Here we are, spring is coming up quickly. The temptation is to get your lawn greened up quickly once spring is fully underway. So we think, fertilizer. Great, we have the right idea. Now we have to be careful not to fertilize too early.
Fertilizing when the ground is frozen is not only a waste, it is harmful to the environment. Fertilizer spread on frozen ground will just wash away. It washes to the waterways and adds unnecessary amounts of nitrogen and potassium to the water. This can lead to algae blooms and have other negative affects.
If the ground isn’t frozen, but we are not in the temperature range for grass to grow, the fertilizer will just sit, and have a higher chance of leaching through the soil profile before the nutrients can be absorbed by the grass. This again will lead to unnecessary pollution.
Pushing too much to leaf blade growth in the spring is also not good for your lawn. The roots are what need the most growth, and forcing too much nitrogen in the spring can cause the grass plant to focus on the leaf blade growth at the expense of root growth. This weakens the plants and does not get it ready for the hot and dry periods that come during the summer months.
The bummer is that I have already seen places, not any of ours, already receiving fertilizer. These applications are just a way for some companies to make money and not actually provide any benefit to your lawn. It is best to wait until the grass has become active for the season to start to feed it.
Fertilizing too early not only is a waste of money, it also will pollute the environment, and it can be harmful to the grass plant. Just because the snow is gone, that doesn’t mean that it is time to fertilize. It it best to wait until the grass is growing, then let the feeding start.