Don't apply fertilizer on an abnormally hot day, even in the morning. Wait until the weather cools back to a normal temperature. You can mow the grass at any time after fertilization with a granulated treatment. With a liquid treatment, wait a day or two.
Spring means more natural light and warmer temperatures. After a cold winter, this is the weather your lawn craves. If you're not sure exactly when to make your first meal, you can base it on temperature. Ideally, the ground should be around 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
Depending on where you live, March to April is the best time to fertilize your lawn. It's also best if you water your garden a few days before applying the fertilizer, either by rain or through a sprayer. Fertilize cold-season grasses in early fall. These fertilizers are often sold under the name of fertilizer for the winter.
Many lawn care professionals say that cold-season grasses can get by with just one fertilizer application per year in the fall. Autumn feeding is responsible for a rapid color change in spring. For most regions where cold season grasses grow, apply fertilizer in October or November. Do the applications before the grass begins to discolor with the onset of cold weather.
Check with your local extension office or an accredited garden center to find out the right time for your region. The best time to fertilize grass is in spring, when the soil temperature, not the air temperature, reaches 55º Fahrenheit. You'll know when the earth warms up to 55º because the lilacs will start to bloom and the grass will start to grow. Most people apply one dose of lawn fertilizer in spring, followed by one or two more applications during the growing season.
If you're going to fertilize your lawn, don't do it too early in the season. The best time for that first application is in late spring, just when the green grass begins to grow with enthusiasm. In early spring, the herb invests energy in root development. If you apply the fertilizer too early, it will divert energy from the plant to leaf development too soon.
Deciding exactly when to apply lawn fertilizer depends on where you live. According to Scotts, you should apply lawn fertilizer between February and April, when the grass starts to turn green and begins to grow actively. Basically, if it looks like your lawn is ready for its first cut of the season, then it's ready to be fertilized. How often you fertilize depends on your climate and the type of grass you have.
In general, you'll want to fertilize your lawn during its peak growing season, which is during the fall for cold-season grasses and spring for the warm-season grasses. As a general rule, grass should not be fertilized when it is inactive. The grass can lie idle when it's too cold or too hot. At the cold end of the spectrum, you should ensure that the air temperature is consistent at 60 degrees Fahrenheit or warmer.
This will ensure that your lawn comes out of dormancy in spring and that it doesn't yet go dormant in the fall. Whether or not you should use fertilizer on your lawn depends on your position in terms of organic or low chemical impact gardening practices. And what complicates the problem is that if lawn fertilizer isn't applied correctly, it can actually do more harm than good. You'll also want to fertilize your lawn in late spring or early summer, just before the season's high temperatures hit.
Weeds, on the other hand, may be in your lawn waiting to be fertilized to start cultivating your lawn. Lawn fertilizer is like grass food, providing it with the nutrients it needs to grow and maintain its green, healthy glow. Supporting root system health with spring fertilization prepares your lawn for the stress of a hot summer. In spring and summer, most can skip all fertilizers and rely on nitrogen from mulched grass clippings to feed their grass.
In most parts of the country, that means the first application of lawn fertilizer should take place in mid-April. Apply fall lawn fertilizer once between August and November, just before winter arrives, 6 to 8 weeks after summer feeding. To determine a more accurate time, plan to add lawn fertilizer six to eight weeks after feeding in late spring. You probably know that fertilizing in early spring and fall are key steps to achieving a thriving and healthy lawn.
Most turf experts recommend a gentle dose of a turf construction fertilizer formulation in early or mid-fall, while turf still has several weeks of active growth before remaining dormant. Today I'll talk about how you can balance the reality of wanting to fertilize early and at the end of the season, with the science behind how cold temperatures affect the way lawns use fertilizer. Traditional chemical lawn fertilizer remains the most popular choice and is widely available in hardware stores, large home improvement centers, and garden stores. The best time to apply lawn fertilizer is in the morning, when the grass is wet from dew and isn't expected to rain for a day or two.
Feeding your lawn with a regular dose of fertilizer helps it stay healthy, strong and green all summer long so you can enjoy it as much as possible. . .
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