Key Tips on Lawn Fertilizer

Steps on laying it down:

• Water your lawn. Before anything, water your lawn a few days in advance to confirm your lawn is prepared to take in the fertilizer.
• Pick which spreader you will use. Spreaders come in two categories: broadcast and drop. After coming to a conclusion on which spreader will work well with your lawn care needs, adjust the spreader settings. Fertilizer products will have their own specific spreader settings to get proper coverage.
• Soil Test Your lawn’s soil will have a unique pH level that will determine how the grass will apply the ingredients in the fertilizer. Use a home testing kit to see which fertilizer will work well for your grass. After this, bring your soil as close to neutral as you can to secure the most benefit from the fertilizer of your choice. The ideal pH range for growing quality grass is between 6.0 and 7.0.
• Fertilizer Application Supply your lawn with fertilizer, by spreading it similar to a mowing pattern. Walk back and forth in straight lines and lightly overlap with each pass.
• Second Watering It is imperative that you water your lawn again, after you have fed it with fertilizer, to ensure 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.
• Leftover Product Properly save the excess lawn fertilizer by putting 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 spread any type of lawn fertilizer close to watery surroundings – wetlands, rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds. Ignoring the surrounding environments can potentially produce excessive weed growth and algae. Stay at least 6 to 8 feet away from water when applying fertilizer.
• Take some time to precisely measure the size of your lawn so you get plenty of fertilizer to coat it.
• If you fertilize once a year, apply it around Labor Day. Around this time is when your lawn is the hungriest and it will answer best to the nutrients you give it.
• Try using organic fertilizers during the warm days when the temperatures are high. Organic lawn fertilizers, especially in heat, strengthen the production of soil microbes in many cases.
• Keep reports. This is for what and how much you apply and when you apply it.
• DON’T feed lawn fertilizer more than four times a year.

Best ways to use Fertilizer:

• Fertilizer and water Use the three-step method of water, fertilize, and water. It is crucial for your lawn to get a second watering, as it allows for the fertilizer to be washed off of grass blades, and into the soil. Another way to do this is to appoint fertilizing application in between rainfalls so the rain can do the watering work for you. Although this is efficient, make sure you are not fertilizing before a storm, or it can wash away the fertilizer. Also avoid fertilizing when your lawn has browned or faded from not enough moisture.
• 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 late summer, fall, or early spring. Mow the lawn and leave a bit of grass clippings, as it releases nitrogen into the grass which is one of the three main ingredients of lawn fertilizers.