Lawn Fertilizers and Everything You Need to Know About Them

What Are Fertilizers?

They are unique substances that people use to increase the quality and growing of their plants, including grass. These products get in contact with the soil, enriching it with useful vitamins and minerals.

If we talk about grass, the deficiency of nutrients can lead to unwanted disease symptoms. These include growth inhibition, chlorosis, necrotic changes, or abnormal development of leaves and roots.

Fertilizers are rich in much-needed macronutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium. Your grass takes these macroelements from the soil in larger amounts. There are also micronutrients, taken in trace amounts. Examples include iron, boron, copper, manganese, and zinc.

How to Choose the Best Lawn Fertilizer?

We can use mineral fertilizers and organic fertilizers during the process of lawn fertilization. There are many ready-to-use fertilizers available on the market. They come in three different forms:

• Powdered, • Granular, • And liquid.

The ideal solution for lawn fertilizing will be choosing the granular option. Such a lawn fertilizer is simpler to spread evenly over the entire surface of the turf. Yet, if you are looking for the quickest possible results, we suggest choosing liquid substances. They can act simultaneously on your grass blades and your soil.

f you choose granular lawn fertilizers you should remember a few important things. It is best to use them on dry grass. If the blades are wet, these granules can stick to them, whereas they should dissolve on the surface. After you spread the fertilizer, water the lawn well to help the absorption of macro- and micronutrients.

Such chemicals are known for their high absorption of water, which can turn the granules into lumps. For that reason, you should store your granular lawn fertilizers in a dry and shaded place.

When to Use Fertilizers to Secure the Best Results?

Let us be clear about it. You can find a lot of useful advice on using fertilizers. Unfortunately, some of them can be a bit misleading. Especially, when it comes to the ideal time for fertilizing your soil and grass. We want to give you the ultimate guide to when it is best to use fertilizers.

The process should take place three times a year:

1. The first one is carried at the turn of March and April, right after the spring clean-up is complete. It is also highly recommended to perform the first fertilization along with aeration of the lawn. The three elements combined – spring clean-up, fertilization and aeration – can guarantee breathtaking quality of your lawn throughout the year.

2. We perform the second fertilization in June. If you use the lawn quite often, you can also combine the process with repeating the aeration process.

3. The last use of lawn fertilizers should happen around mid-August. After that it is important to prepare the surface for winter. This is the best time to prepare for a complete and thorough fall yard clean-up, which should be done in September or October. Thanks to that you can maintain a beautiful lawn that will survive harsh winter conditions.

Remember that you should not use fertilizers too late, especially when they are based on nitrogen. It can cause your grass to overgrow during the fall, making the lawn more vulnerable to diseases and low temperatures.

What Are the Best Conditions to Perform Fertilization?

When you fertilize the lawn, do it only after it has been mowed. The best weather conditions to spread the fertilizers are on a cloudy day with a moderate temperature (below 20°C/68°F). Your lawn should be dry and not overheated by the sun because it ensures the best nutrients absorption.

When spreading the fertilizer over your lawn, do it evenly to cover its entire surface. Before you start applying the substance, rake the grass to slightly loosen the soil. This way the fertilizer will penetrate the lawn faster and reach its roots.