An Introduction to Lawn Fertilizer

Like any plant, grass needs sunlight, water, and nutrients to survive.  Unfortunately, your grass may not receive enough of one (or any) of these — and suffer as a result.  

This article focuses upon the last item on the above list:  Nutrients. 

The following is quick, crash-course in lawn fertilizer.

1) When it comes to receiving an adequate amount of nutrients, grass is at a disadvantage – for two reasons:  First, each, single grass plant is in fierce competition with the thousands of other grass plants for nutrients, and second, mowing removes a large portion of the grass blade, doing away with the very means grass uses to derive nutrients via photosynthesis.

2) Among the many nutrients a plant needs, water, oxygen, and hydrogen come from the air and water.  The majority of the remaining key elements for health, growth, and vitality all come from the soil or – you guessed it – fertilizer.

3) Of the three primary nutrients grass requires – Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium – nitrogen is the most critical.  Nitrogen contributes to the overall health of the grass plant, in addition to giving turf that nice green color. 

4) Phosphorus is key in the formation of roots; Potassium strengthens the grass, helping the turf resist disease – and foot traffic.

5) Nitrogen, on the other hand, is so critical that fertilizers are often identified by how much nitrogen they contain.

6) Fertilizer is often identified by a three-digit code.  For example, a fertilizer numbered “32-2-3” translates into the percentage amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium the fertilizer actually contains, respectively (Note:  Fertilizers are often comparatively high in nitrogen…).

7) Generally, there are over a dozen secondary nutrients (Such as calcium, magnesium, and sulfur), which not only help with plant growth but facilitate the absorption of nitrogen.

8) Fertilizer contributes to the overall health of the grass through the following process:  Rain/irrigation dissolve the nutrients from the fertilizer into the soil, whereby microorganisms break-down the nutrients so they can be absorbed by the grass roots.  The nutrients then enter the plant’s vascular system, and, when combined with sunlight, produce carbohydrates — which are stored by the plant as food.

9) There is an intimate, symbiotic link between watering your grass and fertilization:  Watering helps draw-out nutrients from the soil, which can then enter the grass’s roots system.

Are you interested in having your lawn fertilized?  Do you live in Broomfield, Westminster, Thornton, Erie, Superior, or Arvada?  Call Olson Lawn Care at 720.201.7561, email us at OlsonLawnServicesLLC@gmail.com, or visit our website at OlsonLawnCare.com