You might know some people who leave their lawns to Mother Nature. They love it when the grass is emerald green and lush thanks to abundant sunlight and rain. If a dry spell leaves their grass a little wilted, they don’t stress over it. They never fertilize. But you might take a different approach. You water your lawn regularly, and you want to fertilize it to keep it beautiful and healthy. However, you might not know just how to properly fertilize your lawn. Here are the basics of lawn fertilization.
Know What Kind of Grass You Have
First, you need to know what kind of grass you have. Basically, there are two types of grass. There’s warm-season grass, which flourishes in warmer weather, and cool-season grass, which flourishes in cooler weather. This determines the best time to fertilize your lawn. Fertilize warm-season grasses in late spring and all summer, and fertilize cool-season grasses in early spring and then again in the fall.
Fertilize With Care
Perhaps one reason your neighbors don’t fertilize their lawn is that it can be a little arduous, especially if their lawn is large. The work it takes to fertilize a lawn happens even before you buy your bags of fertilizer. Here’s what you need to do.
- Clean the lawn up and mow it. A few days before you fertilize your lawn, remove all debris, lawn furniture and toys, then mow it. Remember that you shouldn’t mow a grass blade more than one third of its height, or you risk traumatizing it.
- Measure the lawn. This is probably the most fiddly part of fertilizing your lawn. You’ll need to figure out your lawn’s square footage, then subtract the square footage of your house, your driveway and your hardscaping. This helps you buy the right amount of fertilizer.
- Rent a spreader. There are two basic types of spreaders. If you have a big lawn, a broadcast spreader is best. If your lawn is a postage stamp, a drop spreader works best. You can rent a spreader from a garden center. Make sure to fill up the spreader on your driveway or walkway so clumps of fertilizer don’t fall on the grass and burn it.
- Spread fertilizer like you vacuum your house. Walk steadily with the spreader, and overlap the passes as you’re told to overlap the passes when you vacuum a carpet.
- Water. After you apply the fertilizer, water it in lightly. This will start the fertilizer working, and stop it from burning your grass. Make sure you brush leftover granules from your driveway or walkway into the grass to prevent them from contaminating the groundwater.
Fertilizing your lawn does much to keep it strong and gorgeous to behold. Ask your lawn care expert for more advice. If you live in Lawrence Township, NJ or a surrounding area and need lawn fertilization services, make your first call to Princeton Turf Care.
