Fertilizing your lawn is the next stage of lawn maintenance. In part two of our series, we’ll cover fertilization of your lawn. Fertilizer fits into two categories: organic and chemical fertilizer. First off, what is fertilizer? According to this Wikipedia excerpt: Fertilizer (or fertiliser) is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin (other than liming materials) that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. Fertilizers typically provide, in varying proportions: Six macronutrients: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and sulfur (S);
eight micronutrients: boron (B), chlorine (Cl), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), zinc (Zn) and nickel (Ni) (1987).
The macronutrients are consumed in larger quantities and are present in plant tissue in quantities from 0.15% to 6.0% on a dry matter (0% moisture) basis (DM). Micronutrients are consumed in smaller quantities and are present in plant tissue on the order of parts per million (ppm), ranging from 0.15 to 400 ppm DM, or less than 0.04% DM.[5][6] Only three other macronutrients are required by all plants: carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. These nutrients are supplied by water and carbon dioxide. To read more of this Wikipedia, please visit the source material here. Fertilizer, as a part of a lawn maintenance schedule, doesn’t just help your lawn to grow, it also helps it to thrive as well. But which should you choose and why?
Organic fertilizer is usually a combination of animal or plant material that is rendered for the nutrients. It is slightly better for the environment than chemical fertilizer, Chemical fertilizer is usually nitrogen based, and while it can help plants to grow, it can also cause problems such as algal blooms in the ocean which can be lethal to various forms of life. Living in Arizona, runoff from fertilizer isn’t as much of a problem as it is in coastal areas, or river mouths, however it is a good idea to consider what type of fertilizer to apply when you are doing your lawn maintenance. You also want to make sure to apply the fertilizer at the proper times each year.
You want to fertilize pretty much every season except winter, though in Arizona, winters are notoriously mild. You pretty much want to fertilize your lawn in varying degrees from spring until fall. When in doubt, make sure you do a bit of additional research or call in a company that specializes in lawn maintenance.
Read Part 1 of this series
Read Part 2 of this series
Read Part 3 of this series
Green ServPro is a lawn maintenance company based in Prescott, Arizona.
Green ServPro LLC
600 W. Ray Rd. Suite B2
Prescott AZ 85225
(928) 356-8167
http://www.greenservpro.com