Its that time of year: Lawn Fertilizer 101

Steps on laying it down:

• Water your lawn. Ahead of time, water your lawn a few days in advance to make sure your lawn is ready 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 best for your lawn care needs, modify the spreader settings. Fertilizer products will have their own unique spreader settings to get fitting coverage.
• Testing your Soil Your lawn’s soil will have a distinct pH level that will influence how the grass will use the ingredients in the fertilizer. Use a home testing kit to decide which fertilizer will work well for your grass. After this, bring your soil as close to neutral as possible to secure the utmost benefit from the fertilizer of your choice. The optimal pH range for growing quality grass is between 6.0 and 7.0.
• Fertilizer Application Supply your lawn with fertilizer, by applying it identical to a mowing pattern. Walk back and forth in straight lines and lightly overlap with each pass.
• Water…Again It is essential 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 allows it to slide off of grass blades.
• Storage Accurately save the excess lawn fertilizer by pouring it back into the bag and storing it for future use . Make sure to preserve it in a dry and cool place, away from pets and children.

Some Advice:

• Do not use any type of lawn fertilizer close to damp surroundings – streams, lakes, ponds, wetlands, and rivers. Ignoring the surrounding environments may produce unwanted weed growth, as well as algae. Try to stay at least 6 to 8 feet away from water when spreading fertilizer.
• Allocate some time to accurately measure the size of your lawn to ensure you get enough fertilizer to cover it.
• If you fertilize once a year, do it around Labor Day. This is when your lawn is the hungriest and it will respond best to the nutrients you feed it.
• Use organic fertilizers during the sunny seasons when the temperatures are high. Organic lawn fertilizers, notably in hot weather, support the growth of soil microbes in most cases.
• Keep records. This should include what fertilizer you applied, how much, and the date.
• Do not apply 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 receive 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 schedule fertilizing application in between rainfalls so the rain can do the work for you. Although this method works, make sure you are not fertilizing before a downpour, or it can wash away the fertilizer. Also avoid fertilizing when your lawn has browned or faded from lack of moisture.
• Fertilize before or after mowing? It is great to apply lawn fertilizer to a freshly mowed lawn, so it has a few days to absorb the fertilizer. The best seasons to feed fertilizer are fall, late summer, and early spring. Mow the lawn and conserve a bit of grass clippings, as it releases nitrogen into the grass which is one of the three main ingredients of lawn fertilizers.