Its that time of year: Lawn Fertilizer 101

Step 1 – Application:

• Water your lawn. Before anything, water your lawn a few days in advance to make sure your lawn is prepped to take in the fertilizer.
• Select which spreader you will utilize. Spreaders come in two categories: drop and broadcast. After finding information on which spreader will work well with your lawn care needs, modify the spreader settings. Fertilizer products will have their own unique spreader settings to get appropriate coverage.
• Testing your Soil Your lawn’s soil will have a specific pH level that will determine how the grass will use the ingredients in the fertilizer. Use a home testing kit to determine which fertilizer will be best for your grass. After this, get your soil as close to neutral as possible to secure the utmost benefit from the fertilizer of your choice. The ideal pH range for growing hearty grass is between 6.0 and 7.0.
• Fertilizer Application Nourish your lawn with fertilizer, by applying it identical to a mowing pattern. Walk back and forth in straight lines and slightly overlap with each pass.
• Water Lawn Again It is necessary that you water your lawn again, after you have fed it with fertilizer, to make sure that it loads it into your soil. Watering your lawn after fertilizing will make sure that the fertilizer runs into your soil and let it to slide off of grass blades.
• Leftover Product Properly save the leftover lawn fertilizer by pouring it back into the bag and saving it for future fertilizing. Make sure to keep it in a dry and cool place, away from children and pets.

Tips:

• Do not spread any type of lawn fertilizer close to damp habitats – wetlands, rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds. Failure to follow this step can potentially form excessive weed growth and algae. Stay at least 6 to 8 feet away from moist environments when applying fertilizer.
• Invest some time to precisely measure the size of your lawn to make sure you get plenty of fertilizer to cover it.
• If you fertilize only once a year, make sure it is around Labor Day. Around this time is when your grass is wanting to be fed the most and it will react best to the nutrients you nourish it.
• Try organic fertilizers during the summer days when the temperatures are high. Organic lawn fertilizers, specifically in warmth, encourage the growth of soil microbes in most cases.
• Keep reports. This should include what fertilizer you applied, how much, and the date.
• Do not feed lawn fertilizer more than four times a year.

Best ways to use Fertilizer:

• Fertilizer and water Water, fertilize, and water again. It is important for your grass to take in a second watering, as it allows for the fertilizer to be washed off of grass blades, and into the soil. A different approach to this is to appoint fertilizing application between rainfalls so the rain can do the work for you. Although this method is efficient, make sure you are not fertilizing before a bad rainfall, or it can wash away the fertilizer. Also avoid fertilizing when your grass has faded or browned from not enough moisture.
• Fertilize before or after mowing? It is optimal to apply lawn fertilizer to a freshly mowed lawn, as it allows a few days to absorb the fertilizer. The best times to apply fertilizer are early spring, late summer, and fall. Mow the lawn and leave some of grass clippings, as it releases nitrogen into the grass which is one of the three main ingredients of lawn fertilizers.