Fertilizing Your Lawn: the "why," "when" and "how"...

Why is the grass always greener on the other side of the fence?  Maybe because your neighbor uses Greenview Fairway Formula Spring Fertilizer 26-4-12!  The “why,” “when” and “how” of fertilizing your lawn can be confusing, and you may have questions as you gaze across your starving turf.  So why should you fertilize your lawn? 

There is a better reason to fertilize than “green grass envy.” Fertilizing is an important regular lawn maintenance practice, just as vitamins and regular exercise are important for your own physical well-being. Your lawn is a living, breathing wonder and fertilizing enhances the color of the grass, and strengthens it against disease, weeds, parasites and stress.  If you take your lawn for granted and neglect it, the weeds and brown spots are sure to appear.

There is some science to the process of fertilizing your lawn, but it’s not as complicated as you might think, and Greenview products and services make it easy and carefree for you.  First, remember that grass is not just grass. There are different kinds of grasses growing in lawns and each type may have its own requirements. One of the most important factors in selecting the type of turf grass is the climate in which you live. If you live in the southern U.S., your lawn may consist of “warm-season” grass like Bermudagrass, Buffalograss, Zoysiagrass, Centipedegrass, Bahiagrass or St. Augustinegrass, to name a few.  In the North and in Canada, your lawn may be a “cool-season” grass like Bentgrasses, Bluegrasses, Fescues and Ryegrasses.  And between these extremes and in the Eastern U.S., we have “transition zones,” toughest for growing grass because it’s too hot for some, too cold for others.  So often your grass in these areas will be a mixture, building on the strengths of each grass type.

So it’s good to know what grass grows best in your climate and under your outdoor conditions. Once you know what kind of grass you have, next question is when to fertilize? The answer: during your growing seasons.  In most areas of the country, in spring, your grass is re-born, growing new roots and shoots hungry for nutrition.  A good rule of thumb is to fertilize after the first three mowings.  We recommend Greenview Fairway Formula Spring Weed & Feed with Crabgrass Preventer and applying it after the forsythia has bloomed but before the dandelions go to the "puff ball" stage. The combination of weed control ingredients kill over 200 broadleaf weeds and prevent crabgrass. And in fall, your lawn reaches down deep to survive the winter, developing a strong root system. Greenview recommends applying Greenview Fairway Formula Fall Fertilizer in early September followed by an application of Greenview Fairway Formula Late Fall Fertilizer (Winterizer) around the time you put the lawn mower away, usually mid to late November. 

Depending on your area of the country, your growing seasons will vary.  So to be sure you are fertilizing just enough, but not too much, by matching the grass you have (warm weather, cool weather or mixture) with your growing seasons to customize your fertilizing schedule.

For your cool season grasses, give them one to two light feedings in the early fall to promote root growth but not heavy enough to promote top growing.  Mid-spring feeding will help promote top growth and thicker foliage development.  But don't fertilize too heavily in the summer or late spring and stay away from those fast acting fertilizers that can "overdose" your lawn.

Your warm season grasses grow the most in late spring to early summer.  This is the time that they need the additional nutrients supplied by our Greenview Fairway Formula Spring Fertilizer 26-4-12.

In the south, where you have a longer growing season, you can fertilize on a regular basis whenever lawns stay green all year.

Here's a summary of the USDA Zone Map.  There are many other types of zone maps gardeners use, but this is the most common Department of Agriculture map to determine your zone.

Zone	Location
Zone 1	Fairbanks, Alaska Resolute, Northwest Territories (Canada)
Zone 2	Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, Flin Flon, Manitoba (Canada);                              Unalakleet, Alaska, Pinecreek, Minnesota
Zone 3	International Falls, Minnesota St. Michael, Alaska; Tomahawk, Wisconsin,Sidney, Montana
Zone 4	Minneapolis/St.Paul, Minnesota Lewistown, Montana; Northwood, Iowa, Nebraska
Zone 5	Des Moines, Iowa, Illinois, Columbia, Missouri Mansfield, Pennsylvania
Zone 6	St. Louis, Missouri, Lebanon, Pennsylvania; McMinnville,                      Tennessee, Coatesville, Pennsylvania
Zone 7	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,Collingswood, New Jersey;                                     Little Rock, Arkansas, Griffin, Georgia
Zone 8	Tifton, Georgia,Dallas, Texas; Gainesville, Florida Austin, Texas
Zone 9	St. Augustine, Florida, Houston, Texas; Fort Pierce,                                    Florida, Brownsville, Texas
Zone 10	Naples, Florida, Barstow, California; Miami, Florida Coral Gables, Florida
Zone 11	Honolulu, Hawaii, Mazatlan, Mexico

The rest is in the fertilizer product you choose and the company that stands behind it. The best thing about our Greenview product is that one application provides the right amount of nitrogen for the entire spring and summer season and our 70% slow release nitrogen fertilizes up to 12 weeks! Slow release nitrogen feeds your lawn controlled, steady nutrition over a longer period of time.  Then your neighbor gets to view your carpet of thicker, greener grass on a regular basis.

So on which side of the fence do you want to be this spring?

Photos courtesy of the Purdue University website.  Chart courtesy of the USDA website.

Submitted by J. Weinmann