A healthy lawn is a huge part of a beautiful landscape and a home's curb appeal. Whether you have a cool-season lawn or a warm-season lawn, new sod or established turf one thing is certain, with up to 1,000 grass plants per square foot of lawn fertilization is a must!
There are two ways to fertilize and achieve a green healthy lawn and beautiful landscape plants. You can do it yourself or you can hire a professional contractor to prescribe a maintenance program. Regardless of what you choose there are some things you should keep in mind when using fertilizers.
You should start by measuring the square footage of your lawn to determine the amount of fertilizer you will need. You should begin your fertilization program in the fall in order to promote healthy root growth. There are 3 basic ingredients in a well balanced fertilizer. Nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium are required to promote thick, dense grass that will resist disease and weeds. The label on the fertilizer bag will tell what percentages of these 3 basic ingredients are in the fertilizer. Example would be 20-10-5 which contains 20% nitrogen, 10% phosphate and 5% potassium, the remaining percentage is carriers such as sand. Your soil contains these nutrients naturally but during construction much of the nutrient rich soils are removed or disturbed and over the years the soil nutrients in landscaping around a home becomes depleted.
Experts recommend fertilizing your lawn two to four times a year depending on your climate, the type of grass you have and your landscape/lawn expectations.
• Early Spring
• Early Summer
• Late Summer
• Late Fall
For established lawns in Colorado, it is best to use the N value to determine what fertilizer to buy. For Blue grass/Ryegrass, a common Colorado grass, a recommended amount is ½ pounds of nitrogen per 1000 square feet of lawn in March and May and 1 pound in August and October. Read the instructions on the fertilizer bag for other types of grass.
The main thing to remember is, over-fertilization or misapplication does not help your lawn or landscape plants and can be very harmful to the surrounding environment. Careless application of fertilizers can cause pollution in streams, lakes, ponds and groundwater.
Other Tips to Remember:
- Nitrogen is what stimulates growth and greens up your lawn. The nitrogen content in your fertilizer will determine how often you will have to mow.
- Mow often with a sharp mower blade at a height of 2 to 3 inches leaving the grass clippings to mulch, providing extra nutrients equivalent to 1 to 2 fertilizer applications per year
- Consider Xeriscape or low maintenance landscape plants to decrease the need for fertilizers and watering
- Sweep over-sprayed fertilizers off sidewalks and driveways back into your yard and clean your spreader and equipment in your yard
- Lightly water your lawn and landscaping directly after fertilizing
- Avoid fertilizing on windy days or when heavy rains are expected, as this will wash away much of your fertilizer
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