Lawn Care and Fertilizers

Have you ever looked at a lawn, of a neighbor, in envy, does it look greener than yours, does it remain green for longer especially during periods of hot dry weather or do you just get the feeling that he is better at lawn care than yourself? To be blunt and truthful you have to accept that clearly you have no option but to learn a little about lawn care and the best way to create the perfect lawn is the correct application of suitable fertilizers.
Understanding the Need for Fertilizers
It is often surprising to discover how few people understand why you should apply fertilizers to a lawn. Even if they religiously feed the other plants in the garden the lawn is often overlooked. Many folk understand the need to water their lawn but they often, incorrectly, assume that this is all that is required. It is important to remember that your grass is a living plant and, just like all other things living, it requires sustenance to grow. For it to grow well your grass needs the correct blend of nutrients made available in sufficient amounts at regular intervals throughout the growing period. Garden fertilizers are a carefully blended selection of chemicals finely balanced for different purposes. The key constituents are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and below is a simple introduction to each.
Nitrogen, the most important element, helps your grass to grow and ensures that it grows with a nice green color. It helps the root system of your lawn to stabilize nutrients so that they may be used by the plant thus creating stronger and thicker shoots.
Phosphorus usually makes up around 4% of the fertilizer mix. In new lawns phosphorus helps in the germination process. Once your grass seed has germinated it helps promote the good development of roots. Without sufficient phosphorus your lawn will be less able to deal with colder weather and will struggle during drought conditions.
Potassium is used in the formation of plant carbohydrates. It helps create a lawn better able to withstand periods of drought and more able to stand wear. Potassium is easily washed away so it is important that it is added regularly.
Types of Fertilizers for the Lawn
Fertilizers are available with differing ratios of the above mentioned chemicals. Many plants require different amounts of nutrients during the different stages of it's development. Plants in bloom will require a different blend/ratio conducive to the good growth of flowers. If leaf growth is the goal then another ratio will be required. It is therefore important that you use fertilizers which have been designed for a lawn or, if one is not available, a general purpose garden fertilizer will suffice.
Fertilizers are available in granular or liquid form each having distinct advantages and disadvantages. Liquid fertilizer is more readily absorbed by your lawn and plants and made available almost instantly. On the other hand granular fertilizers take longer before they are made available but this can be extremely useful especially with purposely designed slow release fertilizer. Slow release fertilizers make the nutrients available slowly over a longer period meaning that a lawn does not need feeding as often.
Many gardeners give their lawns a top dressing in spring and finely grained dry fertilizers make giving your lawn a light dusting easy. Of course some granular types dissolve more easily than others (slow release are specifically designed to dissolve very slowly). So, if liquid fertilizer is not available or you consider it too expensive, you can dissolve a small amount into a two gallon watering can to give your lawn a sprinkling rather than a dusting. For those short of time there are a number of hose attachments available which release regulated amounts of fertilizer (usually a concentrated liquid type) into the stream of water so that feeding your lawn is as easy as watering it.
Organic fertilizers have always been popular with gardeners. Substances such as bone meal are easily mixed into the soil or can be applied as a top dressing and it naturally behaves as a slow release fertilizer. As demand increases it becomes easier to source organic alternatives to synthetic fertilizers.
Important Tips
It is extremely important that you wear protective clothing when handling any chemicals. Fertilizers can be very dangerous if digested or inhaled so wear good quality garden gloves and avoid spraying near the face, even better wear a face mask. It may also be advisable to wear some waterproof clothing which can easily be washed down, along with your garden implements, when you have finished.
If you are looking to discover more about lawn care visit http://www.landscapinginfo4u.com/lawn-care/index.php
http://www.landscapinginfo4u.com/ is dedicated to providing quality information about all aspects of landscape gardening. The author, Andrew Kelly, has been a keen gardener since his childhood and, now retired, he spends most of his spare time enjoying the hobby and writing about it.