When Is the Best Time to Fertilize Your Lawn?
Discover the best time to fertilize your lawn from the knowledgeable experts at Jonathan Green. Essentially, the ideal time is when the lawn is growing and hungry, and you want to give it the nutrients it needs for optimal growth.
Who is Jonathan Green?
Jonathan Green has been growing great looking lawns for six generations, ever since our English ancestor Jonathan Green experimented in the late 1880s with different grasses and combinations of “grass families” in an attempt to improve the quality of bowling green turf, eventually constructing greens in towns all over the north of England.
Today, the family remains committed to producing superior lawn and garden products. We supply genetically superior cool season grass seed, soil enhancers, fertilizer, and organic lawn and garden products to professional customers, such as sod growers and independent retailers, throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwestern United States, and in 2019 at True Value and Do It Best hardware stores in the Western United States.
By following Jonathan Green’s revolutionary New American Lawn Plan, you will learn how to address the root of any lawn problems, instead of merely battling symptoms such as weeds and insects. Our goal is to feed your lawn AND your soil and to encourage your Black Beauty® lawn to thrive.
Feed the Lawn
During the growing season from spring through fall, your lawn will perform best when fed three to four times.
If you experience too much crabgrass year after year, create a better growing environment so that desirable grass can grow instead of crabgrass. For the best results, apply Jonathan Green Veri-Green Crabgrass Preventer plus Lawn Fertilizer in spring. This product controls crabgrass before and after it germinates and contains the newest technology available using Dimension® Crabgrass Control Herbicide. Dimension is a clear, odorless and colorless weed control, so it won’t stain your hands, walkways, driveways or the floor of your garage.
If you struggle with broadleaf weeds and dandelions in your lawn, apply Veri-Green Weed & Feed Lawn Fertilizer in late spring (or fall) when the broadleaf weeds are actively growing. It feeds desirable grasses with 35% slow-release nitrogen fertilizer for up to 3 months, and features a 3-way action that kills weeds down to the root.
Early summer is a great time to feed your lawn organically because the soil is warm and the microbes are active. Apply Jonathan Green Organic Lawn Food. It can be used in spring, summer or fall on newly seeded and established lawns or when sodding. Organic Lawn Food promotes strong grass growth and helps improve soil structure as well as the soil’s water holding capacity.
The fertilizer stimulates the soil biology to break down trapped nutrients in the soil and creates top soil. Our organic fertilizers are not made from cheap chicken, turkey or cow manures. They are best spread in spring, summer or fall on newly seeded and established lawns or when sodding. Organic Lawn Food promotes strong grass growth and helps improve soil structure as well as the soil’s water holding capacity.
To grow strong roots and fill in bare spots after summer damage, consider fertilizing your lawn in the fall. Jonathan Green Winter Survival Fall Lawn Fertilizer promotes deep rooting and a quicker Veri-Green in spring. It will also keep your lawn greener later into the year.
Feed the Soil
Feeding your lawn is important, but you can’t grow a great lawn without great soil.
Soil pH needs to be between 6.2 to 7.0 to grow a thick and healthy lawn. Buy a soil test kit at your local lawn and garden or hardware store or contact your local county extension office for a soil test kit. Make adjustments using Mag-I-Cal® for Lawns in Acidic Soil to raise soil pH and Mag-I-Cal® Plus for Lawns in Alkaline & Hard Soil to lower soil pH values.
pH stands for potential hydrogen. It’s the excessive amount of hydrogen ions blocking the exchange sites in the soil and prevents minerals and nutrients from being absorbed by the grass. Seemingly small changes in pH reading can mean big changes for the lawn grass plant because the pH scale is logarithmic. This means that a pH reading of 5 is 1o times more acidic than a pH reading of 6 and 100 times more acidic than a pH reading of 7. MAG-I-CAL breaks the bond of hydrogen on the exchange sites so that grass plants can absorb the essential nutrients they need to thrive.
If your soil is very hard or compacted, Love Your Soil® will loosen and aerate it. It will also feed the soil microbes, making the lawn soil more alive and porous, and enhancing root and root mass development. Love Your Soil® can be applied the same day as the grass seed and works best when the soil temperature is at least 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mentioned Products
Learn more about the best time to fertilize your lawn by visiting Jonathan Green online or contact your nearest retail store for valuable lawn care advice.