026?

In most Florida counties with a summer fertilizer ordinance, the blackout starts June 1, 2026 and runs through September 30, 2026. A few counties run longer — Palm Beach County's ban runs June 1 through October 31. Confirm your specific county at the UF/IFAS Fertilizer Ordinances lookup tool.

Is Pre-Ban 40-0-0 legal to apply during the Florida fertilizer ban?

Pre-Ban is designed to be applied before the ban begins — during the final week of May. Once watered in, the polymer coating slowly releases nitrogen across the four-month blackout. The University of Florida Green Industries Best Management Practices manual recommends exactly this approach: apply a polymer-coated controlled-release product before the ban so your lawn stays fed through the summer.

How much Pre-Ban 40-0-0 do I need for my lawn?

Apply Pre-Ban at 5 lbs per 1,000 square feet — that delivers a full 2 lbs of nitrogen per 1,000 sq ft in a single application, which is the amount needed to feed your lawn for four months. An 18 lb bag covers about 3,600 sq ft; a 45 lb bag covers about 9,000 sq ft.

Will Pre-Ban burn my grass at 5 lbs per 1,000 sq ft?

No. Every prill of Pre-Ban is encapsulated in a polymer coating that prevents the nitrogen from releasing all at once. The coating meters out a small amount of nitrogen each week over four months, so even if you accidentally double-apply a section, you will not burn the lawn. This is what makes coated controlled-release products like Pre-Ban safer than uncoated quick-release nitrogen.

What grasses can I use Pre-Ban on?

Pre-Ban works on all common Florida warm-season turfgrasses, including St. Augustine, Bermuda, Zoysia, Bahia, and Centipede. It is especially well-suited to St. Augustine because the thick, spongy stolon base holds the watered-in prills in place during heavy summer rain.

What if I miss the last week of May and apply in June?

If the ban has already started in your county, you cannot legally apply Pre-Ban or any nitrogen-containing fertilizer until the blackout ends. Instead, focus on iron-only and potassium-based products that are allowed during the ban, and switch back to a full nitrogen program in October. Set a reminder for late May next year — that's the application window.

Does Pre-Ban replace my normal fertilizer program?

Pre-Ban replaces your summer nitrogen feedings only — the four months that fall inside the blackout. Continue your spring (March–May) and fall (October–November) feedings with a standard balanced or nitrogen-forward fertilizer. Pre-Ban is the bridge product that keeps you compliant and green through the summer gap.

Get Pre-Ban Before the Deadline

The last week of May is your window. Don't let it pass.

👉 Get Pre-Ban 40-0-0 here — available in 18 lb bags (covers ~3,600 sq ft) and 45 lb bags (covers ~9,000 sq ft).

Apply 5 lbs per 1,000 sq ft, water in with ½ inch of irrigation, and you're set for the summer. Your lawn stays green, your watershed stays clean, and your county stays happy. That's the whole deal.

If you have questions while you're out there spreading, I'm in the Florida Lawn Care Nuts Facebook group daily answering questions, and you can catch the video version of this guide on my YouTube channel.

I'll see YOU in the lawn.
— Al