Do you know how they say that “grass is always greener on the other side”? Well, no more! With these tips, your grass will look green and fresh like in a fairytale.
Which grass looks bright green, smells good and fresh? A healthy one. And how do you achieve healthy grass? You do it by carefully choosing how often to fertilize and in which amounts.
What does a lawn need to grow lush and healthy?
There are several processes that make a difference. First of all, it’s important how often do you water and mow your lawn, then how often do you fertilize it, which fertilizer do you use and how much of it do you apply.
Although watering the lawn is one of the basic maintenance steps, pay attention when fertilizing to read the instructions on whether you should water before or after applying fertilizer.
Top dressing your soil once in a year or two can be very beneficial for the soil which results in a more beautiful lawn in the long term. Regularly checking if your soil and grass are free of bugs and ants is also helpful. Ants may look like not a big deal, but often, the presence of ants means that there’s a heightened bacteria situation so your want to regularly check on that. Here are also some natural ways to get rid of those persistent creatures.
When you set your goals concerning your lawn, make sure to make a plan for watering and fertilizing including frequency and amount of mentioned processes. Gathering as much information as possible can also make a difference and reduce the risk of failure to a minimum.
How to choose a fertilizer for your lawn?
When choosing a fertilizer for your lawn it’s essential that you make a decision according to your goals in regards to how fast you want your lawn to grow, how much you care about the environment, and if you want a long-term established lawn or quick fix.
The main difference between fertilizers is if they are organic or synthetic and they come in granulated or liquid form. Organic fertilizers are made of natural ingredients like plants or come from animals. On the other hand, synthetic ones are artificially made using synthetic components.
Both of those have their pros and cons so let’s take a look at those.
Organic fertilizers work slower, the release process is slower, and they use the soil’s natural abilities to grow grass. Then why would you use slow fertilization? Because organic fertilizer is less likely to burn your grass if you add too much of it. It’s safer for the environment, it doesn’t pollute water and it’s safe for animals.
Synthetic fertilizers are released fast and they add additional artificial nutrients to the soil to speed up the growth process of your lawn. These kinds of fertilizers can pollute soil, water and destroy grass if you add too much of it so when using these you need to be extra careful.
Another important factor to pay attention to when choosing a fertilizer is its NPK rating.
This rating represents the amount of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium in the fertilizer. Higher NPK ratings can be found in synthetic fertilizers, which replace soil’s natural processes.
If you decide to start with synthetic fertilizer for the lawn in the stage of seed to achieve a good start make sure that it has a 20-5-10 NPK rating. Later, you can add organic fertilizer in 6-8 weeks periods. This will give your lawn an initial boost and leave it to natural processes later.
Now that you have a better picture of important aspects when choosing a fertilizer, here’s the list of lawn fertilizers that will also help you make a decision.
You can apply fertilizer by yourself using a spreader for granulated form or spray for liquid fertilizer. Ensure the safe use of the fertilizer when you do it alone or consider hiring professional services to make it easier for you.
How often should you fertilize?
The prime time to fertilize your lawn is in the season of its fastest-growing and when you’re planting it. Other fertilizations, after an established lawn look, are just maintenance steps.
To determine when is the best time to fertilize you need to know the type of grass you have on your lawn. There are warm-season and cool-season grasses. Depending on the type of grass you will check their most active period of growth.
For warm-season grass, early summer fertilization gives the best results. If your grass is still young, can fertilize it again in 6-8 weeks using the “Rules of thumb”.
Cool-season grass should be fertilized in fall since their most active growing period is winter.
If you notice that your lawn is progressing slow or grass blades are getting yellowish color, consider fertilizing. Also, it’s good to do it when seasons are changing so grass can handle temperature changes.
Make sure that you check the weather forecast so you can plan the fertilization process most efficiently. Watering after fertilization is fine for some fertilizers but rain can completely wash off all nutrients and you don’t want your work to be in vain.
To conclude, how often you fertilize your lawn will be depending on your goals, type of soil, type of glass, whether your grass is still growing or you have established lawn. Still, fertilization won’t help with other problems that your soil might have, so you need to keep an eye on the whole situation so you can fix each problem efficiently. Fertilizer is a bonus, and a helpful tool but don’t forget maintenance and climate as important factors when it comes to the look of your lawn.
Persistence is one of the most needed components of the recipe for a perfect lawn. Patience follows. If it’s not fabulous the first time, just keep practicing, learning, and adjusting the process to your lawn needs to get the best results. Good luck and don’t forget to have fun in the process!
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