One time-honored lawn care truism is that fertilizing your lawn is an essential step in getting ready for the growing season; and certainly, fertilizing should be done. After the long winter, your grass is hungry and fertilizing it strengthens the roots so that the grass can grow and withstand people walking on it all summer long. Still, one of the questions that remains is, exactly when should you be fertilizing your lawn in the Spring?
A useful feeding calendar is the Scotts Fertilizer Schedule, although be wary of following it to a tee. The schedule Scotts details is more frequent than you need. You really just want to make sure that you feed your lawn in the late spring, before the heat of summer arrives. It is important that you avoid feeding your lawn early in the Spring, and there are a couple of reasons for this. First, you want to make sure that you are fertilizing after there is no risk of more snow fall. Second, in early spring there are still remaining vestiges of fall fertilizer. At the same time, you don’t want to feed your lawn after it’s gotten green or covered in thatch. The bottom line is that while the Scotts Calendar is useful, you really need to study how long your fertilizer lasts and there is no fixed schedule that will always be appropriate.
When fertilizing, how much is enough?
One common mistake that people make when fertilizing is to overfeed their lawn, overwhelming it in the process. In the Spring, you actually want to do a lighter fertilizing job than in the fall, and a modest feeding of ¾ of a pound to a pound of fertilizer should be sufficient.
Equipment matters
Before fertilizing, be sure that you have the right equipment. You want a spreader that will evenly distribute fertilizer, so if your spreader is erratic you should look into a new one. There are many great options on the market. Most are not only good for fertilizing but are also applicable for spreading lime, salt, and sand, making it a handy tool no matter the season.
Fertilize Each Spring
