How to Fertilize Your Lawn
by Maurice Kennedy, ® Realtor 04/14/2019
The beauty of your home starts from your lawn. If you intend to keep a beautiful property, then you must take care of your yard. There are several means to care for your lawn, like regularly cutting it to keeping anyone from walking across it.
However, this piece will focus on ensuring that you fertilize your lawn correctly. Below is an easy guide to follow;
- Timing is everything. The best time to feed your grass is in the Spring. The soil temperature will have reached 55 degrees Fahrenheit, and the grass shoots will have begun to grow. So, ensure you don't apply fertilizer on your lawn before spring if you want success. That means the first feeding should around mid to late April.
- Take notice of the numbers. When you buy fertilizer, it comes with three numbers on the label. These numerals indicate the percentage of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, which are the primary nutrients that your lawn needs. For instance, a fertilizer with the numerals 20-5-10 is a good mix for spring. It contains 20 percent nitrogen, 5 percent phosphate and 10 percent potassium. The rest of the bag usually includes filler materials that help ensure an even application.
- Use a slow-release fertilizer. When buying any fertilizer, check that it is a slow-release fertilizer or ask the seller before you buy it. Slow-release fertilizers break down their nutrients over a long period. With slow-release fertilizers, your application can be every six to eight weeks. What you should target is getting your lawn as green as possible without growing it fast, so you don't have to mow the grass as often.
- Use granules. Applying the fertilizer uniformly to every part of the lawn is essential but difficult to achieve. But when you use pellets, which are simple to apply using a spreader, you can be sure you will have a uniformly spayed lawn.
- Don’t forget to water. Water your lawn. The only thing you should be careful to do is to find out if you should water the grass before or after applying the fertilizer. The information will be on the fertilizer bag.
- Don’t over apply. Applying fertilizer relative to your lawn is essential. You don't need much, ensure you use just enough fertilizer.
- Sweep up excess fertilizer. If there is excess fertilizer on the ground where you poured it into the spreader, don't leave it to be swept away by rain or wind. Sweep up the granules and keep it out of reach of children and pets.