When used right, fertilizer can supercharge your lawn’s growth and give you a thick, lush grass carpet. But when used wrong, it can turn your landscape into a desert. So what are the common fertilizer mistakes to avoid?
One of the most common mistakes people make when applying fertilizer to their lawn is fertilizing at the wrong time of year. Applying fertilizer unevenly is another common mistake. Fertilizer can be an invaluable tool for keeping your lawn healthy and beautiful, and we’ll show how to do it the right way (and the mistakes to avoid).
Mistake 1: Applying the Wrong Nutrients
One of the most common mistakes homeowners make is using the wrong kind of fertilizer. You need to ensure you buy the right kind with the right nutrients for your lawn and garden plants. If your lawn is full of nitrogen but not enough potassium, you won’t be doing your lawn any favors by applying a nitrogen-rich fertilizer.
What To Do Instead: Perform a soil test before starting a fertilizer regimen. A soil test will tell you what nutrients are present in your soil and in what quantities.
Once your soil test has told you what nutrients your soil has, apply fertilizer that’s rich in what your lawn needs. You can easily tell what nutrients a bag of fertilizer has by looking at the NPK ratio.
The NPK ratio is the three numbers on a bag of fertilizer that tell you how much of the three main ingredients that bag has. Those three ingredients are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Each number is a percentage out of 100, so if a bag’s NPK is 10 – 10 – 10, the fertilizer is 10 percent nitrogen, 10 percent phosphorus, and 10 percent potassium.
To help you decide which fertilizer is right for you, read here: How to Choose the Right Lawn Fertilizer
Mistake 2: Overfertilizing
Another big mistake is applying too much fertilizer. Too many nutrients at once can do severe harm to your grass and can cause thinning, brown patches, fertilizer burn, or can even kill entire sections of your lawn. In addition, the nutrients can runoff and contaminate local water sources, or harm wildlife.
What To Do Instead: It’s surprisingly easy to overfertilize your lawn, mostly because fertilizer has more nutrients than homeowners think. For the sake of your grass and your garden plants, calculate how much fertilizer you need for one application and only use as much as necessary. A soil test can also reveal how much fertilizer your lawn really needs.
Mistake 3: Fertilizing New Grass Too Soon
When you put down new grass seed or sod, you may be tempted to fertilize at the first signs of growth. But if you fertilize too soon, you can harm or kill your new grass. Your grass is still establishing itself and developing its root system. The new growth will be tender and vulnerable to fertilizer burn as a result of premature application.
Note: This wait period does not apply to starter fertilizer. It’s still important to apply starter fertilizer when planting grass seed to help encourage germination.
What to Do Instead: Wait about four to eight weeks after planting your new grass seed for your first fertilizer application. In the case of grass sod, wait about one month for the roots to establish. After that, create a regular fertilizer regimen and stick to it.
For more information about fertilizing new grass, read here: Will Fertilizer Kill New Grass?
Mistake 4: Fertilizing at the Wrong Time
Another mistake to avoid is fertilizing at the wrong time of year. Different types of grass have different growing seasons, and it’s important to match your fertilizing schedule to the time your grass is actively growing.
If you apply too early, your grass will grow too quickly and therefore have a weaker root system and be more susceptible to pests and disease. Conversely, if you fertilize too late, your lawn won’t have the vital nutrients it needs during the growing season, which will weaken it.
What To Do Instead: Fertilize cool-season grasses in early fall (early spring is the second-best option). Fertilize warm-season grass in late spring or early summer.
It’s also important to use a consistent schedule when fertilizing. Depending on the type of fertilizer you use, you need to wait around six to eight weeks between applications. Fertilizing again too soon after an application can severely damage or kill your lawn.
For more information, check out this article: When to Fertilize Your Lawn
Mistake 5: Not Preparing Your Lawn Before Fertilizing
Another mistake homeowners can make is not preparing the lawn before applying fertilizer. If you don’t prepare your lawn, you can run into many different issues. The nutrients in your fertilizer will go straight to the weeds, for example, or the thick thatch layer might prevent fertilizer from reaching the soil.
What To Do Instead: To prepare your lawn, water the grass at least a day or two beforehand. Next, you need to mow the grass and deal with any weeds you can find. After that, adjust your soil’s pH balance to a level ideal for your grass type so that the grass can grow easier and therefore get the most out of the fertilizer. Check out our guide on soil amendments to learn which amendments will solve your pH problems.
If your lawn needs it, removing thatch (dethatching) and relieving compact soil (aeration) are two excellent ways to prep the lawn before fertilizing. Visit our guides When and How to Dethatch Your Lawn and How to Aerate a Lawn to learn more.
Mistake 6: Not Watering After Fertilizing
In addition to watering before applying fertilizer, you should also water after fertilizing. If you don’t water after a fertilizer application, the fertilizer will sit on the grass blades and be of no help to your lawn. It needs to get into the soil to be of use. Additionally, you risk fertilizer burn if you don’t water after fertilizing.
What To Do Instead: Water right away if you’re using a granular fertilizer since it requires water to activate. If you’re using liquid fertilizer, wait for about two to four hours before watering (always refer to the product label for watering instructions).
However, you also need to ensure that you don’t overwater after your fertilizer application. If you do, the fertilizer can wash away and be less effective.
Fertilizer can also contaminate your local groundwater if you overwater, or if your property is near a water source, like a lake or river, the fertilizer can taint that water source. Only give your lawn as much water as necessary.
Mistake 7: Applying Fertilizer Unevenly
Finally, a big mistake you might make during a fertilizer application is applying fertilizer unevenly. An even application of fertilizer is vital to avoid fertilizer burn and to prevent your grass from becoming patchy. If the fertilizer is uneven, your lawn will be uneven, too.
A big cause of uneven fertilizer application is hand spreading. Spreading fertilizer by hand is very imprecise. Spreading by hand can leave streaks on your lawn because it’s difficult to lay down an even coat.
What to Do Instead: Use a fertilizer applicator to spread your fertilizer evenly throughout the lawn. If you’re using a liquid fertilizer, use a sprayer. When using granular fertilizer, use a spreader. Inspect the applicator before applying to ensure it’s working properly, so that it can deliver an even amount of fertilizer to your entire lawn.
FAQ About Fertilizer
What does potash mean?
If you see the word “potash” on a bag of fertilizer, it just means potassium. They’re two names for the same nutrient. The word comes from a time when potassium was extracted from ashes in a large pot, thus making it “pot” “ash.”
How do I fix fertilizer burn?
To fix fertilizer burn, you need to remove the damaged grass as well as the leftover fertilizer. Then, water your lawn to flush out the remaining fertilizer and reseed your lawn to replace the damaged patches.
Is organic fertilizer or synthetic fertilizer better?
It’s mostly a matter of preference and what best suits your lawn. Both organic and synthetic fertilizers have their own pros and cons, and neither will be perfect for every type of lawn. Find out what your lawn needs most and select a fertilizer that will provide that.
Find Your Lawn Gurus
Fertilizer is a valuable tool for homeowners to keep their lawns looking sharp. But if used wrong, it can have negative effects on your landscape.
If you’re looking for lawn help, contact lawn care professionals near you. They’ll mow and fertilize your lawn so that you don’t have to worry about making mistakes.
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