Use The Right Spreader
When applying lawn fertilizers, always use a lawn spreader. Never spread product by hand! A broadcast spreader with a side-shield feature like the EdgeGuard® feature is great for most lawns. This makes application along the lawn’s perimeter easy by shutting off half the spreader flow, so product is only applied on the lawn and not on non-lawn areas like the driveway, sidewalk, or landscaping. A drop spreader is another option for small spaces because the application area is much narrower. Learn more about which spreader is right your yard .
Fill the spreader hopper with your lawn fertilizer, then set the spreader to the recommended setting listed on the product package. If the product package does not provide a spreader setting, it is not intended for lawn use.
Summer Fertilization Considerations For Warm Season Lawns
For these grass types, you could go a couple different ways. You would take up the nitrogen and push them hard during summer, or, you could just do more frequent light applications. It really depends how often you want to mow really. Just know, if you want your bermuda, St Augustine or Zoysia to thicken up, push it harder during the summer. I have for sure noticed this season that Bermuda and Zoysia are starting painfully slowly. Now that it looks like we have some heat on the way, now is the time to start pushing.
Advanced Lawn Food Natural Liquid Fertilizer
Grass needs complete lawn food and that is what the brand Simple Lawn Solutions have. This Advanced Lawn Food is an excellent NPK source, with a 16-4-8 ratio. It also includes a combination of essential macronutrients, as well as seaweed and shrimp.
You wont find any harsh chemicals on this drug. Just normal, sustainable material is included. Which ensures that your lawn is healthy and nourished.
Its also simple to add, with the quick-to-use sprayer connected to the bottle. To make the grass thrive and remain green, the solution includes plenty of potassium, nitrogen, and phosphate. It feeds the roots as well and ensures strength.
This product is intended for use on the grass of all types. These include Zoysia, Centipede, and St. Augustine. It may also be used on Bahia, Deer, Kentucky Bluegrass, and several more.
One drug bin uses about 3,200 square feet of grass. To find out how big your yard is first you might want to do some calculations.
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Do You Have Brown Spots That Just Wont Go Away
When water, fertilizer and a helpful dose of Revive or Aqua-Drive fail to green up a troublesome brown spot, the culprit is not likely a lack of water or nutrient availability but grub worms.;
Grub worms are a lawn owners nightmare. June beetles and, more commonly in the intermountain west, billbugs lay their eggs in growing lawns. As these eggs hatch the developing larvae, otherwise known as grub worms, feed on and destroy the root system of the grass. This not only kills your healthy turf but also leaves unsightly brown spots.
When To Schedule Lawn Maintenance
It is important to schedule your lawn care maintenance during times that match the life cycle of the turfgrass.
- Do not add fertilizer too early in the spring. This may encourage the grass to grow during a time when it should be slow or dormant.
- Do not spray to control weeds when temperatures are warm. This increases the likelihood of damaging the lawn.
- Do not fertilize in hot mid-summer months. This can cause irreversible damage to your lawn.
- Crabgrass doesn’t develop until late spring or early summer, so don’t apply herbicide used to prevent pre-emerging crabgrass in the fall.
See;Water-saving strategies for home lawns for information on how and when to water.
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Weed And Feed For Summer: June July August
Can you apply weed and feed in the summer? The short answer is yes. But you must be careful when you apply as summer heat and drought will take its toll on your lawn.
Feeding your lawn, especially in the early summer helps strengthen the lawn so it can better withstand heat and drought conditions that commonly occur. Applying summer weed and feed releases nutrients slowly over time, making it a great fertilizer for all grass types.
A more common problem in the summer is insect control, which I will discuss later in this article
Summer is tough on grass, thanks to heat, drought, foot traffic, and insects. As the warmer temperatures of July and August come around, a much more common problem you will see are insects. Both Scotts and Sta Green have a summer fertilizer with insect control.
Scotts Summer Lawn Food
I found this Scotts product that is quite interesting because it just shows that the corporate technical managers at Scotts also agree with me on my slow play strategy.
The only nutrient value in this fertilizer is nitrogen. Its a 34-0-0. Now at first glance, 34% nitrogen is VERY high, but that can be deceiving. I have read deep into the label to reveal to you some little known facts about this product. The product may be 34% nitrogen, but 17% of that is made slow release by coating it with polymers. Urea itself will green up your lawn nicely but only lasts for about 28 days and fades quickly thereafter. The Scotts folks extend this time by formulating half of their Urea in this product coated in polymers that cause the Urea nitrogen to be released much more slowly. This gives you some quick release green and some slow release on the backend. Pretty smart.
Another reason that its a good slow play is the bag rate. The bag rate is the easy way to find out how much of the product to put down. Remember, I always recommend that the very first thing you do when taking on a lawn program is to measure your lawn and section it out by 1000 sq ft sections. Here is a recent video I did showing you how to measure your lawn.
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Why Fertilize Your Lawn
Fertilizing your lawn gives it the chance to maintain density, enhances its green color, and encourages growth. Fertilizer can also encourage recovery from turf damage and seasonal turf stresses .;
Unfertilized lawns will gradually lose density. When that happens, undesirable grasses and broadleaf weeds start to grow. The risk for soil erosion also increases.;
And malnourished turfgrasses are more prone to damage from diseases and insects the damage is more noticeable and recovery takes longer.;
Best Lawn Fertilizer For Summer
Allyn HaneNews
If you are looking for the best lawn fertilizer for summer, this is the place to start. I give you the straight talk on what summer fertilizer to apply to each grass type and why.
Looking for a way to track your fertilizer usage? Get our free lawn app where you can keep notes and even upload pics of your lawn all along the way.This is going to be a 2-part series. The first part below is going to talk about how your lawn will respond to summer stress depending upon grass type, as well as give you 2 store bought summer fertilizer recommendations, and then the second part will later this week and will give you some more funky fresh options that we have available in our stores.
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Lawn Care Month By Month
You can also view our Lawn Maintenance Guideline for more information.
Sharpen mower; Cleanly cut grass is less susceptible to disease.Lime; Pelletized lime is the easiest to use.; Do not lime if ground is soggy.;Now.; OR
Clean up winter debris once the ground firms up.Start a new lawn;Use a starter fertilizer.; If you need to prevent crabgrass from seeding along with the grass, use an appropriate pre-emergent .; Now through May.OR;Wait until September.Mow weekly, 2½-3 high.; Dont cut off more than 1/3 of the blade at any one mowing.; Leave clippings if no disease is present and they wont smother the grass.Fertilize;Use a maintenance fertilizer.OR;Use a Step 1 product , before forsythia blooms drop, with a pre-emergent weed control if you need to control crabgrass and other annual weeds .
TROUBLESHOOTING;Check for snow mold damage.; Use a lawn fungicide if necessary.
Dethatch if more than ½ of thatch.;Now.OR;Wait until early October.Water 1 inch+ per week, including rainfall.; Best time is from 4 a.m. to 5 a.m. which allows blades to dry, minimizing disease potential.; Watering once a week for a longer period is better than more frequently for short periods, enhancing drought tolerance by encouraging deeper roots.Fertilize;Use a maintenance fertilizer.OR;Use a Step 2 product in late May or by June 15 if broadleaf weeds are a problem.
;Control broadleaf weeds.; A liquid broadleaf herbicide is most effective.
GLOSSARY
Heres What A Typical Weed And Feed Product Contains
Nitrogen , the first chemical listed, helps with plant growth. Nitrogen does a great job of promoting the green leafy growth of foliage, and provides the necessary ingredients to produce lush green lawns. Lawn fertilizers will frequently have a high first number for this purpose.; Weed and Feed generally has a high nitrogen level such as 28-0-3.
Phosphorus , the middle number, is very effective at establishing growth below ground, in the form of healthy root systems. It is also mostly responsible for flower blooms and fruit production.
Youll notice that these fertilizers are usually for flowers, plants and trees, not for your lawn and have a high middle number. You will generally see this product listed as 15-30-15.
Potassium , the last number listed, is for overall plant health. This is primarily due to its ability to help build strong cells within the plant tissue. In turn, the plants withstand various stresses, such as heat, cold, pests, and diseases. For example, fall fertilizers can have a high component of potassium with ratio of; 26-2-12.
The general rule is to use weed and feed early in the summer. Usually you want to apply by July 4th. Avoid using any fertilizer from mid July through August. Unless you have a serious weedproblem late in the summer, avoid using weed and feed and wait until fall.
The results will be dramatically better in September or October rather than July or August.
Apply weed and feed in the summer but do so with caution.
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Choosing A Grass Fertilizer
As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. That same axiom applies when you buy lawn fertilizers. You can go cheap and regret it, or pretend your lawn is the Yankee Stadium outfield and throw fiscal responsibility to the wind. Id like to think theres a middle ground. Lets focus on value rather than price.
Lets find a handful of lawn food gems that give your lawn an edge over your neighbors. But before heading to your favorite home retailer or buying online, have a clear understanding about what youre trying to accomplish.
Are you simply trying to green up your lawn? Is your goal to feed your lawn and control weeds or insects? Maybe youre starting a new lawn and want the best for those delicate little seedlings as they break ground? Are you considering a naturally organic approach to feeding your lawn?
Lets take a closer look at six top-choice options that will leave you feeling good about what fertilizer you pour into your spreader.
Apply Lawn Fertilizer With Care
Grass will benefit the most from lawn fertilizer when it’s applied correctly. First, do not fertilize right after you mow; wait at least two days after mowing. Second, use a spreader to apply it evenly and make sure it reaches all areas of your yard. Close the spreader hopper when stopping and turning so fertilizer doesn’t leak out in piles. Clean sidewalks and paths of any excess fertilizer to prevent it from washing or blowing into grass, resulting in burn spots.
The best time to apply your lawn fertilizer is in the morning when the grass is wet with dew, and you’re not expected to have rain for one or two days. Once you apply the lawn fertilizer, add at least a half inch of water within 14 days per Pennington Seed. This can be from rainfall or watering with a sprinkler.
Feeding your grass a regular dose of lawn fertilizer helps it stay healthy, strong and green all summer long so you can enjoy it as much as possible.
References
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Summer Lawn Care Tips
Through June, most weeds continue a very active growth phase. As the summer progresses, this changes. In July and throughout August, most weeds are slowing down or even stopping their growth.; The combination of less water available and light levels dropping back from their June peak will cause weeds to reduce any new growth.
A mixture of weed and feed with 2,4-D, dicamba,; onto leaves can take care of your weed problem.; Weed and feed products for broadleaf weeds are mixed products, though. They also contain nitrogen,; phosphorus, and potassium to promote a healthy lawn.
Best Time To Fertilize Your Lawn
Spring means more daylight and warmer temperatures. After a cold winter, this is the weather your grass is craving. If youre unsure of exactly when to lay down your first feeding, you can base it off of the temperature. Ideally, the ground should be around 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Depending on where you live, March to April is the best time to fertilize your lawn. Its also best if your yard is watered a few days before you want to apply the fertilizer, whether thats from rain or a sprinkler.
Fertilizer provides your grass with extra nutrients that help to prevent crabgrass and allow it to grow green and thick. To ensure youre laying the feed correctly, start around the perimeter of your lawn. Then, you can start filling in the middle. Similar to mowing your yard, you should go back and forth in straight lines. And you should always use a lawn spreader instead of your hands to complete the job.
Now that you know that spring is the best time to fertilize your lawn, here are some other helpful tips that will keep your grass thriving.
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Keeping Up With Fertilizing Schedules
You may love your lawn so much that you print out this blog post and hang it on your fridge. You could even set up reminders in your digital calendar to notify you when its time to fertilize for the season. But if you prefer an easier alternative, sign up for our Monthly Lawn Tips emails. Well send you an email each month with tips on fertilizing, mowing and dealing with pest or disease problems in your lawn.
Benefits Of Going Green
There are some advantages to using organize lawn fertilizers. Weve listed three of the more popular benefits that users of organic fertilizers will notice.
- Living Green Using organic lawn fertilizer will help the environment because none of the chemicals that are in regular fertilizers will be added to the soil and ground water.
- Food Tastes Better The fruits and vegetables you eat will taste much better when they come from gardens that have used organic fertilizers.
- Healthy Soil Using organic fertilizers will prevent the soil from becoming damaged. This leads to healthy lawns that look lush and green.
Using a lawn fertilizer, whether it is chemical based or organic will benefit your lawn in many ways. It can get rid of weeds, damaging bugs and take care of other problems that can keep your lawn from looking its best.
The first step in getting the right lawn fertilizer is knowing the challenges your yard is facing. Are there bald spots? Is it turning yellow in places? Is the color of the grass a pale, washed out green? Do you have a pest problem? Does it seem to not grow anymore? Any of these things and more can indicate a problem with your lawn. In most cases using a good quality lawn fertilizer can correct these problems and help get your lawn back on track.
The information in this buyers guide will help you understand the different kinds of lawn fertilizers so you can choose one that will work well with the kind of issues your lawn is facing.
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Water Deeply And Infrequently
Dry, hot weather can deplete your soil moisture. Moisture stress can lead to wilted grass blades, reduced shoot and root growth, and greater susceptibility to pests and weeds.
To combat this, you should water thoroughly about once or twice a week, so long as your region isnt experiencing any drought conditions that call for water restrictions. The water should reach 46 inches deep. If youre unsure, push a screwdriver into your soil. If you meet a lot of resistance, you need to water more. If it slides in too easily, you need to water less.
Its best to water your lawn in the early morning, before sunrise if you can. Thatll keep the sun from drying out the moisture before your lawn is able to soak it up. Pay attention to weather forecastsyou dont want to water too much on weeks when it will rain.
When And How To Fertilize New Grass
If you’re starting a new lawn from seed, sod or plugs or you’re doing bare lawn spot repair; a starter fertilizer helps grass get the perfect start. Unlike established lawns, new grass benefits from extra phosphorus, an essential plant nutrient that supports strong, deep roots. Some states only allow phosphorus-containing lawn fertilizers on new grass, so check with your county extension office;if you’re unsure.
On fertilizer products, phosphorus is the middle number in the N-P-K ratio; usually “0” in normal lawn fertilizers. But with Pennington UltraGreen Starter Fertilizer 22-23-4, you get an ideal ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, plus other essential lawn nutrients, including iron for deep green color. This premium fertilizer blend starts feeding new grass immediately and keeps feeding it for up to three months.
Always follow guidelines for the best time to plant grass;seed for your region and grass type, then fertilize accordingly. For seed or plugs, apply fertilizer with a regular lawn spreader;before you plant. If you’re starting a lawn with sod, fertilize after your sod is in place.
With any new lawn area, avoid using crabgrass preventer fertilizers;or weed & feed fertilizers;within four weeks before planting time. After seeding, wait until your new grass gets established and you’ve mowed your lawn;at least three times.
Weed & feed fertilizers kill tough weeds and feed your lawn.
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