Fertilizing Your Lawn

To produce lush, heavy deep green lawns You need to water and fertilize. Most lawn fertilizer com[positions are high in nitrogen. That's great to produce that nice green lawn but application directions must been followed correctly tp prevent burned lawns.

Nitrogen is needed for lush green top growth, but if you apply too much, especially during hot summer periods without watering it in, your lawn may actually get burned.

To apply the proper amount of fertilizer to a turf area, use a broadcast or drop spreader. Overlap of the appication can happen easily using a broadcast spreader. This causes an uneven appearance and patches of differebt colors and  thickness. A drop spreader will allow you to spread a consistant amount over a ontrolled area. The end result will appear much more even in color and fullness.

Various fertilizer options are available for lawns. Fertilizer compositions with less nitrogen and some phosphorous get the roots off to a good start. Some products are pure turf-grass fertilizers; others include broadleaf weed killer pellets within the mix. If you have only a small area to fertilize, you can mix dry fertilizer with water and apply the solution with a sprayer. This method of fertilizing is called foliar feeding. Some fertilizers are not designed to dissolve quickly in water and this method will not work for these slow release fertilizers.

You can also apply natural fertilizers. One such mix can be made by placing cow or chicken manure in cheesecloth and soaking overnight in a plastic bucket filled with water. Fill a portable sprayeror use a hose-end applicator to spread the liquid portion on to your lawn.

Applying a  fine-textured sifted compost allows the soil amendment to fall between the blades of grass and improve the plant base soil. Try using a drop spreader and apply it to an established lawn as a vializer. Top dressing with compost improves the soil and nourishes the grass at the same time.

If you wish to remain organic in your gardening tecniques you can use a product available in most areas made from sewage sludge. It normally only contains about 6 percent nitrogen and 2 percent phosphorous. It works well as a lawn fertilizer but not as quickly as higher-nitrogen products and with much less risk of burning.

Fertilizer should Be applied during 2 main periods

Apply during the cool season in late fall and late spring.
Apply during warm season in late spring or early summer

Be sure to fertilize along the edges of the lawn - walk at your normal pace.
Shut off the spreader when you get to the end of a strip.
As you work, overlap wheels to avoid striping
Never fertilize a dry lawn. If your lawn is drought-stressed or withered from dehydration, as opposed to merely dry, applying fertilizer at this time couls be harmfull.
If you are using a granular fertilizer, you must apply it to a dry lawn to keep it from sticking to the blades of grass and burning them - and then water it in.
Always water after fertilizing.
It is not a good idea to apply fertilizer during very hot periods.

Caring for Houseplants