Lawn Fertilizer Facts

Lawn Fertilizer Facts

The two most basic chemicals your lawn needs are water and fertilizer.

These two work together to give your lawn everything it needs from you. The rest it gets for itself. Even these, of course, may be supplied in other forms or from other sources, depending on the soil and climate.

One of the most common difficulties in proper lawn care is how much and when to apply either of these. To overcome those problems, though, is relatively simple.

Scotts and other commercial fertilizer makers have special preparations, with directions that show you how and when to apply the contents. Following the directions is about the simplest method for application.

Take care, though, to factor in specifics about your circumstances. Be sure to check the weather forecast for the upcoming 48 hours after the day you plan to apply. Some mixtures work best if they've been leached into the soil by a couple of hours of light rain or 15 minutes of sprinkler watering. Others will be washed away or diluted by that.

Applying the Spring fertilizer is best done as early as possible in the season. Clearly, if you live in an area where snow is still on the ground in May, you can't properly apply the compound with a spreader. But getting it down as early as possible has several benefits.

New seeds laid down the previous Fall will be starting to germinate. Giving them that additional assistance early will help them gain the most advantage over competing plants like crabgrass or weeds. Feeding early also helps when the mixture contains (as it frequently does) compounds which help fight lawn insects.

Japanese Beetle grubs and other insects destroy lawns. Most of them do this by feeding on the roots as the young shoots are sprouting when the insects are still in the larvae stage. Once they've begun that process, if not stopped right away, your lawn in that area