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The Six Factors That Affect the Amount of Fertilizer to Apply to Your Lawn
Do you know how much fertilizer your lawn needs in a year? The fertilization recommendations are usually based on the amount of actual nitrogen required by your lawn in a year. Here are a few factors that will influence the amount of fertilizer you need to apply to your lawn.
1. The Type of Grass in Your Lawn
Different types of grasses require different amount of nitrogen to grow healthily. The common Bermuda grass will need about two to six pounds of nitrogen per thousand feet. On the other hand, the St. Augustine grass will need about four to five pounds of nitrogen per thousand feet. Note that this is the approximate amount of nitrogen needed per year.
2. The Actual Amount of Nitrogen in the Fertilizer
Different fertilizer packages contain different level of actual nitrogen. Some may contain 20% nitrogen and other may contain 33% nitrogen. If you purchase a hundred-pound fertilizer containing 20% of nitrogen, it means there are 20 pound of actual nitrogen in your fertilizer. A fifty-pound fertilizer with 20% nitrogen would have 10 pound of actual nitrogen.
3. The Size of Your Lawn
If you have not measured the size of your lawn, do it as soon as possible. This is an important number that you must know for many aspect of lawn care. In general, the larger the lawn, the more nitrogen it requires.
4. The Length of The Growing Seasons
Basically, when the length of the growing seasons increase, the nitrogen requirement also increased. If you live in a colder climate, the growing season tend to be short. This means your lawn will need less nitrogen. If you live in a warmer climate where summers are long and winters are mild, you will need more nitrogen for your lawn as the grasses have more time to grow.
5. The Type of Soil in Your Lawn
If your lawn soil is very sandy, you will need to apply more fertilizers as the nitrogen tend to leeches through sandy soil very quickly. In this case, you should use less fertilizer for each application but increase the number of applications. Alternatively, you can use slow-release fertilizers.
6. Recycling of Grass Clippings
If you leave your grass clippings on the lawn after each mowing session, you are indirectly adding nitrogen to your lawn. Freshly trimmed grass clippings are rich in nitrogen and other nutrients. When the grass clippings decomposed, the soil will absorb the nitrogen and other nutrients. Thus you can reduce the amount of fertilizers used for your lawn.
By taking into consideration these six factors, you should be able to derive the actual amount of fertilizers required for your lawn. Set up a fertilizing plan for your lawn. Observe how your lawn respond to your fertilizing plan and make adjustment accordingly. Over time, you will be able to achieve a lush green lawn with the optimum amount of fertilizers.
Jack Greenwood is the webmaster of GreenLawnCareTips.com which provide information on lawn care and easy lawn fertilizing tips. Sign up for your free 7-part Green Lawn Care mini course at http://greenlawncaretips.com today.
Source: www.ezinearticles.com