In our last post, we gave you a quick outline of when you need to put down fertilizer for your yard, but we didn’t really go over whether your lawn even needs it in the first place. Fertilizer is a fairly easy way to help your yard in Greeley look its best. In fact, using fertilizer is a great way to keep your lawn healthy year-round, and is sure to leave your neighbors green with envy.
As Greeley’s first choice for landscaping companies, we get a lot of questions about fertilizer, so we thought we’d explore this useful product a little bit.
Understanding What Fertilizer Does
Now, if you’ve got some background in yard care, you probably already know this. Fertilizer is basically food for your grass. It’s packed full of nutrients, typically a blend of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, which help grasses stay healthy.
When Should I Apply Fertilizer?
You can read our last post to find a more detailed answer to this question, but here’s a quick overview. Since Colorado has four distinct seasons and warm and cool-season grasses can be grown here, you’ll want to apply fertilizer to your yard in Greeley three to four times a year. We recommend once in early spring, again in early summer, once more in mid-summer, and one final round in fall. This keeps your grass looking green and healthy even in less-than-ideal weather.
How Much Fertilizer is Enough?
When it comes to applying fertilizer, you have to use the Goldilocks method and find “just the right” amount. You should use enough fertilizer to cover your yard fully, but not so much that it cooks your grass. This applies to individual applications and to the overall application during the year.
How much you need depends on two key factors: the size of your lawn and how much nitrogen is in the fertilizer. This resource from our friends at Colorado State University up the road in Fort Collins has a great table that explains how much you’ll need.
Where Should I Put Fertilizer?
Really, anywhere you grow grass in your yard could use some fertilizer every year. But we don’t recommend you just start shaking fertilizer out in the yard willy nilly. Instead, you’ll need to be considerate of where you put down fertilizer and how much you put there. For instance, areas that get more sunlight will need more fertilizer, and shaded patches of grass need less. If you over-fertilize your shaded areas, you’re likely to burn out the grass, leading it to look withered and brown and feel coarse and crispy.
Which Fertilizer is Right for Your Lawn?
The answer? Well, it depends. There’s really no “one-size-fits-all” product when it comes to fertilizer. You’ll need to consider what type of grass you have in your lawn and then work with a lawn care specialist to determine which fertilizer will best support your lawn.
Is Fertilizer Really as Great as They Say?
Again, it depends. When used effectively, you’ll notice your yard grow healthier and stronger, making it less vulnerable to disease. But fertilizer can’t do it on its own. To get the results you’re looking for, you should consider aerating your lawn. Greeley is known for its soil rich in clay and even sand. This means that aeration allows the fertilizer to get deep into the soil, enriching the roots. Aeration also helps the soil to collect water and fresh air that it wouldn’t otherwise. When you aerate and fertilize your lawn, your refreshing the soil, helping plants grow and thrive there. As an added benefit, you’ll save money on your water bill, as aerated and fertilized soil collects water more effectively, leading to less runoff.
For Landscaping Design and Maintenance, Choose Pribble Lawn
We all love Greeley for its natural beauty, so make sure your yard reflects that. Pribble Lawn has been serving the Greeley and Northern Colorado community for more than 20 years, offering professional landscape design, installation, and maintenance services that are second-to-none.
Whether you’re re-imagining your outdoor spaces, or just need a little cleanup, we’re here to help. Call us today to schedule your next landscaping appointment!