Lawn Fertilizer: Where should you start?

Steps on laying it down:

• Water your lawn. Before you even think about opening that brand-new bag of fertilizer, water your lawn a few days in advance to confirm your lawn is prepared to take in the fertilizer.
• Select which spreader you will apply. Spreaders come in two categories: broadcast and drop. After you’ve made your decision on which spreader will best fit your lawn care needs, modify the spreader settings. Fertilizer products will have their own particular spreader settings to get fitting coverage.
• Soil Test Your lawn’s soil will have a special pH level that will control how the grass will use the elements in the fertilizer. Use a home testing kit to help choose which fertilizer will work best for your grass. After this, bring your soil as close to neutral as possible to ensure the most benefit from the fertilizer of your choice. The ideal pH range for growing hearty grass is between 6.0 and 7.0.
• Fertilizer Application Supply your lawn with fertilizer, by applying it similar to a mowing pattern. Walk back and forth in straight lines and slightly overlap with each pass.
• Water Lawn Again It is necessary that you water your lawn again, after you have fed it with fertilizer, to make sure that it push it into your soil. Watering your lawn after fertilizing will make sure that the fertilizer runs into your soil and let it to slide off of grass blades.
• Leftover Product Accurately save the leftover lawn fertilizer by putting it back into the bag and storing it for future fertilizing. Make sure to store it in a dry and cool place, away from children and pets.

Tips to Follow:

• Never apply any type of lawn fertilizer close to humid or wet habitats – streams, lakes, ponds, wetlands, and rivers. Failure to follow this step can form unwanted growth of weeds, and even algae. Try to stay at least 6 to 8 feet away from moist environments when spreading fertilizer.
• Invest some time to accurately measure the size of your lawn so you get plenty of fertilizer to cover it.
• If you fertilize only once a year, do it around Labor Day. This time of year is when your grass is needing it the most and it will respond best to the nutrients you apply it.
• Use organic fertilizers during the sunny days when the temperatures are high. Organic lawn fertilizers, specifically in warmth, strengthen the growth of soil microbes in most cases.
• Keep records. This should include what fertilizer you applied, how much, and the date.
• Make sure not to apply lawn fertilizer more than four times a year.

Best ways to use Fertilizer:

• Fertilizer and water Use the three-step method of water, fertilize, and water. It is crucial for your grass to get a second watering, as it gives a chance for the fertilizer to move from the grass blades into the soild. A different approach to this is to appoint fertilizing application between rainfalls so the rain can do the work for you. Although this method works, make sure you are not fertilizing before a downpour, or it can wash away the fertilizer. Also stay away from fertilizing when your grass has faded or browned from not enough moisture.
• Before or after Mowing? It is best to feed lawn fertilizer to a freshly mowed lawn, since you give it a few days to absorb the fertilizer. The best times to spread fertilizer are early spring, late summer, and fall. Mow the lawn and conserve some of grass clippings, as it releases nitrogen into the grass which is one of the three main ingredients of lawn fertilizers.