Cheap Weed & Feed: Does it Work?

Can you tell where the weed and feed landed?

Do you always buy the top name brand yard care products because you are afraid the off-brands won't work as well? Or are you cheap like me? I find most products to be way too expensive for what they do. I live in a rural area and my yard is very large. So the money adds up fast when buying yard treatments. I've used liquid sprays in the past and the results have been less than impressive (or even noticeable). Finally I decided to give the granular dry stuff a try. I started by only purchasing one 14 lb. bag from Lowe's for about $15. It was the least expensive stuff available, marketed under the name Sta-Green.
Since I haven't had noticeable results in the past, I started by spreading it in the area of my yard with the most weeds and the thinnest grass. My spreader is old and didn't seem to be working all that well, so I couldn't tell if it was dispensing it properly or not. I walked back and forth in uneven squiggly rows that were separated by a couple feet or more, leaving untreated areas between the treated path, mainly just trying to hit the worst spots. OK, this is a good example of how NOT to spread your fertilizer. But it made for a great demonstration.
A few days later, the results were amazingly clear! Just look at the photo. The wobbly green path is where the weed and feed did it's job. There are no weeds in this area and the grass is a nice deep green. The down side? It grows taller much faster and has to be mowed more often. Also,  there was one area where I over-treated by going over it more than once. That area turned brown and died. But that was my fault for forgetting where I had already treated.

Overall, the results were remarkable. I can't think of any reason to spend more on Scott's Weed & Feed when this less expensive brand works so perfectly. Don't throw your money away! Get the Sta-Green Weed & Feed from Lowe's and save a few bucks.