I never thought the day would come when fertilizer would make front page news in The Wall Street Journal. Yet it has happened, time and time again. How much will homeowners and lawn care providers be willing to pay to keep their lawns green? A $15 bag of fertilizer is now $23! Something to be said for soil testing and calibration. A soil test is the road map for your lawn. It will allow you to understand exactly what your lawn needs, reducing the likelihood and cost of applying nutruents already available in the soil. Now more than ever, the practice of over applying nitrogen (the infamous 'more is better' approach) come with a price. Not only is your lawn at risk of excessive top growth, thicker thacth accumulation, and increased disease likelihood, it will cost you more. With the uncertainty in the world of fertilizer, let's take a step back and develop a plan for our yards to keep it green, but do it smarter.