When Should a Lawn Be Fertilized?
When Should a Lawn Be Fertilized?
Property owners all over the state of Alabama, and throughout the other surrounding southern states, are regularly searching for ideas on how to provide the best lawn care practices for their own thriving individual lawn. As a caregiver of your own piece of property, it is important to know the proactive practices that you need to do in order to give your lawn the best environment to grow, establish strong roots, and remain healthy, green, and attractive to everyone who visits your home or your business. One thing that you may be wondering is when is the best time of year to fertilize your yard.
Fertilizer acts like food for your grass. Some types of grass require more fertilizer than others, therefore, it is important to know what type of grass you have growing in your yard. Additionally, it is also important to know what types of nutrients are already present in your soil so you can determine what nutrients need to be added in order to provide for a balanced, healthy base for the grass roots. The best way to learn the condition of the soil that you have present is to conduct a soil test. Once you learn the condition of your soil, then you can make an educated decision about the best type of fertilizer to add to your lawn. We recommend having a lawn care company perform the soil test because they know exactly how to do the test and where to test the soil. They will also be able to provide specific recommendations for your lawn.
All throughout the country, lawn care experts recommend adding the first fertilizer application of the year to your lawn once the threat of winter’s frost has passed. In Alabama, this time is typically between March and April. It is most beneficial to wait until frost is no longer an issue, and it is also important to add fertilizer to grass that is already growing. One idea that many professionals recommend is to add fertilizer to your lawn after you have already mowed your grass at least 2-3 times, as the Spring season develops.
After the initial fertilizing treatment in the Spring, it is also beneficial for you to fertilize your lawn before the heat of Summer truly begins. This fertilizing treatment should be done in May or in the first few days of June. Warm-weather grasses will get “hungry” in the summertime, so it is important to prepare your lawn for the upcoming warm days of Summer with a robust fertilizer treatment. A slow release fertilizer will help your lawn maintain its health and beauty, all throughout the hot months of the year.
Lastly, as the cooler months of the year approach, it is important to prepare your lawn, but this time for the cool, almost-dormant months that are ahead of us. Have you ever heard the old saying that “3 times a charm”? If so, then this is a good general rule to remember when it comes to lawn care and fertilizer as well. The third fertilizer application of the year should take place around September or October.
As a property owner and lawn care provider, you will find that your lawn will thrive once you provide optimum conditions for the grass to grow. Fertilizing is an important step to take in order to provide the long-lasting, beneficial environment for your lush and mature lawn.