Once you have laid your lawn, or sown the seeds of grass, there are some other important tasks to perform in order to keep the lawn healthy and looking as it should. The most important task of all is feeding your lawn so that it is constantly supplied with all the nutrients it needs to continue growing and also to continue keeping that pristine look.
Feeding a lawn resembles our own feeding habits in that, just like human beings, a lawn needs a steady supply of nourishing food from which it can draw all the elements of a well balanced diet to sustain it.
Requirements
Your lawn requires three main ingredients to survive and to flourish.
- Potassium – This allows the lawn to build up a natural resistance to disease and to drought and should be administered in the spring or autumn.
- Nitrogen – This is required to assist with leaf growth and as such is paramount in the feeding of your lawn; it also helps to give your lawn a deep green colour and should be applied whenever new growth is imminent – either in the spring or summer.
- Phosphorous – This is also paramount as it helps establish and maintain root growth, without this the lawn will become susceptible to disease, drought conditions and the onslaught of garden pests.
Which Feed is Best?
When it comes to feeding your lawn there are two options that you should consider; organic or chemical feeding?
Organic Feeding: Organic feeding of your lawn normally consists of organic compost, which contains nitrogen, organic bonemeal, which provides phosphorous whilst a well rotted organic compost provides the necessary amount of potassium your lawn requires to continue building up that resistant to disease and drought conditions.
Many might plump for the organic method, which also allows you to reconstitute grass clippings as well as using organic compost but one should be aware that if your lawn has previously suffered from any sort of disease using lawn clippings might well reintroduce that disease back into the grass.
Chemical Feeding: This is regarded by many as the best way to effectively feed your lawn. Chemical feeding more often than not balances out the recommended and necessary amounts of Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium. Most chemical feeds are clearly marked on the packaging as to how much of each is contained within it and how much should be administered to your lawn. Feeding in the spring and summer, when new growth is at a premium, requires a higher level of Nitrogen and a lower level of Phosphorous and a feed of this nature should only be applied during the growing season.
Foliar Lawn Feeding
If your soil is chalky, sandy or contains a lot of clay then a Foliar Lawn feed is the best choice for you. Again your local garden centre will be able to provide you with advice on which is the best and how best to apply it. Foliar Lawn feeds are feeds that are absorbed through the leaves rather than the root system as the type of soil in which it grows is not conducive with root system absorption.
Slow and Fast Release Feeding
Fast release feeding is a method whereby the feed is soluble in water and can be poured around the roots or leaves as though you were simply watering the grass. This is a means of introducing the feed to the grass in a quicker way thus enabling the grass to benefit from the intake at a faster rate. Slow release – which isn’t soluble – achieves a good growth but on a lesser time scale. Whereas a fast release feed can show results in four to five days.
How Often Do I Feed My Lawn?
Don’t over-feed your lawn. It is best to feed your lawn once every four to six weeks depending on weather conditions and also depending on how healthy your grass looks. If your grass is growing well and looks a deep green colour then it is clearly gleaning all the nutrients it needs from the soil but if not you should consider once every six weeks as a minimum.