8/18/2025 - By Dr. Jeff Atkinson

After a stressful summer, fall is the time to revive your turf, spreading fresh seed and delivering a strong fall fertility program to the whole of your turf, before winter sets in. With this goal in mind, it is often necessary to apply a starter fertilizer to your turf, providing a base of essential nutrients, including Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Potassium, and micronutrients that help seeds germinate and begin producing new tissue and roots. The only problem with this process is that it requires multiple applications, one at the start of fall, leading through seed germination, and one following germination to feed through the remainder of the season.

Here’s a closer look at how POLYON® controlled-release fertilizer eliminates this problem.

Why Use a Starter Fertilizer?

The end of summer brings unique weather conditions, creating an ideal window for seeding or overseeding and, in turn, increasing the need for nutrient sources. Starter fertilizers are often higher in phosphorus, critical for early root development, with a supporting supplement of nitrogen and potassium, but not enough to sustain the turf all the way through the fall season.

By establishing a strong root system and encouraging healthy early growth, superintendents ensure their turf is primed to take full advantage of upcoming nutrient applications during the fall growing season. But further applications down the line take more labor and time to spread, and that is a luxury. Utilizing the controlled-release properties of POLYON allows professionals to make one application to last through the whole fall season.

Why Use POLYON as Your Starter Fertilizer?

Harrell’s POLYON® controlled-release fertilizer is the industry leader for delivering consistent, predictable, and dependable feeding, all the while reducing overall environmental impact, labor, and susceptibility to disease. POLYON® fertilizer is a unique polymer-coated urea that releases nutrients in response to temperature. Over the course of several weeks or months, the polymer coating on each prill slowly releases dissolved nutrients through diffusion in response to temperature.

Learn more about how POLYON works in this article.

Unlike traditional starter fertilizers that release nutrients quickly and are prone to leaching, POLYON releases over a set period of time. This gives turf a longer-lasting, more efficient feeding window that not only supports healthy summer recovery and germination but also provides dependable nutrition during establishment, ensuring that young turf is well-rooted, resilient, and ready for whatever lies ahead.

For superintendents looking to streamline applications while maximizing turf health, POLYON is a smart and efficient alternative to conventional starter fertilizers.

Contact Your Harrell’s Rep

Starter fertilizer at the end of summer isn’t just about kickstarting new turf; it’s about giving your course a head start. And with POLYON® fertilizer, you get the precision, longevity, and efficiency to take your results even further. Contact your local Harrell's rep for more information on how POLYON® can benefit you.