When To Start Fertilizing Lawn

Determining The Best Times To Fertilize

Homeowners who prefer organic fertilizing methods might do a single “turf-builder” application in the early fall to build root systems. In the spring and summer, most may omit all fertilizers and rely on the nitrogen from mulched grass clippings to feed their lawn.

Homeowners using traditional fertilizer might want to apply two or three light applications per growing yearone in the spring, one at midsummer in regions where it is necessary, and one “turf-builder” application in the early fall.

The actual timing depends on your region and the type of turf grasses you have. For information on the best recommendations for your area, contact an expert at a local garden center or reach out to the nearest cooperative extension office.

Once you have figured out the best time, try to plan the fertilizer application with a short period of rainfall. If not, when you apply the fertilizer, you will need to supply your lawn with at least a quarter-inch of water. However, do not apply fertilizer before a massive storm. A rainstorm increases the risk of fertilizer nutrients flowing into storm drains and streams.

When Should I Start Mowing My Lawn And How Short Should I Cut It

Start mowing your lawn from mid to late spring so your grass has time to recover from winter conditions. Grass should be cut about 23 inches long in spring and 34 inches long in summer. Keeping your grass longer in the summer will give you a cooler, healthier root system, resulting in a greener lawn. Lawns with longer, thicker grass are also more resistant to various insects, weeds, and lawn diseases.

Mow your lawn a couple of times a week to prevent it from becoming too long . Try to avoid cutting your grass more than 1/3 of an inch at a time because it can damage the lawn. If your grass is really long, cut 1/3 of an inch a day until your lawn is at the desired length.

Mulch Your Grass Clippings

If youre tired of bagging grass while you mow, weve got good news. To help your lawn stay greener year-round, you can leave the grass clippings on your lawn. When grass clippings break down, they provide your lawn with beneficial nutrients. While you dont need to buy a new mower blade, it doesnt hurt to install a mulching blade so that the grass is cut into smaller pieces. Learn more about recycling grass clippings here.

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Environmental Factors That Impact Fertilization Timing

Respecting Maryland law comes first. But looking at timing based on the plant and the weather conditions is also important. For the most part, youre looking for that moment in spring when the days are getting longer and the grass is coming out of dormancy. That is the time for your initial lawn fertilizer application because you want the turf plants to be able to pick up those nutrients as they begin bursting with new growth.

Why Fertilize Your Lawn In Fall The Best Fall Month And Time Of Day To Fertilize

Summer heat is stressful on our lawns. Falls cooler temperatures provide the perfect setting for lawn to regain strength.

Fall is the best and most important time to fertilize your lawn because:

• Falls morning dew delivers moisture to help turf absorb the fertilizer.
• The grass has a chance to build stamina before a chilly winter.
• Supporting root growth in fall leads to a healthier, greener lawn in spring.

While fall is naturally good for feeding our lawn, you can deliver an extra oomph by fertilizing as best as you can, too.

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Learn When To Fertilize Your Lawn

Learning when to fertilize a lawn is crucial to keeping your lawn healthy all year round. Planning your lawn fertilizing schedule early will put you ahead of the game. It may be hard to imagine now, but in a few months the temperature will rise and the snow will melt away. Once the snow is gone, it will be lawn care season and time to start fertilizing and treating your yard.

Getting a jump on your fertilizing in the early spring will help ensure a beautiful lawn for the summer. Putting down that lawn fertilizer as early as possible is key! It is important to know when to fertilize your lawn in order to feed your grass the nutrients it needs and to keep your grass green and happy. The summer is too hot to use chemical fertilizer so be sure to avoid spreading fertilizer in the summer as you will only hurt your lawn. Plan when to fertilize your lawn in the late fall. This is the most important time of the year to fertilize and skipping it will not maximize your lawns health potential! Here are some tips and info on making a lawn fertilizing schedule for the year.

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.

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Using A Handheld Broadcast Spreader

A handheld broadcast spreader works well for fertilizing small lawn areas. Walk evenly and slowly, and be sure to overlap distribution patterns slightly with each pass. A small spreader like this also works really well when you have shady areas in your lawn that require a different fertilizer rate than the sunny sections. Some fertilizers combine an herbicide with the lawn food. These products are sold as weed-and-feed lawn care products and are applied using a lawn spreader.

Add More Lawn Fertilizer

Feeding your grass in spring with lawn fertilizer provides a boost of nutrients to kick off the growing season. However, your grass requires a few more feedings throughout the year to keep it healthy, strong and looking good. Your grass will make quick work of the lawn fertilizer you give it in early spring, so give it another feeding six to eight weeks after that first feeding.

Because your grass takes a beating during summer thanks to heat, insects, foot traffic and possibly less water, you want to fertilize in June, July or August. To determine a more exact time, plan to add lawn fertilizer between six and eight weeks after your feeding in late spring.

As summer winds down, your grass will start preparing for its dormant season, so adding lawn fertilizer will help it make that transition. Again, wait six to eight weeks from your summer feeding and then apply a fertilizer specifically designed for fall feedings. Talk with your garden center expert to find out what works best for your grass type and location.

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How To Fertilize The Lawn

Discover how easy it is to feed your turf with fertilizer. For best results, start with an easy and inexpensive soil test, which tells you how much fertilizer to apply and what formulation to use.

Follow the directions on the fertilizer bag most fertilizers are formulated to supply about 1/2 to one pound of nitrogen per feeding.

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Lawn Starter Fertilizer Vs Regular Fertilizer

Would you feed a newborn baby a slice of pizza? Of course you wouldnt. And obviously, thats a ridiculous question.

Because you know that babies have special needs. In order to grow and develop in the beginning, it is vital that they receive the nutrients they need from their mothers milk or baby formula.

Heres the thing, though. A lot of people do the equivalent of feeding a newborn a slice of pizza when they try to fertilize new grass.

How so?

They use regular fertilizer instead of starter fertilizer.

Both can provide plants with valuable nutrients, but they are not interchangeable. The nutrients they contain differ, and plants need each type at different stages of their life cycle.

Regular fertilizer contains a mix of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus at a 1-2-1 ratio. Thats great for established plants, but not so wonderful for seedlings.

In fact, the main ingredient in most starter fertilizers is phosphorous, which makes grass seeds much more likely to germinate and sprout. Many also contain quick-release nitrogen to assist in germination and the development of the seed. In other words, they are specially formulated for seedlings.

So, when do you add starter fertilizer to your new turf?

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When Should I Apply Pre

Pre-emergent prevents weeds from growing by killing seeds under the soil. To work properly, pre-emergent solutions need to be applied before seeds have a chance to start growingusually in mid or late spring . Applying pre-emergent in mid-April through May will help prevent pesky summer weeds from growing, including crabgrass. Avoid applying pre-emergent too earlythe chemical is generally effective for about 3 months after application. If applied too early, the chemical may lose its effectiveness during the heat of the summer weed season.

Do you need help with your lawn this spring? Give us a call at 801-226-2261 for a free quote and answers to your lawn care questions.

Can I Use A Starter Fertilizer For Grass That Is Established

Probably not. Although you can use a starter fertilizer for a lawn that is established, its better to use a well-balanced fertilizer designed specifically for grass that is established. The starter fertilizer might not contain all the required nutrients for continued growth and good health. It wont hurt the grass, but might lack the needed nutrients that a well-balanced fertilizer for continued lawn maintenance contains.

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When To Fertilize Cool

Fertilize cool-season grasses in early fall. These fertilizers are often sold under the moniker “winterizer fertilizer.” Many lawn care professionals state that cool-season grasses can get by with just one fertilizer application per year in the fall. The fall feeding is responsible for a quick green-up in spring. For most regions where cool-season grasses grow, apply fertilizer in October or November. Make applications before grass starts to discolor with the arrival of cold weather. Check with your local extension office or a reputable garden center to discover the proper timing for your region.

Cool-season grass types include fescue, bluegrass and perennial ryegrass. Cool season grasses grow best at temps of 60 degrees to 75 degrees in areas with cold winters .

Are There Circumstances Where You Shouldnt Use A Starter Fertilizer

When it comes to situations where a starter fertilizer for grass isnít required, Landschoot advises, In some cases, a 1- or 2-inch layer of good quality compost amended into soil before establishing turf will provide more than enough nitrogen and phosphorus for optimum establishment. This is certainly the case with bio-solids or manure-based composts which contain significant amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus, so a starter fertilizer is not needed.

You should not use starter fertilizer in areas where you cannot control runoff. Nitrogen and phosphorus from indiscriminate use of fertilizers have caused such great environmental concerns that about half the states in the U.S. have imposed some sort of regulations on fertilizer use.

If your lawn is not rich in natural organic matter, nitrogen plays an important role. Addressing soils that arent amended with organic materials Landschoot continues, In cases where soils are not amended with compost, nitrogen is almost always needed for rapid establishment. Our research shows a greater influence of nitrogen compared to phosphorus on the rate of turf establishment, so if you cant use phosphorus , an application of 1 lb. quick-release nitrogen per 1,000 sq. ft. will speed up seedling development.

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When Should I Start Fertilizing My Lawn In Spring

Start fertilizing your lawn in early spring after the snow melts . Granular fertilizer should be applied earlier so it has time to break down. Because granular fertilizer takes longer to break down, be sure to water well after using a granular fertilizer to help it soak in.

In contrast, liquid fertilizer can be applied a little later because it works faster than granular mixtures. Other benefits of liquid fertilizer include the following:

• A liquid approach allows for convenient mixing of fertilizer, lawn pesticides, and weed control chemicals
• Liquid fertilizer starts working almost as soon as its applied
• Controlling the amount of application is easier with a liquid solution
• Thoroughly treating the edges of the lawn is easier with liquid fertilizer

What Is A Lawn Starter Fertilizer

Starter lawn fertilizer helps your grass seedlings and sod roots establish rapidly in the soil, leading to a thick new lawn in a short period. Although various starter fertilizers for grass may differ slightly in composition, they all give the grass seeds and new sod the nutritional boost required for healthy germination and rapid root growth. They will usually have equal amounts of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. However, some types contain two parts of nitrogen and one part of phosphorous and potassium. There are both slow-release and quick-release formulations, with the latter delivering a quick green-up dose of nitrogen. It can be applied to all-new lawns, or to help bare spots recover.

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Your Last Two Fertilizer Applications Should Take Place In The Fall

Fertilizing your lawn in fall helps restore damage that was caused by the stress of summer heat, promotes nutrient storage for use in the winter, and supports healthy root growth, which creates a healthier lawn in spring. It is best to plan for two fertilizer applications between late August and November. Leverage winters severe weather to help get rid of weeds by also scheduling a weed control application in the fall.

If you have questions about your lawn fertilization schedule or weed control applications, contact the lawn care experts at LawnMatters.

What Should I Do After I Fertilize My Lawn

After application, the next steps should be clean up. Fertilizer that has been left behind could cause health risks to people, pets, and the natural environment. It is important that you take precautions to prevent mishaps. Fertilizer that has been left behind could potentially burn your grass, or runoff into storm drains. When loading your spreader, try laying down a tarp underneath to catch wayward granules.

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Nutri Lawn Ottawa Offers A Range Of Fertilizer Options

Traditional:Our traditional fertilizer uses a combination of slow and quick release fertilizers with a custom blend of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium.Organic:We offer organic fertilizers derived from all natural plant and animal by-products such as seaweed extract, blood meal, compost, manure, fish meal, and bone meal. Organic fertilizers provide a slow consistent release of nutrients over months which reduces the potential for streaking or burning.Polyon: Polyon fertilizer is specially designed for season-long performance. A patented polyurethane membrane in each capsule releases the nutrients slowly and consistently for predictable feeding during the growth season. The Polyon fertilizer used by Nutri-Lawn Ottawa is specially designed for the Ottawa climate and soil conditions to ensure your grass gets exactly the nutrients it needs.The lawn care experts at Nutri-Lawn Ottawa are here to help you ensure your lawn grows thick, green and healthy, and we are happy to tackle all of your lawn care issues. Contact us if you are looking to create a lawn youre proud of and will enjoy all summer long!

Fertilizing Your Lawn Tips

Be careful not to use spring fertilizer in the autumn and vice versa. Specific lawn feeds are made up of different nutrition for your lawn and need to be applied at the right time of year. Ideally, dont pick up a cheap fertilizer that is too high in nitrogen as that wont keep your grass looking great long term. Make sure the fertilizer is a balanced mix of nutrients, and the application is easy for you to do.

We have a wide range of fertilizers. If you would like to speak to someone in store about which to choose, please speak to one of our friendly team members who will be able to advise you.

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