How to Choose and Apply Fertilizer to Your Lawn and Garden
Fertilizing is a very important step in caring for your yard, but picking the right fertilizer can be confusing. Learn how to choose and apply fertilizer to your lawn and garden in this video by The Home Depot:
Fertilizer helps build dense turf, which crowds out most weeds. When choosing a fertilizer, make sure to read the label to select the right blend for the season, and don’t overlook organic fertilizers, which work just as well.
Each bag of fertilizer has a 3-digit number. The following is a quick guide to the fertilizer numbering system:
- 1st number – Nitrogen: Makes things green and causes them to grow above ground
- 2nd number – Phosphorus: Important for root development
- 3rd number – Potassium: Important for drought and disease resistance
One way to remember these numbers is to think “up – down – all around”. An all purpose fertilizer will have the number “10-10-10”, while a starter fertilizer will have a number around “20-27-5”.
There are different fertilizers for lawn, vegetables, shrubs, trees, and flowers. Be sure to read the back of the bag to pick the appropriate fertilizer for your project.
Experts recommend late spring, summer, early fall and late fall as the best times to apply fertilizer; however, you should do some research to determine the best times for your geographic location.
When spreading fertilizer on your lawn, don’t throw it by hand as an uneven distribution can burn your lawn. Use one of these three types of spreaders:
- Hand held crank spreader: Good for ornamental beds and will help you spread the application into tight spots
- Drop spreader: Covers wide areas and is great for small lawns
- Broadcast spreader: Holds large quantities of fertilizer to help you do more in less time
Sweep off the excess from the sidewalk and driveway to prevent it from getting into the water system and staining your sidewalk and driveway.
Very few people have perfect lawns, but by carefully combining fertilization and weed removal treatments, even a novice gardener can see great improvements over time.
