How Soon Can I Fertilize My Lawn?

The warmer spring days have sprung and the grass is beginning to green up, so when should you apply fertilizer? Don’t get caught up in the early spring fever rush, because fertilizing too soon can be a waste of time.

Fertilizer is generally composed of three different nutrients: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). The recommended rate for spring fertilizer is 1lb of nitrogen (N) per 1000 square feet. Different blends and products determine how long the application will last, how often it needs to be applied, and even how to apply it (granular or liquid).

When is the best time to fertilize?

For cool season grasses, the type grown in Canada, spring is the best time because the temperature and rainfall provide optimal conditions and the grass is trying to recover from winter dormancy. Early spring, usually late April to early May, is the best time to fertilize. You want to wait until the soil warms and the entire lawn is thriving and actively growing. Fertilizing a lawn still dormant or partially dormant from winter will minimize the effectiveness of the treatment. Fertilizing a lawn during its growth period will yield the best results.

Waiting until July or August, when the hot summer heat can send the grass into dormancy again is also a bad time to fertilize. Trying to coax a lawn to grow during a dormant period will only stress the grass plants and feed the plants that are thriving – the weeds. The new grass shoots encouraged by the fertilizer will wither in the hot sun without a lot of irrigation to sustain the new growth. Without proper irrigation, summer fertilizer can cause extensive damage to plant roots.

One option is Nutri-Lawn Ottawa’s Kelp Seaweed Extracts. This is an all natural product made from East Coast seaweed and is applied in a water solution. Kelp Seaweed Extracts is an excellent source of nutrients to help protect a lawn against drought and heat stress. Call us for a free consultation.

Fertilizing in the fall will yield good results also. Fertilizing in the fall helps plants grow strong healthy roots to resist winter damage and help grass green up faster in the spring.

Nutri Lawn Ottawa offers a range of fertilizer options.

Traditional: Our traditional fertilizer uses a combination of slow and quick release fertilizers with a custom blend of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium.

Organic: We offer organic fertilizers derived from all natural plant and animal by-products such as seaweed extract, blood meal, compost, manure, fish meal, and bone meal. Organic fertilizers provide a slow consistent release of nutrients over months which reduces the potential for streaking or burning.

Polyon: Polyon fertilizer is specially designed for season-long performance. A patented polyurethane membrane in each capsule releases the nutrients slowly and consistently for predictable feeding during the growth season. The Polyon fertilizer used by Nutri-Lawn Ottawa is specially designed for the Ottawa climate and soil conditions to ensure your grass gets exactly the nutrients it needs.

The lawn care experts at Nutri-Lawn Ottawa are here to help you ensure your lawn grows thick, green and healthy, and we are happy to tackle all of your lawn care issues. Contact us if you are looking to create a lawn you’re proud of and will enjoy all summer long!