Place a 6-oz. tuna can in your lawn when you see fescue grass come out of its dormancy in the early fall. Water your grass with 1 to 2 inches of water a week, using the can as a gauge. Check the can to ensure that you are giving the lawn enough water -- 2 inches of water should fill it to the top. It is important to make sure you soil is moist before fertilizing your fescue grass in October.
Water the lawn. Pour a complete fertilizer with a NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) amount of 10-10-10 into a fertilizer spreader. Push the spreader back and forth across the lawn for complete coverage. Water the fertilizer into the lawn.
Pour nitrogen slow-release fertilizer into your fertilizer distributor in February. Spread 1 lb. of nitrogen every 1,000 square feet. Push the fertilizer spreader across the lawn and water to activate the nitrogen.
Apply water to your lawn and pour a second application of slow-release nitrogen fertilizer in your distributor in March. Distribute 1 lb. per 1,000 square feet.
Water your lawn to activate the nitrogen and keep it from burning your grass's root system.