Turf Builder History

The 1920s were a busy time in the United States, with automobiles, radios and televisions becoming common items in people's lives.

The country was flourishing, and every year it seemed a revolutionary product or invention was on the market.

1928 was no exception. It was the first year for the Academy Awards, penicillin was invented, the first television was sold, Walt Disney released the first cartoons with sound, and a small company in Marysville, Ohio, O.M. Scotts & Sons, introduced Turf Builder, the world's first fertilizer for home lawns.

And like Disney cartoons, TV and the Academy Awards, Americans fell in love with Turf Builder, and the idea of having a picture-perfect lawn.

Turf Builder Through the Years

The Scotts Company knew it was on to something with Turf Builder. After all, consumers loved the product, and in 1940 sales of Scotts Turf Builder had reached an all-time high.

In the 1950s, research continued on this revolutionary product, and a lighter, improved formula was released. Another version, called Turf Builder with Halts, was developed to feed the lawn and control crabgrass. And it was then discovered by Scotts that four applications of Turf Builder per year was the best way to maintain a thick, green lawn — a development that would eventually lead to the "Annual Lawn Care Program™."

During the 1960s, the company introduced a line of Turf Builder products to control weeds, crabgrass, insects and lawn diseases. And lawns in the south received a boost when Scotts unleashed Bonus S, a weed and feed product that is safe for St. Augustinegrass.

The company would later receive a patent on its "Trionized" process, which today is known as the All-In-One Particle® technology. It is what separates Turf Builder products from other brands, as it provides better coverage and an even feeding to the lawn.

In 1974, total sales for The Scotts Company surpassed $100 million, and during the 70s, the company opened a new research facility, as well as the country's first "Consumer Help Line." Today, Scotts receives close to 1 million calls per year.

During the 1990s the company developed Patchmaster®, a product that combines grass seed, starter fertilizer and mulch for repairing bare spots in lawns. Later, GrubEx®, a product designed to control lawn-destroying grubs, was developed.

It should also be noted that during the 1990s, Scotts merged with Miracle-Gro®, combining the number one name in lawn care with the number one name in gardening.

Most recently, the Scotts Annual Lawn Care Program was improved with the additions of Scotts MaxGuard and Turf Builder with SummerGuard, which provide superior control of lawn insects.

Today, Scotts Turf Builder continues to help Americans build thick, green, beautiful lawns and it sets the standards by which other lawn products are compared.