Every gardener wants their lawn to look as green as possible. And you might not know this, but fertilizer plays a quite critical role in this case. Nevertheless, for most gardeners, how to apply lawn fertilizer properly remains a tough question. In addition, knowing the time to fertilize also significantly impacts the health and density of your lawn.
Today, we are going to share some helpful information for you to take care of your lawn in the best way. Let’s follow us!
Why use lawn fertilizer?
Firstly, we will get to know the benefits of using fertilizer for your lawn. There are a bunch of reasons why fertilizer is a key factor in your lawn care.
The first advantage of applying fertilizer, we would say, is that the use of fertilizer will ensure your lawn to get enough essential nutrients it needs to stay lush green and healthy. Additionally, if you use lawn fertilizer properly, you could remain its good condition and encourage active growth of your grass as well.
Another benefit of fertilizing your lawn is that it could improve your lawn appearance as well as help the turf recover from the impacts of harsh weather and wear and tear.
You know, keeping the turf well-fertilized also hinders your grass becoming thin, weak, and patchy, making your lawn more susceptible to weeds and moss. You might not know this, but if your lawn and garden are in poor conditions, it is more likely to suffer from diseases.
What types of fertilizer should you use?
Currently, there are numerous kinds of fertilizers available on the market. Most of them contain the main ingredients of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, along with other trace minerals that are beneficial to your lawn.
Plus, it would be best if you do not buy cheap fertilizers as they tend to abuse nitrogen. You know, though it could improve your lawn quality quite fast, it cannot hold up in a long time.
In general, you could purchase liquid fertilizers or granular ones. Also, there are various choices of fertilizers out there for different types of soil, such as sandy or clay.
When should you fertilize lawn?
It depends on the type of grass as well as the condition it’s in. For gardeners who want a standard fertilizer treatment, they could go for a once-a-year treatment. This type of fertilizer will slowly release the nutrients and feed the lawn from late spring to late autumn.
Plus, you might be wonder how many times to fertilize, mightn’t you? Well, we would say, feeding lawns in each quarter of a year is highly recommended to ensure healthy, lush and green lawns.
How to apply lawn fertilizer to your garden
You could fertilize your lawn by hand, yet it could be a difficult task as you will hardly choose the right amount of fertilizer. Our advice is that it would be better to use a spreader like most professionals of the lawn could help you spread the fertilizer over the surface evenly and bring great results.
Currently, there are many different kinds of spreaders available for you to choose from. Handheld or shoulder spreaders are quite easy to use, and they are also ideal for gardens that aren’t a standard rectangle shape. Additionally, you could make use of mechanical push-along spreaders. If you have a big lawn where you need to spread a large amount of fertilizer, you should take it into consideration.
Furthermore, broadcast spreaders come with a spinning mechanism that sprays or throws the fertilizer while drop spreaders feature small holes in the bottom side of which the fertilizer drops into the lawn.
Meanwhile, liquid fertilizer could be directly sprayed into the surface of the grass, and it is an ideal choice for areas where need many nutrients.
Another note we would say is that you’d better feed the lawn as soon as possible after mowing. Why? The reason lies in the fact that this will offer more time for your grass to absorb enough nutrients before you mow the next time. If you fertilize your lawn before mowing, you probably remove the feed before it sinks in accurately.
It would help if you also remembered not to fertilize dry lawns, the soil for grass should be moisturized, so that it could take in need nutrients. Should the weather be dry and hot, it would be best to wait until there is a good enough amount of rain before feeding the lawn.
It is advisable that lawn food needs to be watered in after the application to make sure the nutrients are properly absorbed.
Also, it is crucial to spread the proper amount of fertilizer. If you use excess fertilizer, this could result in burning or scorching your grass.
If you apply the fertilizer when your lawn lacks moisture, you could get the grass scorched and burned as well, especially in the hot summer months.
After using lawn fertilizer
Many products are slow-release fertilizers. Also, they will continuously feed your lawn for weeks after you apply them. Besides, most of them are safe to use, so that you could work on the lawn almost instantly after fertilizer applications.
That said, you should check whether the fertilizers you used are safe enough for your pets. Another note is that it would be better not to mow the lawn right after the application. It is because this could hinder the fertilizer from properly settling. Ideally, you’d better wait for three days at least before mowing.
Other Lawn Fertilizer Tips
- Water the lawn several days before fertilizing to ensure it is not suffering from dry stress.
- Ensure your grass blades are entirely dry when fertilizing to avoid burns.
- Fill the spreader on cement or on the driveway for sweeping up spills easily.
Wrapping Up
Well, that’s all we want to share with you about how to apply lawn fertilizer. In a nutshell, there are several crucial points you should consider before feeding your lawn, such as the types of your lawn grasses, fertilizer, and soil temperatures as well.
And it would be best to check product labels to see the ingredients of the fertilizer in question. Moreover, post-application care also plays a vital role in keeping a green and healthy lawn.
By the way, Gardening101 hope you will find our article helpful and if you have any other ideas, do not hesitate to let us know. Thank you for reading!