Those wonderful green lawns many homeowners care about so much can be made much more healthy if we put them on a diet. Overfeeding causes as many problems with lawns as it does with people. Fat lawns are not healthy lawns. Rather than go on about this problem, let me simply tell you about the research at the University of Guelph.
Researcher Christopher Hallfound there was a way to promote health in the lawn by the frequency of the fertilizer application and the amount of fertilizer applied. According the Hall, fertilizer for lawns should be applied three times per year. One quarter of the fertilizer being applied should be applied in early summer, (not early spring) when the ground warms up and the grass is beginning to really grow. Another quarter is applied in late summer, around the middle of August when the fall rains are promoting growth, and the last half of the fertilizer is applied at the end of November to fatten up the roots for winter survival. This application rate was found to create a much denser turf than applications at other times all species and cultivars of grass. It was particularly effective on perennial rye grass and tall fescues.
The next question is how much food does the lawn need? Chris Hall at Guelph found that the turf did better if only 2 pounds of Nitrogen per 1000 square feet was used over the whole season. From the above paragraph, it can be seen that 1/4 pound is applied in early summer, 1/4 pound in late summer and 1 full pound in late November for the healthiest, thickest lawn.
Overfeeding produces thatch and weakened grass that is susceptible to pests and disease. It is also more costly. So, put your lawn on a diet for a better lawn.
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About The Author Doug Green, an award winning garden author with 7 published books answers gardening questions in his free newsletter at www.gardening-tips-perennials.com. |
A common question that we receive is on lawn fertilization. There is quite a bit of urban legend wrapped around how much fertilizer to use, what type of fertilizer to use and when to use it. It is really a simple process that fertilizer companies like to confuse consumers over. The more you use, the more they sell, which means more profit for them. The over use of fertilizer can hurt your lawn, not to mention the environment. All you need to do the job right is a good fertilizer spreader and a little math.
For cool weather grasses, it is recommended to use a fertilizer with a 3-1-2 ratio. Some acceptable ratios would be:
3-1-2
6-2-4
15-5-10
21-7-14
Step one
Select your fertilizer type. What ratio of fertilizer should I use for my lawn? For this example, we selected a 21-7-14 fertilizer.
21-7-14
Step two
Find the square footage of your lawn/garden area. For this example we will use a 5,000 square foot area.
5,000 sq ft
Step three
How much fertilizer to use. Contact you local Master Gardeners or agricultural extension office to see what the recommend amount is. They will give you an amount of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet. For my area, the needed amount should be 3 to 4 pounds of nitrogen per year per 1,000 square feet.
Divide the needed amount of Nitrogen (4 lb Nitrogen per year, per 1,000 sq ft) by the percent of Nitrogen in the bag (21).
4lb nitrogen / 0.21 % nitrogen in bag = 19 lbs
Step four
Divide the square footage of lawn (5,000 sq ft) by the recommended application square footage (1,000)
5,000 / 1,000 = 5
Step five
Times the answer of step four (5) by the pounds of 21-7-14 per year (19 ..The answer of step 3).
5 X 19 = 95 lbs needed per year.
Step six
Divide the amount of fertilizer needed per year (95) by the amount of applications per year (2 time a year).
95 lb / 2 = 47.5 lbs per application.
So there it is in a nutshell. This formula will work for any garden/lawn area or fertilizer type.
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About The Author This article was written by Timothy Waggoner, owner and operator of the Yard Works Gardening Co. More articles can be found at : http://resources.ywgc.com |