When it comes to lawns, there are a lot of factors that go into maintaining them. One important factor is fertilizing the lawn. But how often should you fertilize your yard? In this article, we will discuss everything you need to know about fertilizer and how often you should apply it.
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Does Every Lawn Need Fertilizer?
No, fertilizers are not necessary for every lawn. Some types of soil have more nutrients than others and some areas don’t require as much sun exposure to grow grass. If your yard is already healthy, you may only need to apply fertilizer once or twice a year. Whether or not you choose to use it comes down to personal preference but make sure you aren’t over-applying nutrient supplements if they aren’t needed!
How Often Should You Fertilize the Lawn?
Different fertilizers have different needs. Some may need to be applied every six weeks while others can go up to 12 or more!
It is advisable to fertilize lawns three to four times a year. However, if you use a lawn mower with a mulching function or a robotic mower, your lawn will need fewer additional nutrients.
On the other hand, if your lawn is heavily used, it should be fertilized more often. The type of fertilizer also affects the rate: Mineral lawn fertilizer, for example, can be applied three to six times a year, while organic lawn fertilizer can be applied less frequently.
When Should You Fertilize the Lawn?
There are three key times of the year when fertilizing the lawn is recommended.
The first time to use fertilizer on your lawn is in early spring around March or April – before new growth begins. This will help promote healthy grass for the summer months ahead.
The second time to apply fertilizer to your yard comes just after you have finished mowing it, usually at the end of May/beginning of June – this helps keep up with any nutrients that were lost during mowing and encourage lush green hair all season long.
Finally, a fall application can be done in late September through October, this prevents moss from growing over winter which could ultimately kill off parts of your turf due to lack of sunlight exposure throughout shorter days leading into darker periods when daylight is scarce.
What to Fertilize Lawn With?
There are many great lawn fertilizers on the market, but for this article, we will be focusing primarily on organic/natural fertilizers as they tend to have fewer negative effects than their synthetic counterparts.
Organic Fertilizer:
Manure–composted and aged animal waste is a phenomenal source of nitrogen which helps encourage healthy root development in grasses. Organic fertilizers are typically much safer to use than synthetic equivalents as they tend not to contain potentially harmful or toxic chemicals like pesticides, herbicides, or chemical insecticides that can have a negative impact on the environment when overused.
Alfalfa Meal – high levels of phosphorous (good for seed growth) along with potassium helps promote greening and disease resistance; Bone Meal – ground up bones from animals such as cattle contain calcium phosphate that also encourages strong root development while adding vital nutrients like magnesium, sulfur, and iron.
Fertilizing your lawn is an important part of ensuring it remains safe for children and pets while also encouraging its health and vibrancy throughout all seasons.
When applying, make sure the area surrounding your grass is free from vegetation so it doesn’t receive any accidental fertilization. Also, be careful when spreading it around not to allow for runoff into nearby waterways such as lakes or rivers which could result in pollution, if this cannot be avoided try lowering its potency by mixing it with water before application.
How to Fertilize Correctly?
Fertilize your lawn according to the dosage recommendations on the packaging; in the case of mineral products, you should even dose slightly lower than indicated. If the lawn receives too many nutrients, it will not thank you for even more lush growth. On the contrary, over-fertilized lawns turn brown and look burnt. Too much fertilizer can end up in one spot, especially if you fertilize by hand – it takes a while to get the right momentum when spreading the fertilizer granules.
Our tip: Fertilize your lawn best with the help of a fertilizer spreader or hose-end sprayer. It ensures an even distribution of the fertilizer on the lawn. Nevertheless, you must of course proceed systematically: Don’t drive crisscross over the lawn, but rather exactly lane by lane in the longitudinal or transverse direction – and in such a way that no large gaps remain between the lanes, but they also don’t overlap. Possible driving errors can often be seen after just one week – usually in the form of yellow over-fertilized stripes in the green carpet, which only disappear after several weeks.
