Your Lawn

Unfortunately, you can't get away with fertilizing your lawn just once a year. Three to four applications will help your lawn grow strong and healthy. Any more fertilizing is up to you, depending on how often you want to cut your grass!

Nitrogen is the key nutrient to a healthy lawn. Urea is the material that makes up the largest percentage of N fertilizer in most products. Some N fertilizers have a percentage of slow release N, which means the nitrogen becomes available to the lawn over a three- to four-week period. This prevents the possibility of burning your lawn from over-application, which is common when homeowners apply a urea-based N fertilizer.

Most lawn experts recommend applying one pound of N fertilizer per 1000 sq ft, two to three times a year. Late spring, mid-summer and mid-fall are the best times to fertilize.

If you are using a fertilizer with all three nutrients – nitrogen, potassium and phosphate – the best time to apply is during the fall. This will help develop a better root system in your lawn, which will benefit your lawn in the years to come.

When you purchase fertilizer from the store, you can tell what percentage of each nutrient is in the fertilizer by the three numbers on the bag. For example, a bag that reads 20-10-10 contains 20 percent nitrogen, 10 percent phosphorus and 10 percent potassium.

If you find your lawn turning brown or patchy, your problem isn't nutrient-related. It is more likely a disease that occurs when grass is growing under lush conditions, such as a lot of rain and a high application rate of N fertilizer, has caused your grass to turn color.

It might also be grubs that are feeding on the roots of the grass. If you are able to lift the grass up easily and there are few roots, it usually means something is feeding on them.