Monday, March 25, 2024
HomeFertilizerCan I Use Lawn Fertilizer In My Garden

Can I Use Lawn Fertilizer In My Garden

- Advertisment -

How To Apply Winter Lawn Fertilizer

How To Fertilize Your Lawn | The Home Depot

It goes without saying that you should read the instructions that come with your winterizer, however the following are some general tips to get the most out of it.

  • Use a fertilizer spreader to ensure even coverage.
  • It is generally advised to use a little less than the label instructs, this reduces the chance of any un-adsorbed nitrogen leaching into groundwater.

For an in-depth guide on fertilizer spreaders, and how to use them see this guide.

I recommend using this handy lawn care planner to help you keep your lawn looking great.

Best Garden Fertilizer For Roses

Roses reward a little TLC with glorious, often fragrant blooms and healthy green foliage. Rose experts say that of the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium combination, known as NPK in industry lingo, phosphorus is the most important mineral to stimulate blooms. Fertilizers list their NPK ratios on the bag or packaging, so look for one with a higher P, or phosphorus content. We like Down to Earth Organic Rose & Flower Fertilizer for its 4-8-4 NPK ratio, but be forewarned dogs may like the blood and bone meal, and seagull poop that make up part of the ingredients.

sylv1rob1/Shutterstock

Using Lawn Fertilizer For Other Plants

I have leftover lawn fertilizer from the time I used to have a lawn. Can I use this fertilizer for anything else, trees, vegetable garden, xeriscape plants, bulbs? If so, how would I adjust its application.Thx for your help.

  • 1Does it have any added trace elements, such as Fe? Should say on the label if it does

Absolutely you can use ‘lawn fertilizer’ for other plants. What you HAVE TO know is the entire chemistry of your fertilizer in that bag and what the your soil tests show and what you are trying to achieve.

For instance, vegetables, such as leafy greens could possibly be ok with this high nitrogen fertilizer. Does it have any herbicide included? Then DO NOT USE IT EVER AGAIN. Is it sulfur based? How much iron?

Purchase proper fertilizers and only apply them judiciously! Read that label. Organic, slow release fertilizer is the best. Lower numbers are better…fertilizer IS NOT FOOD. You are just replacing chemicals those plants we stuck in the ground need and is not available in your soils.

If you want flowers or most vegetables where you want reproductive growth you have to have nitrogen being the lower of the 3 numbers. I used this stuff my hubby bought that claimed it was for vegetables…6- 5- 4. 6% of the bag of stuff was actual nitrogen, 5% of the bag was phosphorus and 4% was potassium. And all I got was great leafy growth and little fruit/vegeys/flowers. That first number has GOT to be lower of the three if you want flowers or fruit.

You May Like: What Is The Smallest Riding Lawn Mower

Fertilize When The Soil Is Moist

If you fertilize when the soil is dry, the salts from thefertilizer can build up to high concentrations in certain areas. When it rains, these salts can be washed intoa plants roots, which can kill the plants due to high nutrient concentrations.

Make sure to water a bit or wait for some rain before you fertilize, and then water it in afterwards. Otherwise, you risk burning your plants for more information, check out my article on over fertilizing.

How To Apply Fertilizer

This is a creek in my back yard. I read that creek soil is ...

Apply fertilizer to dry grass and water it in afterward. You can apply it with a spreader that you also use to spread grass seed. It’s important to always follow label directions when applying any type of fertilizer. You don’t have to be quite as careful about how much organic fertilizer you apply, because over-application poses little danger. On the other hand, it’s important not to over-apply synthetic fertilizers. Too much can burn your lawn.

Don’t Miss: Murray Lawn Mowers Parts

Understanding The Types Of Lawn Fertilizer

Using fertilizer for lawns is an effective way to prevent disease and pest damage and minimize maintenance. But what type of lawn fertilizer should you use?

  • There are time-release fertilizers that are beneficial for feeding the lawn over many months and prevent the gardener from having to remember to feed again at a certain time.
  • The gradual release also allows plant roots to harvest the nutrients they need slowly, preventing necessary elements from leaching away into the soil. This type of food is easy to apply and minimizes the chance of burning the lawn.
  • Granular fertilizers may be time-release or slow-release. Either way, they are popular due to the ease of application.
  • Liquid or water-soluble fertilizers are spread using a hose and provide a quick effective way to introduce nutrients rapidly to grassroots.

Many of these forms come in either synthetic or organic forms.

  • Synthetic formulas are chemical and offer immediate release and quick greening of the lawn.
  • Organic formulas are naturally made from once-living organisms or their byproducts.

The choice is yours on which application type and formula to use on your lawn.

Winterizer Fertilizer What Is It And When To Apply

Winter is one of the toughest times for our lawns, and ensuring that the grass gets through the colder months and has enough food to flourish in spring is important.

Luckily, winterizer is designed to do just that. Knowing when to apply a winter fertilizer and what brands to choose are critical in ensuring the success of your prized lawns.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. All opinions are our own we pride ourselves on keeping our articles fair and balanced. For more info see our disclosure statement.

In This Article:

Also Check: Trugreen Average Cost

Aspirin Tablets In The Garden

Whether expired or not, aspirin tablets can do wonder for your plants you can use them to combat fungal diseases, they work as rooting hormone as well. Its addition also increases immunity against pests and diseases in plants. If you want to learn more about aspirin uses in the garden, read this article here.

Which Fertilizer Do My Plants Need

Summer Fertilizer That’s Safe For Any Lawn

It would be nice if plants received all the nutritional benefits they needed from the soil beneath them but this is seldom the case. Accordingly, most all plants can benefit from fertilizer as it enables them to reach their full potential in health, beauty, and bounty. Proper fertilization is not an art it’s a science. There’s a lot to understand to fertilize correctly. Lets explore some of the need-to-knows.

Fertilizer Basics: Understanding the Numbers

The Complexities of Nitrogen

Take a close look at the ingredients statement on a bag of fertilizer. It lists the sources of nitrogen nutrients the product contains. Words like nitrate, ammonium and urea indicate rapidly available nutrients that will create quick greening and growth. Sources such as sulfur or polymer coated urea, methylene urea, ureaformaldehyde and organics are slow release sources that last longer and green more slowly, but are less likely to damage grass if over-applied. The ingredient statement will also list the percentage of nitrogen that is slow release and the percentage that is rapidly available. If you are not experienced applying fertilizer you should purchase a product with 30% or more of the nitrogen in slow release forms, since you are less likely to burn your lawn if you make a mistake. Experienced professionals have a wider variety of options available to them as they are trained in the best product application for the job at hand.

The Right Amount of Fertilizer

Don’t Miss: John Deere D130 Home Depot

Lawn Vs Garden Fertilizer Is There A Difference

January can be a long, cold month after all of the holiday festivities have come to an end. It may leave you longing for warmer weather, blooming flowers, and a freshly cut law. While too much daydreaming may leave you a little bummed out, thoughtful planning and research during the cold months can leave you more prepared and able to approach your lawn and garden care. As you think about your lawn and garden care, it may be helpful to ask yourself if your current fertilizer routine is working for you. And when it comes to your lawn vs. garden fertilizer, is there a difference?

While both your lawn and garden need fertilizer to give the soil nutrients so that it can stay as healthy as possible, they both need different elements in different quantities, and even at different times.

Root Growth

The key to a healthy, green lawn that can withstand the heat of summer is a healthy root system. When your root system is healthy it is able to absorb even more nutrients and plenty of moisture from the soil. Phosphorus is one nutrient that can stimulate root growth in both your lawn and garden. It is also an important nutrient for garden crops, particularly root vegetables like carrots, beets, turnips, and potatoes. When it comes to root growth, both your lawn and garden will benefit from a fertilizer with plenty of phosphorus.

Leaf Growth

Overall Health

When To Apply

The Big Three Nutrients

On a fertilizer package, you will sometimes see numbers like5-10-15. These numbers correspond to N-P-K,or nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium.

The 5 means that the fertilizer contains 5% nitrogen byweight.

The 10 means that the fertilizer contains 10% phosphorusby weight.

The 15 means that the fertilizer contains 15% potassium byweight.

So 100 pounds of 5-10-15 fertilizer contains 5 pounds of nitrogen, 10 pounds of phosphorus, and 15 pounds of potassium .

For a more in-depth discussion of nutrient content, check out my article on NPK ratios.

Nitrogen is a nutrient that is important for allplants. Specifically, it supports greengrowth However,too much nitrogen will encourage green growth in a plant at the expense of flowers,fruit, and vegetables.

As you can imagine, lawn fertilizers contain plenty ofnitrogen to make grass grow greener. Ifyou were to use this fertilizer in your garden, your plants may grow tall andgreen, but fail to produce flowers or fruit.

Phosphorus is a nutrient that is important forphotosynthesis and root development. Italso helps plants to resist disease. Keep in mind that some lawn fertilizers contain no phosphorus at all!

Potassium helps to transport water and other nutrientsthroughout a plants tissues. It alsocontributes to strong roots and stems.

Read Also: How To Keep Geese Away

What Is A 10 10 10 Fertilizer Used For

Because of its balanced nutrients, 10 10 10 fertilizer is the best fertilizer for all-purpose gardening. Which is why it is one of the most popular fertilizers available.

You can generally use it on almost all plants in your garden, including vegetables, fruit trees, lawn and flowering plants.

It is not recommended for plants with specific, unusual nutrient needs because it wont supply everything the plant requires.

For example, banana trees need an 8 10 8 fertilizer rather than a 10 10 10 fertilizer because they are heavy feeders of nitrogen and potassium. While flowering bulbs dont need a lot of nitrogen, so they prefer a 5 10 5 fertilizer.

When Should I Fertilize My Vegetable Garden

How can I re

Vegetables growing in porous, well-drained soil should be fed frequently. Usually a balanced fertilizer is applied every three to four weeks throughout the growing season. Dont stop applications when fruit appearscontinue to apply fertilizer as needed to ensure continued production.

What is the best fertilizer for growing vegetables?

Fertilizer Selection Most gardeners should use a complete fertilizer with twice as much phosphorus as nitrogen or potassium. An example would be 10-20-10 or 12-24-12. These fertilizers usually are easy to find. Some soils contain enough potassium for good plant growth and dont need more.

Also Check: Quinkill Max Crabgrass And Weed Killer

A Homeowner’s Guide To Fertilizer

Understandingthe Fertilizer Label All fertilizer labels have three bold numbers. The first number isthe amount of nitrogen , the second number is the amount of phosphate and the third number is the amount ofpotash . These three numbers represent the – phosphoruspotassium).

This label, known as the fertilizer grade, is a national standard.

A bag of 10-10-10 fertilizer contains 10 percent nitrogen, 10 percentphosphate and 10 percent potash.

Fertilizer grades are made by mixing two or more nutrientsources together to form a blend, that is why they are called “mixed fertilizers.”Blends contain particles of more than one color. Manufacturers producedifferent grades for the many types of plants.

You can also get fertilizers that contain only one of each of the primarynutrients. Nitrogen sources include ammonium nitrate , urea nitrogen, sodium nitrate and liquid nitrogen . Phosphorusis provided as 0-46-0 and potash as 0-0-60 or 0-0-50.

CalculatingNutrient Content Selectinga Fertilizer Grade The best way to select a fertilizer grade is to have your. The will recommend a fertilizer grade for your use. The reportalso comes with a management note that provides guidelines for supplementingnitrogen for lawn and garden crops.

Typical grades recommended for lawns and gardens include:

  • 5-10-5

Is It Better To Fertilize Before Or After Rain

Dont wait too long after a heavy rainfall to apply fertilizer. When the top two inches of soil have dried, the benefit of good distribution of the fertilizer in the root-zone area may be reduced. It is for such reasons that we suggest soil moisture should be at good levels just before a fertilizer application.

Read Also: How To Treat Lawn Rust Fungus

Check The Label Before Buying Garden Fertilizer

Always read the label before you buy fertilizer. The package will tell you the ratio ofnutrients , which you must know in order to put the right nutrients intoyour soil. This will also depend on the resultsof your soil test .

If your soil indicates low levels of phosphorus in yoursoil, then you will want the 2nd number to be higher than theother two .

The package will also indicate how much fertilizer to use ina given area. Make sure that youcalculate the area correctly. If you areonly fertilizing half of your garden, adjust your dimensions accordingly. Also, make sure to use the same measurement unitsas those listed on the package!

Best Homemade Garden Fertilizer

How to Use a Scotts® Broadcast Spreader on Your Lawn

There are so many homemade fertilizers your garden plants will love its hard to know where to start! Actually, your compost bin is a great place to start, as virtually every garden plant will revel in the organic compost you feed it. If you want to really get your hands dirty , you can make a compost tea. To do so, put one part of compost in a cheesecloth or burlap sack, and suspend it in a bucket of water the compost to water ratio should be 1 : 5. Let it soak for a few weeks, squeezing and stirring the bag occasionally. Then discard the bag and compost, and apply the compost tea as liquid fertilizer.

The same method can be used to make a manure tea from cured manure. Note that different types of animal manure need different amounts of time to cure, so check with your garden center before you start brewing this smelly tea.

Don’t Miss: How To Bid Lawn Care

Can I Apply Fertilizer To A Wet Lawn

Most Scotts® fertilizers can be applied to either a wet or dry lawn. If youre applying a weed-and-feed product like Scotts® Turf Builder® Weed & Feed, though, you may need to apply to wet grass to help the particles adhere to the weeds for best results. How to know for sure? Check the package directions!

Lawn Fertilizer For The Garden

Convenient

Theres no doubt about it using lawn fertilizer for the garden is super convenient. Instead of purchasing separate fertilizer, all you have to do is move from lawn to garden with one product. This means that you wont have multiple bottles of fertilizer or applicators laying around.

Affordable

Using the same fertilizer for both the lawn and garden is a no-brainer when it comes to saving money because lets face it, who wants to buy two products when you could get away with using just one? No one!

Stronger solution

Most lawn fertilizers are more concentrated than the average garden fertilizer. This means that you can get away with applying less product less frequently.

Higher risk of burns

When you use lawn fertilizer in the garden, you run the risk of burning your plants. This is because of the compounds in the lawn fertilizer they are often too strong and concentrated for non-grass flowers to thrive with their application.

Questionable benefits

According to some experts, lawn fertilizer is essentially useless on garden plants. Again, this goes back to the makeup of each lawn fertilizer and the fact that lawn fertilizers are made for grasses, which are more robust and durable than most flowers.

Some gardeners, on the other hand, swear by using lawn fertilizer in both areas.

Read Also: Rent Core Aerator Lowes

Get A Soil Test First

The first thing you should do is to get a soil test. This will help you to determine whether youeven need to fertilize your lawn.

If there are any nutrient deficiencies, you will know whatto supplement. If there is a pH imbalance,you will be able to address that as well.

For more information, check out my article on soil testing.

Secondary Nutrients And Micronutrients

Help! Anyone know what this weed is growing through my ...

After the big three, these are also needed by plants:

  • Calcium is an important part of the cell walls of your plants, as well as for transporting and retaining nutrients, which makes your plants hardier.
  • Magnesium is needed for proper plant food production and growth.
  • Sulfur is needed for your plants to produce protein, as well as for the development and activation of vitamins and enzymes. This nutrient also helps your plants to form chlorophyll and produce more roots and seeds, making it more resistant to cold.
  • Boron helps regulate other nutrients taken up by your plants, as well as being necessary to produce carbohydrates, seeds, and fruits.
  • Copper helps your plants reproduce and root.
  • Chlorine regulates your plants metabolism and photosynthesis.
  • Iron allows your plants to form chlorophyll.

Other nutrients necessary for healthy plants are manganese, molybdenum, zinc, and cobalt.

Also Check: Weed Eater Mowers

RELATED ARTICLES
- Advertisment -

Popular Articles

- Advertisment -