Proper lawn care is essential so that your garden can shine in beautiful green. This also includes fertilizing the lawn properly. If your neighbor's lawn always impresses with its lush green color, while yours grows pale and dry, this could be due, among other things, to incorrect spring fertilization of the lawn. So that you do everything right this time, we have summarized everything you need to know about lawn fertilizer in spring: when, how and what is the best way to feed your lawn?
Lawn care after winter – when should you start fertilizing your lawn?
After the long winter rest, in which the lawn did not require any special care, let alone growth-promoting nutrients, now comes the time when the blades need to be strengthened again in order to be able to begin new and, above all, healthy growth. But when should you fertilize the lawn? What temperatures are on?bestsuitable and should you wait for sunny, cloudy or even rainy days?
When to apply lawn fertilizer in spring?
In general, the first fertilizer application should take place after the first mowing. Depending on the weather, this can be as early as March or in April or May/June (in May/June for heavy soils with a high clay content), but this is mainly due to theThe temperatureof the ground arrives. It is important that the ground is no longer frozen. This means that if you want to fertilize the lawn, you can adjust it based on the temperature.
That also plays a roleType of fertilizerthat you want to use. Since organic fertilizer takes longer to decompose than mineral fertilizer, it is applied a month earlier.
In summary:
- light soils in March or April; organic fertilizer as early as February or March
- heavy soils in May or June; organic fertilizer as early as April or May
What is the best weather?
Moisture is important for optimal lawn fertilization, but you don't need to fertilize the lawn when it rains. Ideally it should be cloudy and humid and rain is forecast so that you don't have to water extra afterwards. Water is important so that the fertilizer can dissolve well. If rain is not expected, spray the lawn after fertilizing the lawn once or twice a week for at least 20 minutes each time.
Starting fertilizer for the lawn: mineral or organic?
Which lawn fertilizer is most optimal in spring is another important question when it comes to fertilizing the lawn in spring. In principle, you have a free choice when it comes to whether you use organic or mineral fertilizer. Organic fertilizer for lawns is generally the more preferred option, but this works more slowly because natural microorganisms are necessary in the soil, but they only start to work in warmer weather. Therefore, for startersimmediately effective mineral fertilizerthe better option to give the lawn an immediate boost. It's very popularBlue grain fertilizer for lawns.
Please remember that because instant fertilizers work so quickly, they also lose their effectiveness quickly (after four to six weeks).Long-term lawn fertilizeris the solution because it supplies the plants for a longer period of time.
So after applying mineral lawn fertilizer for the first time in the spring, you canswitch to organic fertilizer(in summer), which also has a long-term effect of several months. This also prevents accidental over-fertilization.
Find out more about the different fertilizersin this article.
Another reason not to overdo it with mineral fertilizers is that it also depletes the soil, as the lawn pulls everything out of it faster due to rapid growth. ASoil activatorfor the lawn can prevent this. This is nothing more than a fertilizer for the soil itself, so to speak, not specifically for the blades of grass.
Best lawn fertilizer in spring: The most important nutrient after winter
Nitrogen in particular promotes growth, which is why you should choose nitrogen fertilization for the lawn in spring. It also provides the beautiful, lush green. Generally, the three most important components (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) in the right fertilizer are composed in a ratio of 20-5-10.
Aside from that:
- with organic fertilizer you have tonotbe economical so that it continues to work throughout the summer
- Medium-heavy soils should preferably be supplied with organic fertilizer
Learn how to use coffee grounds to make fertilizer for your lawn,in this article.There are also other variants.
How often to fertilize lawns and how?
If you started caring for your lawn in spring (and specifically supplying nutrients), you no longer need to fertilize this time of year, unless you applied an instant fertilizer early. Then after a month and a half you have to fertilize again with slow-release fertilizer. On the whole, it is sufficient to fertilize the lawn three times a year (spring, summer and autumn). Depending on how fertilization went in the spring, maybe only twice.
If you use a spring lawn fertilizer with a weed killer, make sure that the soil of the lawn has been well moistened beforehand. This ensures that the product sticks to the weeds and can work. In this case, do not water immediately after fertilizing, but wait two or three days so as not to wash the product off straight away.
