Having a healthy, vibrant lawn in the summertime is one of the best ways to create an impressive home. After all, your lawn is your green blanket of comfort. It’s where the kids run and play barefooted in the grass, and aesthetically it’s a key indicator of the way that neighbors perceive you and your home. Don’t let the heat beat your lawn. We have worked in the law management industry in the Twin Cities for over a decade, so it’s sufficient to say that we have one or two tips to help you out when it comes to creating that crisp green lawn that is so sought after during the summer months. Properly mowing, aeration, weeding, and watering are all important aspects of creating a vibrant lawn. But today, we are going to talk about perhaps the most important aspect of keeping a lawn, fertilizing.

Fertilize

Picture lawn care as a person. Mowing is the maintenance that keeps him looking clean and fresh (like a good haircut). Weeding is what keeps the person free from disease (it’s like an antibiotic). Fertilizing is keeping the person fed. Without fertilization, the person starts to starve. In terms of a lawn, this means that the lawn will start to yellow and all of those beautiful crisp-green hues will start to fade to yellow.

When it comes to fertilizing, details definitely matter. When we fertilize lawns here at The Grounds Crew, we study each lawn independently, That may seem like overkill, but, trust us, each lawn is different. It’s important to tailor the fertilizer and weed control methods to each specific lawn. In fact, let’s take a quick look at a few of the factors that are important when it comes to fertilizing a lawn.

• The Numbers: Each fertilizer comes with a different spread of three key ingredients: nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium. Which blend you pick depends on how much light and watering your lawn gets. We always conduct extensive testing including measuring nutrient and pH level, that way we can choose a fertilizer that fits the nutritional needs of your grass. Even if you decide to do the fertilizing yourself, we always recommend you hire a professional to conduct testing on your lawn, so you know which nutrient combination to use. It makes all the difference.
  
• Application: We are professionals, so when you see us do a lawn, you will see us do it fast. We have the equipment and experience to blast your lawn evenly and consistently in a rapid manner of time. If you are doing this yourself, make sure that you factor in things such as wind speed and the equipment that you are using to fertilize your lawn. We recommend that DIYers stick with granular fertilizer; it is easier to apply for beginners. One of the worst things you can do when it comes to fertilizing is not applying a consistent coat to your lawn.

• How Often You Water: This may seem counterintuitive, but the more that you water your lawn, the more fertilizer it will need. So, if you are trying to keep your lawn that ever-so-sought-after lush green color, you will need to fertilize the lawn more often. For us, this means paying attention to watering habits so that we can tailor a lawn care system that is congruent with your watering regiment.

• Slow-Release vs. Quick-Release: There is a time and a place for both quick-release and slow-release fertilizers. If you were forced to choose between the two, most of the time you would stick with a slow-release fertilizer. You won’t have to fertilize as often, and it won’t overload your lawn. That being said, quick-release is a great option for laws that are recently laid, having a quick burst of growth can prevent pesky weeds from growing in. Luckily, there are fertilizer blends on the market that offer both a quick-release and a slow-release aspect to fertilization. These are typically better; you will see immediate results as well as lasting ones. When we fertilize a lawn, we will choose a blend that compliments that lawn itself. So, if it’s a newer lawn, expect a quicker fertilizer. Often times, this is a higher concentration blend such as a 50% quick-release blend. Usually, during summer, you will see us use a 25% quick-release blend. But, once again, it depends on the lawn.

There are a lot of things to consider when it comes to fertilizing your lawn. Some stuff not included in this blog post includes things such as types of equipment, time of year, and types of grass. All of these things are important. This is why we recommend that you leave fertilizing your lawn to the professionals. Fertilizing is one of the most important aspects of lawn care, but it is also one of the most complex.

If you are in the Twin Cities area and are looking to get your lawn in lush-green shape for the summertime, contact us. We have the tools, knowledge, and experience to create your perfect lawn.