Saturday, November 8, 2008

Fertilizing For Beginners


There are a lot of good reasons to fertilize your lawn:

  • Keeps it healthy
  • Prevents disease
  • Aids in the recovery of damage caused by foot traffic and animals
  • Replaces lost nutrients
  • Helps it maintain a vivid green color
  • Promotes growth

The most important reason of all this is the ability to checkmate weed growth, this in turn saves you a huge amount of time as well as expenses which would ordinarily be incurred trying to get rid of them later on.

Two essential kinds of fertilizer are considered necessary to use in order to attain the goals of having a lush and healthy lawn:

Liquid Fertilizer tends to be fast acting and is usually absorbed quickly, while it is rather easy to apply, it tends to need reapplying at least every three to four weeks throughout the growing season.

Granular Fertilizer tends to work rather slowly and may a bit more difficult to apply, this usually means that you have to spread it across the whole lawn and water it for it to take effect. It tends to come in two main kinds:

  1. Quick Release, which lasts about a month and is water-soluble
  2. Slow Release, which can last between 8-12 weeks and is considered water in-soluble.

Despite the nature of fertilizer which you would rather use on your lawn, all kinds of fertilizer essentially contain three main ingredients:

  1. Nitrogen to promote leaf production and a rich vivid green color.
  2. Phosphorous to promote root growth
  3. Potassium used to help promote a good root system development and prevent disease.

Whenever you're buying fertilizer you should ensure that the respective percentages of each kind of fertilizer matches the particular requirements of your precise grass type as well as the climate. You can make this determination by looking at the back of seed bags or asking your local nursery for the right suggestions.

Other than these three essential ingredients which are listed here, a number of fertilizers also tend to contain a weed control or weed killing element as well.

Pre-emergents are utilized in order to prevent the growth of any form of weed and they should be applied before they start to take hold of your yard.

Post-emergent may be used in killing weeds which have already taken root in your yard. They also do not harm the grass as well as other plants.

In order to find the best fertilizer in your yard, you should consider the following advice:

  • Know Your Grass Type. Different grasses react differently to different fertilizers, you should ensure that your fertilizer matches your grass type.
  • Test Your Soil for its PH Level. This will assist you in choosing the right fertilizer to complement the natural chemical balance of your soil.
  • Determine Your Lawn Size. Choosing the right fertilizer is the primary step, using the right amount of fertilizer is also an essential factor in getting the job done properly.

Fertilizing a lawn shouldn't be a complicated task. All it takes is some amount of work and a small amount of knowledge. The most important thing is finding the best kind of fertilizer which works well with your kind of grass and to use it in the right amounts in order to get the best results.

Article Source by Guy_Starbuck

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