When Should I Feed My Lawn

How Do You Know If Grass Seed Is Germinating

The label on a grass seed package provides important information, including the germination rate. A rate of 90-95% is preferred, but some grass varieties will typically be found in the 80% range. The higher, the better. An 85% germination rate means that if you plant 100 seeds, 85 of them should sprout and grow.

Where And When Should Fertiliser Not Be Used

You should not use fertiliser meant for use in the spring in the autumn or winter months spring fertilisers encourage plant growth which is not needed in the winter months where the harsher temperatures and weather conditions can damage any new plants. Always make sure you are using the right sort of feed for the time of year. There is also no real need to apply fertiliser to frozen ground or very dry ground as it will not be absorbed properly. When applying fertiliser you should be careful to not allow fertiliser to enter water sources like rivers or lakes as this can be harmful.

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When To Fertilise The Lawn

We suggest you fertilise your lawn twice a year, with the best times being early spring and autumn. Most lawn grass varieties cant handle the cold weather very well, and fertilising session during early spring can help the grass sprout and thrive once the season comes.

However, if you or the gardening company you hire do the job right, you can get away with feeding your lawn only once in autumn to prepare the grass for the winter season.

Still, defining the best time to fertilise a lawn in Australia could vary depending on where you live, whats the climate like and what kind of health your lawn is currently in. For the most part, though, it isnt about how often you fertilize its really about the amount of nitrogen that youre applying to your lawn.

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When To Fertilize Warm

When to fertilize depends on what kind of grass you have. You want to time fertilizing so it occurs just before grass enters its peak growing phase. If you live in southern areas where lawns feature warm-season grasses, fertilize turf in late spring or early summer, just before grass kicks into high gear. Make a second application in late summer. If your warm-season lawn goes dormant in winter, don’t fertilize after the first of September.

Warm season grass types include bahia, Bermuda, St. Augustine, centipede and zoysia. Warm season grasses typically thrive in frost-free areas and grow best at temps of 75 degrees to 90 degrees.

What Do You Do To Your Lawn In Autumn

Autumn lawn care guide

What should I do to my lawn in September?

Why is it important to feed your lawn in autumn?

Autumn lawn feeds will be low in nitrogen, as we dont want to encourage any top growth, which can be soft and easily burnt by frost. Feeding in autumn helps encourage strong root growth, so your lawn will recover quickly from a harsh winter and put on lush green growth in spring.

How often should I Feed my lawn in the summer?

Feed throughout the summer at 6-8 week intervals, weather permitting. Your lawn needs another type of feed come the autumn, which will keep the grass growing at a slow rate and not so lush, but still green. Also it prepares your lawn for the winter, by building up the roots and health of the grass to withstand the cold.

When to start treating your lawn for winter?

After a long summer of getting some great use out of your garden lawn, it is time to start preparing your lawn for winter with some autumn lawn care. Autumn is the perfect time of year to start again with your lawn treatment and go right back to the bare bones, this is because the soil temperature is still warm enough to stimulate grass growth.

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How To Mow The Grass After Weed & Feed Treatment

In principle, you can mow the lawn 24 to 48 hours before applying any weed and feed product. Or else, you can delay the mowing and wait and mow the grass 24 hours after using the product. First, however, still, keep the product instructions in mind.

This enables the product to soak into the ground and start acting before any flora damage that could decrease the ability of the weed to take up the product.

Always mow the grass at the correct height for the type of grass you are cutting. When you mow, try not to remove more than one-third of the grass at a time.

Additionally, if you have seeded any spots in your lawn, avoid using weed and feed to those areas because the herbicide will prevent the grass seeds from germinating.

Determining The Type And Amount Of Fertilizer For Your New Grass

Since the fertilizer you choose should be based on soil makeup and growth area, start by learning those two things.

Measure the square footage of the new grass youre trying to grow in order to determine how much fertilizer you need to purchase. Then get a soil test done to learn which nutrients are present in your soil and which ones youre lacking.

Having a soil test done may sound complicated, scary, expensive or all three, but its actually really easy. In most areas, there are a number of options available to you. Texas A& M even allows you to send in soil samples and get results back!

Once you know the makeup of your soil, you can determine which fertilizer ratio is best for your lawn. Many homeowners discover that their lawns already contain enough phosphorous and potassium and opt for nitrogen-only fertilizer.

If you do use phosphorous, be careful. Phosphorous levels can easily build up too much in soil, resulting in runoff that ends up in surface waters. This is bad for the environment because it can harm fish habitats and increase algal blooms.

Some homeowners are also looking for advice on choosing an eco-friendly fertilizer for your lawn. As more options become available, organic fertilizers have grown in popularity as individuals are working to find a balance between growing and maintaining a healthy lawn and minimizing the use of chemical products on their property.

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Granular Fertilisers Versus Liquid Fertilisers

Ah, that old chestnut Which is better: granular or liquid lawn feeds?

Well, the jury is out, tbh its more to do with personal preference, really. However, heres our handy, balanced, ready-reckoner to help you decide which is best for you.

Granular fertilisers are usually cheaper than liquid fertilisers. The results of liquid feeds are generally more rapid, but the effects last for a shorter period than granular feeds.

MOOWY granular fertilisers are mainly slow-release but show results in around 7-10 days. However, they keep feeding your lawn for about 60 days, so you dont need to feed as often.

You can walk on your grass straight after application with our granular feeds. Some liquid feeds need to settle for a couple of days before you can walk on the grass otherwise, you risk burning the leaves, leaving black footprints on your lawn.

Fertilizers Help Prevent Crabgrass

A few of the most effective ways to prevent crabgrass include applying preemergent herbicides, mowing higher than normal, and fertilizing. These methods are especially useful for turfs with clay soil. These steps will increase the amount of oxygen and water in your lawn, allowing it to grow thicker and healthier. Bermuda grass is one type of lawn that requires a good amount of fertilizer. A time-release fertilizer will help control weed growth as well.

Applying a pre-emergent herbicide in the spring will discourage the emergence of crabgrass. This product forms a protective barrier on the soil. This method is best applied in February, when the crabgrass isnt yet visible. These applications are important, as the effectiveness of the product depends on the amount of rainfall, timing, and sunshine during the growing season. Applying them properly is the best way to prevent crabgrass from re-growing.

Fertilizers help prevent crabgrass by killing weed seedlings and other weeds. There are many commercial products on the market with a name or trade name related to crabgrass, but most of them have the same purpose to control weeds. The most common types of fertilizers used by homeowners are granular products. The active ingredients in these products are pendimethalin and dithiopyr.

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How To Feed Your Lawn:

Instructions:Bonus fertilising tips:

Tip #1:Except regular feeding, your lawn needs watering. Unless you live somewhere that gets very little summer rainfall, like Perth, you can get away without a watering system.

Whether youre using the old school method of watering with a hose and a sprinkler, or you have a new fancy watering system installed on your lawn, we advise you to spend more time and water your lawn thoroughly. Grass reacts better to thorough waterings, rather than frequent showers. This, in turn, makes the roots of the grass grow deeper.

Tip #2:The best product to fertilise with is agood slow release fertilizerwith a wetting agent. Slow release fertilisers wont burn your lawn and it will keep working for a duration of two to three months.

Tip #3When the grass gets too thick, nutrients and water cant penetrate all the way down to the roots where they are most needed. Thats when you should think of aerating your lawn. Learn more about lawn aeration here.

Dethatch Before You Overseed

A thick layer of thatch forms a barrier between the grass and the soil. If you spread grass seed on a lawn with heavy thatch, the seed will not reach the soil. Without soil contact, your grass will not sprout and establish itself. Check the thatch layer in your yard and dethatch if necessary before seeding.

• Thick thatch prevents grass seed from reaching the soil where it can root.
• Rent a dethatcher or power rake to remove thatch buildup before overseeding.
• Thatch soaks up water and fertilizer, robbing nutrients and moisture from the soil and grass seed.

In addition to preventing your grass seedlings from taking root, thick thatch also acts like a sponge, absorbing water and fertilizer before it can penetrate the soil. Fertilizing on thick thatch will be far less effective. Removing thatch prior to overseeding helps you deliver more lawn starter fertilizer to your grass seeds.

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Let Abc Nurture Your New Grass For You

Does implementing a year-round fertilization schedule sound like a lot of work? It can be if you do it all on your own. Plus, there are many ways that you can make a mistake, which will put you right back at square one. Avoid these problems by letting ABC Home & Commercial Services do the hard work for you. Our professional lawn care technicians have been keeping lawns all across the south looking their best for generations, and we can help your yard, too. Schedule a service today.

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Rotary Spreader With Fertilizer

Tip: Before filling the hopper of a rotary spreader, make sure its closed. Also, consider filling the hopper over a tarp so you can easily gather any spilled fertilizer.

©Scripps Networks, LLC

Scripps Networks, LLC

Tip: Before filling the hopper of a rotary spreader, make sure its closed. Also, consider filling the hopper over a tarp so you can easily gather any spilled fertilizer.

Nitrogen is every lawn’s most important ingredient, and each type of grass demands different amounts to display peak growth and performance. How often you fertilize affects not only lawn appearance, but also maintenance level. The more you fertilize, the more you’ll have to mow, for instance.

More: How to Choose the Right Fertilizer

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It Is Best To Mow Afterwards

Weeds have a larger leaf surface area for the herbicide to cling to when they are actively growing and before mowing them. Nevertheless, there are two primary categories for the products: weed and feed. The first is for grasses that grow during the cool season, and the second is for grasses that grow during the warm season.

The latter kind is typically labeled as a southern weed and feed product. Therefore, carefully read the warnings on the products label before applying it to any particular type of grass.

Why Seed And Feed In The Fall

Wondering when to plant grass and fertilize your lawn? Fall is the best time. The autumn season comes with a mix of warm soil and cool air, perfect for planting grass seed and allowing time for new grass roots to develop before winter sets in. It is also a good time to fertilize to build stronger, deeper roots for winter, resulting in a thicker, greener lawn next spring.

Depending on your lawns condition, here are a few simple ways to take advantage of ideal fall conditions for seeding and feeding.

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More On How To Feed The Lawn

• How to Feed the Lawn

  A once a year lawn feed is great for the grass and quick to apply. These long lasting fertiliser products feed for up to 6 months from spring to autumn.

• How to Feed the Lawn

  A Spring and Autumn Fertiliser treatment is the standard for lawn care and provides optimum nutrients for healthy green grass all year
• How to Feed the Lawn

  This lawn fertiliser programme creates beautiful green grass from spring to autumn and into winter using slow release granular and liquid feeds.

• How to Feed the Lawn

  Ferrous or iron sulphate is the active ingredient in moss killer and as part of a Winter Feed produces deep green grass with only minimal growth

• How to Feed the Lawn

  Ferrous Sulphate is great for grass. From greening in the summer to protecting in the winter and killing moss in spring it’s the perfect lawn treatment
• How to Feed the Lawn

  Just getting the timing and conditions right for feeding the grass can turn a sad looking lawn into a dense green carpet of grass!

• How to Feed the Lawn

  Too much lawn feed can burn the grass or cause rapid growth. Here is a simple guide for green grass without excessive mowing.

• How to Feed the Lawn

  The soil in your lawn controls the amount of fertiliser, air and water to the grass roots, therefore sandy and poor soils should be fed more than clay soils

How To Apply Lawn Fertilizer For Best Results

Whenever you apply fertilizer, always follow best practices for fertilizer safety. For best results, mow your lawn one to two days beforehand. Then set your spreader to the setting recommended on the product label.

• For drop spreaders, start with two strips across your lawn’s ends. Then work back and forth, overlapping each swath slightly.
• For broadcast spreaders, start on the outside and work in, overlapping slightly as you go.

Always shut the hopper when you stop and turn to prevent a fertilizer pile. When finished, sweep excess fertilizer off hard surfaces, such as sidewalks and driveways, to avoid iron stains and fertilizer runoff.

By following these lawn fertilizer tips, you can keep your grass at the peak of performance, beauty and health. At Pennington, we take pride in providing you with the best in lawn fertilizers and expert advice to help you have a lawn you’re proud to own. Stay connected with our email newsletter for accurate, timely tips and offers to help you make the most of your lawn and home.

*dollarweed, clover, henbit and chickweed

Always read product labels thoroughly and follow instructions, including specific guidance for your grass type.

Pennington is a registered trademark of Pennington Seed, Inc.

UltraGreen is a registered trademark of Central Garden & Pet Company.

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How Often Should You Fertilize Your Lawn

Fertilizer is a convenient and helpful tool that is beneficial to homeowners and their lawns. It helps speed up the growth process while keeping your grass healthy, making things easier for you. However, it can do more harm than good if not used properly. Knowing how often you should fertilize can prevent you from overdoing or under-doing it and ending up with poor results and prolonging the process. Chorbie is here to help you fertilize effectively, making your lawn beautiful.

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How To Apply Lawn Fertilizer

There are several ways to apply lawn fertilizer. Using a spreader provides more even coverage than fertilizing by hand. Hand fertilizing often results in burns where the fertilizer is concentrated and pale areas that dont get as much fertilizer as they should.

Broadcast or rotary spreaders are easy to use and dont cause striping like drop spreaders. The advantage to drop spreaders is that there is no chance of overthrow getting fertilizer on streets, sidewalks, or driveways. With a drop spreader, you have to make two trips over the lawn at right angles. For example, if you make your first trip over the lawn in a north-south direction, the second trip should run east to west.

After applying the fertilizer, water the lawn thoroughly. Watering rinses the fertilizer off the grass blades so that they wont burn, and it allows the fertilizer to sink down into the soil so it can get to work. Keep kids and pets off the lawn for the amount of time recommended on the label, which is usually 24 to 48 hours.

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