Even distribution is the main goal you should
work toward in lawn fertilization. Any overlapping
should be 100 % to avoid uneven coloring, growth and/or
burning. Always fertilize when the grass is dry. Fertilizers are
applied to the grasses according to the growing
season. The warm
season grasses receive more fertilizer on the average than the
cool season grasses. Cool season grass must prepare food storage for the
winter and don’t need the excess growth that nitrogen brings in
creating excess foliage above ground.
HOW MUCH FERTILIZER SHOULD
I APPLY?
Year long Fertilization rates for
grass mixtures must be applied by establishing which is the
dominant grass and fertilize according to the needs of that grass.
Most all charts will give the rates in pounds per nitrogen per 1000 square feet
for the growing season (year).
GRASS
FERTILIZATION RATES:
Lbs / 1000 sq. ft. of N per year. |
LOW |
HIGH |
| BAHIA GRASS -
Pensacola & Argentine |
2 |
5 |
| BENT GRASS |
3 |
6 |
| BERMUDA - Hybrids &
Common |
2 |
5 |
| BLUEGRASS |
2 |
4 |
| BUFFALO |
1 |
2 |
| CARPETGRASS |
2 |
3 |
| CENTIPEDE |
1 |
3 |
| FESCUE - Tall |
2 |
3 |
| FESCUE - Fine -
Creeping - Chewings |
1 |
2 |
| RYE ANNUAL & PERENNIAL |
2 |
3 |
| ST. AUGUSTINE |
3 |
6 |
| ZOYSIA |
2 |
4 |
BUT
HOW MUCH "FERTILIZER" DO I NEED?
| LawnFertilizers.com
- Actual application |
From the chart above of "lbs. per 1000 sq. ft" of
Nitrogen you can calculate the amount of fertilizer you actually
need during a year. - If you have bluegrass under average
maintenance you would need 3 lbs. of N yearly according to the
above chart.
HOW TO CALCULATE ACTUAL PRODUCT
APPLICATION NEEDED FOR ONE COMPLETE YEAR: (Total fertilizer
for multiple applications
The first number in a fertilizer analysis is the nitrogen
percentage. A bag of 25-4-6 analysis such as the PennGreen
Seedland.com sells has 25% Nitrogen per bag. Divide this N
amount into the lbs. per 1000 rate from the chart. In this
case divide 3 by .25 = 12 (use decimal conversion on the
percentage i.e.: 25% = .25 )
This means that 1000 sq. ft. of your lawn would require 12
lbs. of this analysis of fertilizer in a YEARS time.
This rate would provide a mid-range of maintenance (average)
on a Bluegrass lawn. Thus under a mid-range maintenance
plan, you would fertilize twice a year. Therefore you
need to apply 6 lbs. of actual fertilizer per application
twice a year per 1000 sq. ft. of your lawn --- A 20 lb. bag such
as the one we sell would cover just over 3000 sq. ft per
application.
TO
CALCULATE AMOUNT OF FERTILIZER
PER APPLICATION (For each 1000 sq.ft. of lawn)
Divide the analysis into 100. If the
analysis is 27% Nitrogen. 100 divided by 27 = 3.71.
That means you would need to apply 3.71 lbs. per 1000 sq. ft. to
apply an actual rate of 1 LB of Nitrogen per application.
