Feed your lawn - starting now

Water is important for lawns, but that’s not enough. Gardening experts tell us the best plan is to apply a good fertilizer every other month from April to October.

“It’s really as easy as that, aroundthree or four times per growing season,” says Scott MacDonald at Scotts Canada, a leader in this field. “The objective is to establish a strong and deep root system. Early spring is the right time to begin, but not too early.”

Here’s a handy little checklist from Scotts Advantage:

Fertilize your grass to ensure a healthy lawn• Early Spring: Wait until the sunshine has dried off the initial sogginess. Usually by late April or so, roots are strengthened sufficiently to benefit the most from a feeding. This would also be the right time to consider repairing damaged patches and overseeding your entire lawn to improve overall health.

• Late Spring: Fertilizing again 6-8 weeks later and before the heat of summer gets too intense is also vital. By now lawns are actively using up stored energy, so feeding helps to replace the much-needed nutrients and prepare it for the heat and drought of summer.

• Early Fall: As the days cool off towards the end of summer, lawns are ready to grow again, so fertilizing at this point provides the necessary nutrients to recover from summertime heat, insects, and foot traffic.

• Late Fall: Late autumn is probably the most important feeding of the year. The cool nights, plenty of rain and morning dew create ideal growing conditions, so the fertilizer will strengthen roots, improve winter hardiness, and protect it until spring.

“Be selective when you buy fertilizers as some contain fillers like sand, gravel or sawdust, as much as 30% or more,” MacDonald cautions. “Whereas others, like the Scotts Turf Builder line with the all-in-one particle, are pure food. Every granule is 100% nutrition so you get what you pay for.”

www.newscanada.com

Tagged with: •

Filed under: Curb Appeal

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!