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How Much Fertilizer is Enough?
I hear it often from homeowners. “Why is my lawn not as green as my neighbors?” Or, “I didn’t see enough fertilizer on my lawn after your treatment.” Yes, fertilizer, particularly nitrogen fertilizer, is mainly what makes lawns in Tulsa nice and green. Since nitrogen does not stay in the soil profile for that long, it needs to be consistently added to the soil in order to produce the thick, green turf which homeowners and others desire.
However, fertilizer is not the only factor in making grass green. Genetics is huge, as certain turf varieties will be more green and thick than others. Just as in people or any other living thing, there will be differences in characteristics and appearance, and that is a good thing. Soil types play a major role in turf performance and health. Irrigation, mowing practices, and sunlight are all huge in determining how green and healthy turf is.
Dollar Spot turf disease in bermudagrass can be a sign of nitrogen deficiency or over-wateringYes, fertilizer is important, or we would not be able to stay in business! The types, amounts, and frequency of fertilizer application are all important. And I can assure you that LawnAmerica knows and uses the best types of fertilizers, applies them accurately, and at the proper times using the proper rates.
It’s easy to make a lawn really green…..just dump a bunch of Urea or 46-0-0 on the lawn. Just make sure you water it in well, or you’ll burn your lawn. Even if you do water it in, too much nitrogen will still burn it, especially during hot weather. Bermudagrass turf in Tulsa needs about one pound of actual nitrogen per 1000’ per growing month. Too little will lead to thin turf, pale green color, and other problems such as Dollar Spot turf disease. Too much nitrogen will weaken the root system, cause too much topgrowth (you’ll be mowing every 3 days), could cause other turf disease issues, and could burn the turf. And using excessive nitrogen or any other fertilizer, such as phosphorus, can be bad for the environment. So our best full programs, the 6 and 7-Step Programs, supply about 5-6 lbs of actual nitrogen per 1000’ to the turf, with four treatments of granular fertilizers, spaced about every 4.5-8 weeks, depending upon the season and program.
We use higher analysis fertilizers at LawnAmerica, such as a 32-0-7 during mid-summer. So if our goal is to apply 1.4 lbs of actual nitrogen per 1000’, we only need about 4.5 pounds of fertilizer applied to that 1000’ of turf. So when we blow the fertilizer off concrete areas, as we do, and with some of the fertilizer pellets being brown (they are organic), you will be hard pressed to see a bunch of fertilizer.
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