Tips for Feeding and Fertilizing Lawns

Having a beautiful lawn adds beauty to a home. A healthy lawn is strong enough to resist disease and pest troubles. Fertilizing is a very important part of lawn care. You must also make sure you water when fertilizing.

Never apply fertilizer without water. Water dilutes it appropriately and helps deliver it to the roots. If you under fertilize your lawn the weeds will run right over the top and colonize the area. Most common weeds seem to thrive in infertile soil. Fertilizing will help to keep the weeds out. To determine how much fertilizer to use, you have to read the instructions. All recommendations are based on 1,000 square feet of lawn. The typical dose never exceeds a pound per 1,000 square feet of lawn.

The main elements in fertilizers are nutrients, these are critical for good plant growth. These elements are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Nitrogen is the one that enhances foliage and stem growth. If you over fertilize it can cause damage to the lawn itself. Excessive nitrogen burns your lawn. Nitrogen travels quickly through lighter, quick-draining soils. You need to fertilize very lightly if you have animals. Before your animals heads out into the yard make sure the yard has been watered and all the fertilizer has been absorbed into the soil. If you do not want to use chemicals try using an organic fertilizer. They are made up of things like manure and fish emulsion. You can dilute and spray or just apply it and water. They also work very well but are slower in showing improvement. If you are looking for a faster improvement you can use regular fertilizer.

These are the most common fertilizers you will find:

QUICK RELEASE FERTILIZER: With this you get a good quick response, the lawn greens up usually after just one application. The lawn consumes it quickly, so you might have to apply more frequent doses.

SLOW RELEASE FERTILIZER: This supplies the same nutritive benefits as quick-release but not as quickly. You can expect consistent, sustained growth and you don't have to apply it as often.

A MIX OF BOTH: You can mix them together and that should work out great.

You must also make sure you know when to fertilize. Don't bother in the winter months. Spring and Fall are the best times to fertilize. You can fertilize in the summer months, depending on the grass and the weather. Don't fertilize in very hot weather. You only need to fertilize one time a month. And remember to water your lawn everyday.