About Liquid Lawn Fertilizer
Using liquid lawn fertilizer is easy if you have a little background information. Your grass is just like you; it needs food, water and protection to survive. It is able to get most of what it needs naturally from your soil. Sometimes, though, you have to give it a little something extra. If your lawn is hungry, you need to feed it with fertilizer. Fertilizer contains all of the elements your lawn needs to thrive. If you over fertilize your lawn, however, you risk burning it. You should learn the basics of fertilizer before you buy anything.
Fertilizer comes in two basic types: granular and liquid. Granular fertilizer comes in big bags and kind of looks like it could be pet food. You spread it all over your lawn, either with a spreader or your hands. Granular fertilizer comes in slow release and fast release versions. The slow release version only needs to be applied to your lawn once every several months. The fast release version releases all of the nutrients directly into your lawn. This can be good for lawns that desperately need nutrients or lawns in cold weather, but you risk burning your lawn by applying too much fast release granular fertilizer.
Liquid fertilizer, on the other hand, does not come in slow release or fast release formulas. All liquid fertilizer is fast release. Liquid fertilizer comes in concentrated bottles. You hook one of these bottles up to your hose, then spray the hose all over your lawn. Anyone who is capable of using a hose is capable of applying liquid fertilizer correctly. As the water travels through your hose and then through the liquid fertilizer, the fertilizer is diluted to a safe concentrate for your lawn. Liquid fertilizer is not a long term solution. It makes nutrients available to your lawn in smaller concentrates than fast release granular fertilizer. Thus, there is less risk of grass burn but you need to apply more frequently.
When you buy your liquid lawn fertilizer, you may be able to choose between synthetic and organic. Synthetic fertilizers are manufactured chemically. They may penetrate your soil quickly but they don't last long. Some also believe that synthetic fertilizers are bad for the environment and unhealthy for you, your family and your pets. Organic fertilizers, as an alternative, are produced from once living organisms and their by products. Organic liquid fertilizers tend to break down more slowly and thus last longer.
All liquid fertilizers are comprised of three nutrients: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Nitrogen makes your grass green and helps it to grow sturdy and thick. Potassium helps toughen your roots and phosphorus also helps with the roots. When you buy your fertilizer, you will have to choose how much you need of each element. The fertilizer will be labeled with three numbers, representing the percentage of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the mix, respectively. In order to determine which of these elements your lawn needs more of and which it needs less of, do a soil test. In all likelihood, your lawn will not need the same mix of nutrients at every point during the year. The best way to treat your lawn with liquid fertilizer is to do regular soil tests and respond to changing environmental conditions. Using these tips, you can increase the health and vitality of your lawn while minimizing the risk of over-fertilizing.
