Lawns are a vital feature for many homes. It provides a place for families to gather, children to play and a spacious place for pets to roam. A green, healthy lawn is essential to make the home look its best. It brings humans and animals closer to nature and gives a sense of relaxation to them.
Additionally, to beautify yard, the critical ingredient that plays most of its part is Fertilizer. It works as the significant constituent that keeps the lawn green and lush for quite a long time. Fertilizer supplies with some essential nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium during lawn fertilization, also called the N(nitrogen),P(phosphorus), K(potassium) ratio.
Although many types of fertilizers are available in the market, it is confusing to determine which is better for your lawn. Even so, there are several reasons that must be considered before buying one, like the type of grass you have, the climate you live in, and the amount of sun and shadow that covers your area. These causes require attention for a perfect lawn fertilization.
Moreover, if you want to look your lawn greener and healthy, ensure fertilization application correctly and promptly. But lately, most homeowners are struggling with the best time to apply fertilizer on their lawn.
Are you also from them?
Don’t worry! We are here to help you out,
Let’s just read this article and acquire answers to your most asked questions about when to apply grass fertilizer to your extensive lawn at a specific time.
How to Fertilize Your Lawn?
Fertilizing your lawn will help it to absorb nutrients and make it more green, fresh and beautiful..
Here are some tips on how to fertilize your lawn efficiently:
Choose the Right Fertilizer:
The two most used fertilizers on lawns are liquid fertilizer and dry granular fertilizers (slow release lawn fertilizers). Both fertilizers have different properties and methods of application. Liquid fertilizer can quickly be implemented and managed with ease by new yard owners compared to granular fertilizers.
However, for some reason, numerous landscapers, demand easy-to-absorb dry granular fertilizer that works regardless of any specific schedule. On the other hand, several horticulturalists prefer liquid fertilizers when they want more nutrients for their lawn to grow more gracefully.
So, before purchasing make sure to get one that comes under your preference.
Apply the Fertilizer Evenly:
Be sure to apply fertilizer evenly with the drop spreader over the entire lawn, so every area receives an equal amount. To avert over-implementation, turn off the spreader at a specific time.
Follow the Direction on the Fertilizer Package:
Ensure to follow the directions on the grass fertilizer package. Following the package guide during applying fertilizer is essential to avoid damaging your lawn. Also, be sure to soak your garden thoroughly after soil application so that it can absorb the nutrients.
Avoid the Top 4 Lawn Fertilizer Blunders
Failure to Test the Soil
If you don’t test your soil before applying it, you will end up with a patchy, yellow lawn. That’swhy, testing the soil before its implementation is necessary to avoid further inconvenience. Yet, to test the fertilizer, take a small sample from any liquid or dry slow release fertilizers and apply that soil to the particular area of your lawn.
However, after implementation if the grass in that area turns yellow or dies, it reveals that the fertilizer is too strong with a pH value more than 7. But if grass reveals no significant changes after its application, soil pH is below 7 and stays on the weaker side.
Further, if your fertilizer is on the stronger side, make sure to dilute it with sulphur and if on the weaker side, try to add some lime or gypsum to maintain its pH range before spreading it on your land. Thus, if you find the soil that matches your lawn’s requirement after that professional test, apply it properly to the entire garden 5 to 6 times in a year for better outcomes.
Too Much Lawn Fertilizer
Applying too much lawn fertilizer can adversely affect your grass, such as burning the leaves, promoting excess growth, and encouraging thatch build-up. These problems can lead to a less healthy lawn that is more difficult to care for. The best way to avoid these problems is to consult a horticulturist and have your soil quantity tested to guarantee that you are applying the right amount of fertilizer for your lawn.
Fertilizing at the Wrong Time
If you fertilize lawn at the wrong time, you could do more harm than good. Fertilizing too early in the season can encourage growth when the grass is dormant, yet making it more susceptible to frost damage. Fertilizing too late in the season can lead to excessive growth but also will be damaged by the first frost. The adequate time to fertilize lawn is in the spring, after the last frost and in the fall, before the first frost.
Further, avoid fertilizing during the hot summer months when the weather is too hot or humid.
Getting Careless
It can be pretty easy to get careless when its time to fertilize lawn, especially if you are in a hurry. However, there are some potential consequences of doing so,
First you may end up with an uneven fertilizer application, which can lead to patches of grass that are either over or underinvested. In extreme cases, this can cause the grass to become yellow.
Second, you may face the application of too much fertilizer that can burn the root growth of the grass. Yet, if you spread an excessive amount of fertilizer and don’t know how to cure the situation, try using mulched grass clippings. This grass growth on the yard’s edges will control excess soil, provide strong roots and secure additional areas of your lawn.
So while it must be tempting to throw fertilizer and hope for the best, it’s also essential to take some time to do it carefully to avoid these potential problems.
My Take on Organic Fertilizers
Organic fertilizer is an eminent way to improve your garden’s soil quality and yield. It is soil with adequate nitrogen. Rather than inorganic fertilizer, it is more environmentally friendly and found more popular among other lawn owners. It is quality, natural-based food for your lawn with poultry litter as an ingredient that provides vital nutrients to your garden.
However, these essential nutrients stimulate microorganisms in your soil which help make your lawn healthier so you can enjoy greener grass all year round. Moreover, You can also implement this fertilizer from May to September when temperatures are warmer.
Organic fertilizer can be applied after every six weeks to get results according to your yard growing season to keep plants healthy and reproductive.
What Month Should You Fertilize the Lawn in the Spring?
The finest time to implement fertilizer is starting from the end of February till April. This monthly cycle covers both early spring and late spring.
This lawn fertilizer schedule will give your cool season grasses and warm season grasses needy nutrients to thrive during the growing season and provides best lawn care.
What Happens If You Use Too Much Fertilizer on Lawn Grasses?
If you use an immoderate amount of fertilizer on lawn, the salt and nitrogen level will rise in the yard, and you may receive brown patches with crunchy yellow leaves on your lawn. Also, spreading more fertilizer can burn the grass, causing it to turn brown. So, to avoid this mishap, follow the fertilizer package’s directions and only apply the recommended amount.
Is It Best to Fertilize the Lawn Before or after Rain?
There is no definitive answer to this question since it can depend on a number of factors, such as the type of grass, the amount of rainfall and the temperature. Generally, it is usually best to fertilize before rain is forecasted. This allows the fertilizer to be absorbed into the yard before the rain, which can help the grass grow more evenly.
Further, if you apply fertilizer, make sure that the ground is dry. So, the fertilizer doesn’t just wash away.
Is It Ok to Put Fertilizer on Wet Grass?
Every product label fertilizer has its own application method. If the lawn gets soaked before application, there is nothing to worry about because some fertilizer labels in the market demand wet lawn before their application on them.
However, It’s not ideal to put fertilizer on a wet garden. The main thing that the gardener should focus on is that the soil should not come in contact with the soak garden during leaf development, as this may cause burning. For best results, wait until the grass is dry before applying fertilizer.
Final Thoughts
Now that you know when to feed your lawn, it’s time to get started. Lawn fertilization will help ensure a lush and green lawn all summer. Be sure to follow the directions on the package carefully and avoid over-fertilizing, which can damage your grass growth.
Further, if you have more questions about this process or your specific lawn, feel free to ask in the comments below. We love helping our readers get the best possible results from their yards.
And finally, have fun with this task, and enjoy watching your lawn transformation. Remember to water fertilizer after its application and enjoy your beautiful landscape all season long.
Thanks for reading, and happy gardening!
