Growing season is into full swing these days. Plants everywhere are blooming and your lawn has woken up and started growing again. Now that it’s had a bit of a chance to come out of its winter slumber, you should fertilize your lawns around the end of May.
Why Should You Fertilize?
Plants are like people in that they need proper nourishment to grow. Plants are designed to pull water and nutrients from the soil. However, some areas may have become depleted over the years or had low levels from the start. Adding fertilizer is like a human taking a vitamin to ensure that they are getting everything that is needed to stay healthy.
What Kind of Fertilizer?
It is always a good idea to get a soil test every new growing season so that you can make sure that you are adding the proper nutrients. The laboratory will tell you what is in short supply. The three main nutrients that are on a fertilizer package are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The three numbers on front (written like 5-5-5) let you know the percentage of each nutrient that is included, in that order. Grass is always hungry for nitrogen, so your best choice of lawn fertilizer will include that.
How Much Do I Need?
The amount will vary depending on the product that you are using and the results if you had a soil test performed. You will need to have the square footage of your lawn handy as this will be involved in figuring out the amount to apply. The label will tell you how much to add for every 1000 square feet or similar measurement.
Need help in getting your lawn fertilized this year? We can help!
Image by warrenski under a Flickr Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
