Fertilizing Your Lawn

Water and Fertilizer are the two basic chemicals that make up your lawn. It sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? Make sure you water the grass and spread fertilizer on it. But there are a lot of things to keep in mind when planning your lawn care routine.

What nutrients are already present at acceptable levels? Which ones are too low? Too high? What is your climate? When is the best time to apply fertilizer? Should you water just before day break, right after sundown, or does it matter?

With so many questions, it is nice to know that the answers are going to be relatively simple to answer.

The simplest method of taking care of the basic needs for your lawn is with the use of a commercial fertilizer such as Scotts or the like. Make sure you follow the printed directions when applying for special preparations.

When you plan on applying the fertilizer, be sure that you take a couple of things into consideration. For example, what does the weather look like for the next 48 hours? If rain is in the forecast, check the label. Where some require water to help with delivery, say a light rain or use of a sprinkler. Others will be washed away and useless if there is water present for a certain amount of time.

If you are going to apply spring fertilizer, make sure you do it as early as possible. This will make sure the grass has the food it needs heading into the growing season.

If filling in holes in the lawn, the seed will need to be laid down the fall before they start to germinate. By fertilizing in early spring, the new grass will get the boost it needs and will also help crowd out other species such as crabgrass and other weeds. And, it will help stave off bugs bent to destroy your lawn.

Lawn destroying insects and grubs such as the Japanese beetle need to be addressed as well. When the insects are still in the larvae stage, they will feed on the roots as the grass is trying to grow. If it is not taken care of immediately, you can expect the affected area of the lawn will be dead for at least a year.

You may be successful if you try to replant in the same year as the damage. However, the problem may not be caught in time. Usually you will not know there is a problem until late spring or early summer, when the infestation has reached a point of being advanced. Full recovery of the lawn may take up to two or three years. By laying down pre-emergent herbicides that are grub killing, you will be able to stop the problem before it starts. You will want to do this before you even suspect there is a problem.

When it comes to fertilizer, there is such a thing as too much. If you put it down too often or during hotter weather, it can actually burn your lawn. Most of the commercial products have enough nitrogen, phosphorus and other items to be in the correct proportions for spring blooming lawns. However, if there is already enough of these items on the lawn already, it will get too much. As with anything else, too much can be just as bad at too little.

Keeping the fertilization to a schedule will help to maintain correct element levels as well as keep weeds and insects at bay.

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