We’re still in the Summer season, but the Fall season is creeping up on us. You’ve most likely spent a long, fruitful spring and summer maintaining your property, but the work is not over yet. After a long summer of mowing your lawn and watering it, the Fall season brings some different lawn care and maintenance tasks to your chore list. The Fall season is the perfect time to fertilize your lawn and garden, so it has the chance to come back healthy and strong in the spring season.
Thanks to the mild temperatures that most regions of the country experience this time of year, root systems are able to absorb nutrients more efficiently and completely during the months of fall. Many experts recommend two fall fertilizer applications — first in late September or early October, and then again in November before the permafrost sets in.
Before You Fertilize
When you purchase fertilizer, you’ll see a rating on the bag with three numbers. These figures indicate the percentages of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium in the mix, respectively. You can use the mnemonic “up, down and all around” to remember how each benefits your lawn. Nitrogen promotes healthy “upwards” growth, phosphorous promotes healthy root growth, and potassium protects from diseases and pests.
Get a Soil Test
Your best bet is to get a soil test to determine exactly what minerals your lawn needs most. Generally, when it comes time to decide how much fertilizer your lawn needs, its best to be careful not to over-fertilize. Excess nitrogen and phosphorous from fertilizer can leech into groundwater, resulting in some fairly serious environmental and public health concerns. A soil test will ensure that you’re not over-fertilizing. As a rule of thumb, never use more than 1 pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet of lawn. If your lawn is already in good shape, you will probably need far less than this.
At Suburban Lawn Sprinkler, we are proud to offer lawn irrigation systems to residents around the state of Massachusetts. We understand that it can be stressful to take care of your lawn, and our goal is to make it much easier for you with seasonal tips, as well as offer you installation and maintenance services for a lawn sprinkler system. Contact Suburban Lawn Sprinkler at 508-872-2727 today or visit us online for more information!
