These smart lawn fertilizing practices make way for a exuberant , easy - care lawn .
Max Kim - Bee
The correct lawn fertilizing programme can help you achieve the vibrant green skunk of your dreams . But figuring out how andwhen to fertilize your lawnin an effective and environmentally sustainable way can be daunting . Before you start out fertilizing , check that your lawn is encounter fair to middling moisture , turf disease issuesare remedied , and mood condition are right-hand for emergence . Then , use the following wind to bung your lawn properly .
Credit:Max Kim-Bee
1. Fertilize When Grass Is Actively Growing
Turfgrass takes up nutrients and use them when it is actively grow . fecundate dormant grass is a waste of fertilizer . The ware is not absorbed by flora roots and may leach into the nearby piss system .
Not sure if your turf is actively growing ? If you are mow , the grass is growing .
2. Fall Is Best
Whether your lawn is made up of strong - season grass ( bermudagrass , centipedegrass , and St. Augustinegrass ) or cool - season weed ( Kentucky bluegrass , perennial ryegrass , and fescues ) , fall is the best meter to fertilize for a gullible lawn . tender soil temperature combined with regular wet and moderate temperature in fall are an first-class combination for strong root word ontogenesis , which leads to vibrant immature top growth in bound .
3. Fertilize with Care in Spring
Too much atomic number 7 fertilizer — more than 1 pound per 1,000 satisfying feet—spurs lawn forage to turn green quickly and farm with zest . Over - abundant shoot growing is at the disbursement of origin growth . The compromise source system is rarely able-bodied to sustain the racy shoot growth , making the sod susceptible to drought , disease , and pests . focus on fertilizing turf in the fall .
4. Watch the Numbers
The three number on a bag of fertiliser represent thepercentage of N , phosphorus , and potassiumthe product curb . Nitrogen , the first bit in the bent of three bit , is responsible for lush gullible growth and should be the largest of the three numbers for speedy common - up .
5. Take a Soil Test
A bare land examination is the best way to deliver the right nutrient to your turf grass for honest green growth . usable online from a variety of soil - examination services , a good ground test provides turf - specific fertiliser testimonial .
6. Choose Slow-Release Fertilizer
A dull - release fertilizer , also called insure - release , provides turfgrass with small measure of nutrient over a recollective period of time . More expensive than fast - release products , dense - acquittance fertilizersreduce the jeopardy of fertiliser burnand promote slow , sustained grass growth ( as oppose to a big flush of emergence ) . depend for the speech “ boring - release nitrogen ” on the fertilizer package .
7. Water After Application
Grass ca n’t take advantage of fertilizer until it give the plant ’ root zone . Lightly piss turf — aim to apply about a 1/4 - inch of body of water — to move the plant food down to the roots , or meter the app tocorrespond to natural rain .
8. Avoid Weed-and-Feed Products
Often , weed - and - feed products do n’t correspond to the motive of the grass . The admit weedkiller that providesweed controlhas a specific timing for software that often differ from the ideal time to apply the fertilizer . Instead of a weed - and - provender product , choose a stand - alone herbicide and apply it at the right time .
9. Purchase Only What You Need
Calculate how much fertilizer you need for your lawn and buy what you need for the season . Aimnot to store any fertiliser . Here ’s a simple guidepost : Full - Dominicus lawns grow well with 3 Irish pound of N per 1,000 square human foot per raise season , while shade lawn need only 1.5 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet per grow time of year .
10. Think Green for the Environment
11. Leave the Clippings
Let lawn clipping strain into the dirt , where they quickly get out down , delivering worthful nutrients to the turfgrass . Scientists have found thatleaving pasturage clippings on the lawnafter mowing replaces one plant food diligence a year . If you fertilize your turf three times a twelvemonth , that could equalize to a 33 % preservation .
12. Wait Patiently
anticipate grass to green up about four workweek after a fertiliser software , although it can take as long as eight weeks to see a response , especially during the cool temperatures in spring and gloaming . If the turf does n’t green up , more fertilizer is n’t the solution . A soil , H2O , or climate factor is likely at play .
13. Consider Organic Fertilizers
Turfgrass can green up with the help of constituent fertilizer . Examples of constituent lawn fertilizer admit cottonseed repast , seaweed , bone meal , lineage meal , and various animal manure . However , organic fertilizers are unremarkably less strong than synthetic products and need more frequent practical app .
14. Apply Three Applications a Year
For a dense lawn with good immature people of color and moderate growth — as oppose to vigorous growth that demand mop every four to five days during optimum conditions — fertilise your lawn in late spring , former summer , and again in belated declivity . Apply 1 punt of atomic number 7 per 1,000 straight feet with each practical program . If you leave trimming on your lawn , cut back to two applications — recent summertime and fall .
15. Overlap the Passes
When spreading plant food with a rotary broadcaster , overlap your straits by about 50 % . Turf scientists determined most plant food granules come down within the wheel tracks and taper to the edge of the distribution pattern . lap slide by so that the far sharpness of the fertilizer pattern landed estate on the roulette wheel tracks of the previous pass .
16. Use a Winterizer Fertilizer
luxuriously in nitrogen and potassium , awinterizer fertiliser product is appliedin mid to late fall . It help grass memory energy for winter and amend dusty margin and disease resistance . The level-headed turf greens up promptly in natural spring .
17. Be Ready to Mow
A immature lawn is a develop lawn , and a produce lawnrequires steady mowing . If your lawn demands more frequent mowing than you like , cut back on the fertilizer . The growth will slow , but the grass will likely persist unripened .
Frequently Asked Questions
Any plant food can burn grass if it is misapplied . However , some fertilizers are less potential to burn up grass : fertilizers labeled " slow - button " and constitutive fertilizer are more gentle on your lawn .
It can , but there are other cause as well . Do n’t overfertilize , and also assure outhow to repair brown spot damagedone by those other causes .
Do n’t fertilize when it is extremely hot or dusty because the grass wo n’t absorb the nutrient well . Alsoavoid fecundate while it is rainingor immediately after a large rainfall to avoid wash some of the fertilizer off .
