Lawn Fertilizer Types | Granular & Organic Lawn Fertilizers

Lawn Fertilizer Types and Fertilizer Methods

Green T utilizes lawn fertilization methods with the safety of the customer and the environment in mind. All of our applications use a granular fertilizer which has many advantages for the health of your lawn and the safety of your family. In addition, all the fertilizer is organic based.

Granular Fertilizer

Granular fertilizer ensures an even distribution on your lawn. When the fertilizer is spread, it generally settles into the soil approximately 24 hours before the fertilizer begins working. This occurs because the granules are coated, which slowly releases the fertilizer over time. They can naturally settle into the top soil over this period before any fertilizer is released. This also means the lawn is not immediately “dosed” with the full amount of fertilizer. The granules dissolve over time, giving an even, steady fertilization over the course of the application. This can prevent over fertilization and uneven fertilizer distribution. As apposed to a liquid based fertilizer application, the granular fertilizer is safe immediately after application. The granular fertilizer requires no drying time prior to lawn traffic, including pet traffic. The coated granules and slow-release nature will ensure your pets and loved ones are not exposed to anything that could harm them.

All the fertilizers we use are organic based micro-nutrient fertilizers. They are lawn “multivitamins” that contain specific blends for each application and season all wrapped in an organic based capsule.

Fertilizer Quality and Grass Nutrient

The quality of the fertilizer is also important. Plant growth requires 16 nutrients to occur; 9 macro-nutrients (which are needed in relatively higher doses) and 7 micro-nutrients. Fertilizers generally employ heavier concentrations of the more important nutrients for growth: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. These nutrients are printed on every bag in a Nitrogen-Phosporus-Potassium format. Therefore, a bag of fertilizer labeled 10-10-10 would contain 10% nitrogen, 10% phosphorus, and 10% potassium. These percentage blends can come in many varieties and can correspond with soil types, weather, and so on. Some lawn care companies in more temperate climate regions will use specific blends depending on the time of year to ensure proper fertilization over the course of the season. Whether it is early spring, summer, late spring, fall, or late fall, fertilizer blends of Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium will be adjusted accordingly.

Nitrogen is the most important nutrient for plant growth. In the guaranteed analysis (typically listed on the bag), there are percentages listed indicating the total nitrogen concentration. There are different percentages listed that indicate fast release nitrogen and slow release nitrogen. Fast release nitrogen causes an immediate greening of the lawn and the slow release nitrogen will give an even greening effect throughout the course of each application. It is good to have some fast-release nitrogen but typically the higher percentage of slow release nitrogen the better. Slow release nitrogen is better for your lawn and the environment. This also ties into the quality of the product you use. The more quality product will have higher percentages of the slow release nitrogen to insure a lasting green lawn.

What is Organic Fertilizer?

Organic fertilizers include material that is made mainly of animal sources, for example processed organic fertilizers include compost, blood meal, bone meal, humic acid, amino acids, and seaweed extracts. Organic fertilizers play several important roles for the health of your lawn; they activate existing soil nutrients so that good growth is achieved with lower nutrient densities while wasting less [more], releasing nutrients at a slower, more consistent rate and helping to avoid a boom-and-bust pattern. They also play a major role in helping to retain soil moisture by reducing the stress due to temporary moisture stress, and improving the soil structure to help prevent topsoil erosion. Organic fertilizers also have the advantage of avoiding certain problems associated with the regular heavy use of artificial fertilizers.