Once the season has started, one of the first steps that should be done towards getting a healthy lawn is to fertilize. The nutrients will act as an alarm clock for the roots, waking the lawn out of it’s dormant stage and ready for Spring.
There are many different types of fertilizers that can be used on the lawn. If you are unsure of which type of fertilizer to use on your lawn you can start by doing a test on the soil to see if there are any nutrients that the soil is more in need of. You can buy DIY soil test kits at any gardening center or order on online.
The other main difference between fertilizers is organic versus inorganic. What makes these different is obvious of course, but organic fertilizers can come from a few different sources. Organic fertilizers can come from peat moss, ashes from wood, manure, or compost. If you like to especially green there are many good readings on how to make your own compost. Organic fertilizers will not burn or kill the grass, but there will be less nutrients in fertilizer.
Inorganic fertilizers are man- made and have chemical additives. The good thing about inorganic fertilizers is that nutrients are instantly absorbed into the soil, where as inorganic can take much longer to absorb down in to the root system. Inorganic fertilizers will include nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium because these three are essential to healthy soil. Some others will include other nutrients such as sulfur, magnesium, zinc, or iron.
The forms in fertilizers are different too. Many fertilizers come in a liquid form and others come in a pellet or granular. The liquid is more of an instant release of the nutrients but the granular act as a more time- released and absorbs deeper into the soil. Before deciding on any fertilizer go in to your local gardening center, or go online. Find out which fertilizer and it’s form is best for your lawn and for you. Starting early is also key. If you start early and stay on it then it will be much easier to maintain throughout the season.
