Now that you have flowing green grass growing, knowing exactly when to feed your lawn is actually a question in two parts: (1) What time of day is best to feed and (2) What times of year you should feed. Let's start with the easy one. The best time of day to fertilize is when the grass is dry. Fertilize the lawn, then water it to knock the fertilizer off the blades of grass and activate it into the soil. Don't fertilize on wet grass - as the grass dries, the fertilizer left on the blades can actually bum the grass in the hot sun.
Next comes the tricky part - what times of year you should fertilize. You've probably heard all the theories - fertilize in spring, fertilize in the fall, fertilize in both seasons. Well, these theories are right, and they are also wrong. Fertilization times truly depend on what type of grass you're growing. How's that for a non-answer? Thankfully, you can follow one general rule of thumb when determining when to fertilize. Fertilizing will be most beneficial before the period of active growth of your grass. For cool season grasses, this is usually in the spring and fall. Warm season grasses will benefit from a feeding in the late spring through the summer.
A spring feeding for cool season grasses, such as Kentucky bluegrass and fine fescues, will help the lawn green up for the season and gives the lawn time to grow before the summer slowdown. Having said that, fertilizing too early in the spring will encourage major foliage growth when the root growth can't keep up. Fertilizing too late in the spring (especially with a fast-release fertilizer) will encourage rapid growth right before the heat of the summer. During the hot summer, the grass may not be able to withstand the frequent mowing required, never mind the water required to maintain this new growth. A fall feeding for cool season grasses is recommended to promote the growth the grass will need to sustain itself during the winter. It will encourage a longer growing season, which will help the grass store up carbohydrates for a quick green-up in the spring.
Warm season grasses grow most during the summer, so generally you'll want to fertilize in the late spring and the summer. Be careful not to fertilize too late into the summer or into the fall. Feeding during these times promotes lush growth that may make your lawn more vulnerable to winter injury when the cooler temperatures of winter arrive.
How to Feed
Fertilizing is best done with a spreader. It's very difficult to use a hand-held crank spreader to accurately fertilize, so don't even think about it unless you have only a very small area to cover. As noted earlier, invest in a good spreader. A rotary or broadcast spreader will give you an even application and help you avoid unsightly green-up.
The package of fertilizer or your spreader instructions lists application settings for spreaders. The problem is that the fertilizer bag may not have a listing for your type of spreader or you've lost the spreader instructions. So, if you can't get the information necessary to set your spreader to the correct application rate, you'll have to calibrate it. It's not a fun thing to do, but it can save you a few bucks if you don't want to buy a new spreader. With all the things that can go wrong when you overfeed your lawn, you don't want to accidentally do it because your spreader wasn't adjusted properly.
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