A bright, vibrant backyard is the kind of place where the best memories are made.
When you picture kids or grandkids chasing each other across the lawn, or friends gathering around a picnic table beside a patio grill, chances are that the grass you picture all around them is full, abundant, and as rich as the relationships themselves.
Moments like those are the reason you strive to take care of your lawn and make your yard such a welcoming space.
Every homeowner with space for a lawn wants a yard full of lush, green grass. However, not everyone knows how to apply fertilizer to get those results. Lots of questions about fertilizer come up every year:
This guide is here to help answer those questions.
Keep in mind that some of these signs just as easily could be due to other causes, such as plant diseases, overwatering, or underwatering. Rule those out first; otherwise, you risk overfertilizing your lawn, which can lead to weed growth, or the discoloration and excessive drying known as fertilizer burn.
The best way to determine if you need fertilizer is to test your soil. Soil testing kits are available at most hardware or lawn and garden stores and can tell you which nutrients your soil needs.
Chemical fertilizers provide your plants with several nutrients, but packaging labels focus on three nutrients that are especially important. Because grasses and other plants need them in such large quantities, these three are known as macronutrients:
Fertilizer package labels always list the percentages of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium a fertilizer contains in the same order: N-P-K. Different types of fertilizers have different proportions of each nutrient.
So, a 15-5-10 fertilizer contains 15 percent nitrogen (usually in a chemical form called nitrate), 5 percent phosphorus (usually in the form of phosphate), and 10 percent potassium (usually in the form of potash).
The percentage of nitrogen will almost always be the highest number, because most people buy fertilizer to help their grass grow. Fertilizers with higher phosphorus and potassium numbers can be helpful in getting new lawns established or getting established lawns ready for winter.
You have two factors to consider when it comes to applying fertilizer: your tools, and your technique.
Lawn spreaders scatter fertilizer in a solid pellet form over a yard. Solid fertilizers tend to be slow-release fertilizers, which gradually release nitrogen into the soil over several weeks.
Lawn sprayers deliver fertilizer in the form of a liquid spray or mist. Liquid fertilizers tend to be quick-release fertilizers, which make nitrogen available immediately.
The goal is to make sure before applying fertilizer that your grass is dry but your soil is slightly moist – not so waterlogged that the fertilizer runs off, but just wet enough to help it penetrate.
Apply your fertilizer first along the perimeter of your lawn, then across it in two rounds: up and down, then left and right. By making perpendicular paths across your yard, you help ensure even coverage.
Early in the morning on a day with no wind is an ideal time to apply fertilizer.
The best time to fertilize your lawn will depend on a few factors, most important of which is whether your lawn contains cool-season grass or warm-season grass.
The best-known cool-season grasses include the following:
Generally speaking, the best time to fertilize a cool-season lawn is early fall, with Labor Day being a useful marker. This provides the grass with essential nutrients during its growing season and prepares it for winter at the same time.
However, depending on the quality of your lawn, you might split your fertilizer treatment into two or three applications throughout the year.
High-quality lawns that have good irrigation and drainage systems will benefit from having fertilizer divided over more applications:
So, what does that mean in terms of the numbers you see on your fertilizer label?
Don’t worry. Lawn care specialists have come up with a formula to help you calculate how much fertilizer you need:
If you’re splitting your fertilizer treatment over multiple sessions throughout the year, reduce your rate of application to 1 pound of nitrogen per 1000 square feet of lawn for each session. In fact, some experts recommend the 1 pound rate of fertilization even for one annual application, just to avoid overfertilization.
You might be familiar with some of the most commonly used warm-season grasses:
The best time to fertilize warm-season grasses is late spring, specifically late May, so that they receive necessary nutrients in time for their active growing season.
The recommended rate of fertilizer application for warm-season grasses is much lower than for cool-season grasses: ¾ to 1 pound of nitrogen per 1000 square feet of lawn.
Whether you're planting grass seed or laying sod, you should fertilize the soil before you start the growing process as part of prep.
For new grass seed, wait at least 6-8 weeks for the plant to germinate before applying any more fertilizer. If you installed sod, it will take about 6 weeks to establish deep roots, after which you can apply more fertilizer if you wish.
After applying your fertilizer, water your lawn with about a quarter inch of water. This will wash excess fertilizer off the blades of grass and into the soil.
From that point, water your lawn only as needed and not on a strict schedule. The best way to avoid overwatering or underwatering your lawn and needing more fertilizer treatments in the future is to water it when it's about to dry out and it truly needs the moisture.
However, there are some basic safety tips that will help keep you and your loved ones safe around lawn fertilizer:
Another alternative is to use an organic fertilizer. Organic fertilizers are made from or might contain a number of different naturally derived materials:
Organic fertilizers often act more slowly than chemical fertilizers and contain nutrients in lower concentrations. However, they make it much easier to avoid overapplying fertilizer and putting your lawn at risk of fertilizer burn.
Think about where you live and what type of grass you have, and consider the condition of your lawn.
All you need to fertilize your lawn the right way is a little attention to detail. Ultimately, once your lawn is thick, green, and thriving, you won’t have to worry about lawn fertilizer treatments. Instead, you’ll be able to spend your time making memories, enjoying good company, and thinking about the things that matter most.
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