My Florida friends, it’s May, and it’s still dry!! I’m in Bradenton, and we actually ended up getting a little rain today (May 8) and then some last Sunday as well. These were good rains, too, light and fairly long, but they are just not enough!

I have some content coming out next week that will walk you through some irrigation repairs I am making, so be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven't already!

If you have questions about your Florida lawn, please join my Florida Lawn Care Nuts Facebook group here. I am in there daily answering questions, and we have a good community there. Everyone is supportive and helpful, especially since we are all struggling with this drought!

The good news is that the rainy season will be here soon. Usually, late June is when we start getting rain every afternoon. Clouds build all morning and early afternoon until they fill up and burst in the afternoon around 2-3 PM. It’s a hard, rushing rain that may only last 5-10 minutes, but it’s a lot of water coming down, and it happens pretty much every day. We need that to start early this year!

Counties Affected by Florida’s Summer Blackouts

The drawback to those rushing rains is that they come so hard and fast that if you have just fertilized your lawn with a granular product that day, maybe like that morning, it hasn’t had a chance to settle into the turf yet. Those hard, rushing rains can wash it out where it runs down into the gutters, down the sewer inlets, and eventually ends up in one of our many lakes, a river, or the Gulf or Atlantic. This runoff contributes to nutrient overload that makes red tides worse.

Because of this, many counties here have enacted summer nitrogen blackouts and bans. This includes almost every county in South and Central Florida and some of the ones up north, too. In the map pictured here, the counties in orange are the ones with some form of summer blackout in effect.

They ban it to reduce the runoff. But what about our lawns? As you know, summer is when our lawns are the most vigorous, thickening up and filling in thin spots. If you have a thin lawn and can fertilize it in summer and take advantage of the free water from rain, you can completely rehabilitate even the worst-looking lawn.

So, how can you still fertilize even though there are bans? The answer is a fertilizer I created called “Pre-Ban 40-0-0”

When the Fertilizer Ban Starts — And Why Timing Matters

I read the Protection of Water Resources guide by the University of Florida. They recommend using time-release technology to slowly trickle out nitrogen fertilizer over four months of the ban (page 51, paragraph 2). You apply this special fertilizer right before the blackout starts (In many Florida counties, the fertilizer ban typically takes effect from June 1st to September 30th) so it can trickle out the nitrogen over four months after the ban. So I contacted my fertilizer manufacturer in Sebring and asked them to make it for me, and they did—we have it ready for purchase now.

Meet Pre-Ban 40-0-0: A Safe Way to Fertilize During the Ban

No Burn Risk: Polymer-Coated for Safety

Pre-Ban 40-0-0 is a coated nitrogen product. The nitrogen pellets are coated with a polymer that encases them, allowing the nitrogen to trickle out slowly over 4 months. When you apply Pre-Ban, you use 2 lbs of nitrogen per 1,000 sq ft all in a single application. It’s a highly concentrated nitrogen fertilizer, but it’s VERY safe because all the nitrogen is coated with those polymers. So there is no fear of burning or over-stressing the lawn - the coating only allows a small amount of nitrogen to trickle out each week/month for 4 months.

How Pre-Ban 40-0-0 Works

This technology has been used for many years and is perfected at this point, so once again, there is nothing to fear here. Apply your Pre-Ban the very last week of May, and it will time-release ½ lb of nitrogen into the lawn each month for 4 months. This takes you all the way through the blackout period while feeding your lawn slowly and evenly.

Get Pre-Ban here and apply in the last week of May.

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

What Makes St. Augustine Grass Different 

Remember above how I mentioned that when the rushing rains hit, if you had fertilized that day, it could all be washed out into the street and down the sewer? That is because it had no time to get watered in and settle into the thatch and stolon base. You know, especially if you have St Augustine grass, it’s VERY spongy and tall - that is how it keeps weeds away - it gets super tall and “thatchy” feeling (which is what we want) - well, when you get your Pre-Ban watered into that, it will NOT come out. And that is the key. You apply your Pre-Ban 40-0-0 in the last week of May and turn on your irrigation for 30-45 minutes to get it settled deep into that carpet (½” of water), and then you are good to go - it will hang there for the duration.

Backed by the University of Florida’s Guidelines

Like I said, this technology has been used for years, and we can rest assured that it works because the University of Florida recommends that you use it to keep your turf fed throughout the ban. 

The University recommends using polymer-coated, slow-release fertilizers that gradually feed your lawn without the risk of runoff. Pre-Ban 40-0-0 meets these standards exactly.

How to Apply Pre-Ban for Best Results

Apply Pre-Ban during the final week of May:

• Rate: 5 lbs per 1,000 sq ft
• Water in: 1/2" of irrigation right after application
• Coverage: 18 lb and 45 lb bags available

This timing ensures your lawn stays green and strong through the blackout months without breaking local regulations.

Get Pre-Ban Now Before the Summer Deadline

Get Your Pre-Ban here. Available in 18lb bags and 45 lb bags.
The application rate is 5 lbs/1000, so it will feel like a heavy application, but I promise you, it’s very safe. That coating on there protects the lawn from any kind of burn, even if you make a mistake and overapply, so have no fear. Get out there and get that Pre-Ban down here at the end of May so you can keep it green all season!

I’ll see YOU in the lawn
AL