LAWN FERTILIZING AND MAINTENANCE

    This article is about LAWN FERTILIZING. It
will explain some basic guidelines on how to 
take care of your grass and turf. It will then
explain what products are best suited for 
accomplishing this task and the best equipment
to use for the job.
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technical support.
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   Lawn fertilizing is a necessity if you plan on
establishing green grass on your property. But when
it comes time to choose a fertilizer, things start
to become complicated. In Todays market place, there 
are so many fertilizer options available to the 
average end user that one can easily be overwhelmed, 
confused and just plain turned off by just the 
decision making process alone! "What brand is best
to use? What formulation is best for my grass type?
How must I apply it? How frequently should I apply
it? What equipment is needed?.." These are all common
questions anyone that attempts to take care of 
their yard will have. Rest assured, getting answers
will be easy. The problem is that every source you
use to get the answers will all have a different answer!
Who should you believe? Who can you trust? So hard
is the decision making process for this area of home
maintenance that many people will avoid the issue
altogether and choose to simply hire a service to
care for their grass. If you want to learn how to
care and maintain your grass so it will look nice
and stay healthy, this article is for you. The
purpose of this article is to make the "science" of
lawn care easy to understand and then implement
a program that will yield a healthy and happy yard. 

  
FIRST, UNDERSTAND: WHAT IS IT THAT GRASS NEEDS?
  
   The concept of lawn maintenance should not be
perceived as something akin to paying taxes; instead
it should be viewed as an outdoor activity - something
like growing a garden. If you think about it, grass
is nothing other than a plant and like most any plant, 
it will need food, water, care and attention during 
the growing season. The right combination of these 
requirements will help to yield a yard that both 
looks nice and is healthy. Lets take a look at just
what grass "needs" to look nice and remain healthy.

1) GRASS NEEDS BALANCED, HEALTHY SOIL in which to
grow. Though you might be able to get grass seeds
to bloom and start to take root, they won't last
long if the dirt in which their roots are growing
is tired, out of balance or lacking in minerals.
Freshly laid sod will look "OK" when first installed
but a bad soil underneath will cause it to die
out within a season. In other words, if you expect
to be successful growing grass, you need good soil.
2) GRASS NEEDS WATER. Most every species of grass
will require water. Some more than others. Choose
the grass you grow based somewhat on the amount of
water that will be available. If you are in an extremely
dry arid region, plant drought resistant strains
of grass. If you don't mind watering as needed (and
if local ordinances will let you), being able to
irrigate your turf will allow you to plant just
about any species of grass.
3) GRASS NEEDS FOOD. For most grass, food will be
in the form of nitrogen. This can come from dry
or liquid formulations. If you want green healthy
grass, expect to feed your turf throughout the
growing season. Failure to feed it will result
is dead grass that will be susceptible to fungus
and heat stress.
4) GRASS NEEDS "LOVE". That's right, grass needs
some TLC to keep it both looking right and growing
properly. If you expect to have kids or pets
playing day after day on the grass you are growing, 
understand the consequence - turf that is both
beat up and rough around the edges. This doesn't
mean anything is wrong. It means you need to 
give the grass a time out. Give it a good meal,
some water and let it grow by itself a few days
to "heal". Like people, grass will need to
be left alone. For most turf, spring and summers
include pets defecating, kids kicking and stamping
on it and the sun beating down with no place to
hide for 10 hours straight with temperatures in 
excess of 100 degrees!! Under these conditions its
a wonder how grass is able to grow at all!
   Yet, after all it goes through, the average
home owner will look out at their stressed yard and 
ask themselves, "What am I doing wrong?" If you
are one of these people, chances are you aren't
paying attention to all four important things grass 
needs. Lets take a closer look at each one of
these "needs" and learn just what it takes to keep
the grass in our life satisfied. By fulfilling these
needs, your lawn will reward you with thicker,
greener, healthier and stronger grass making you
feel both proud and happy.


SECOND, DECIDE: WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO PROVIDE?

   Like most relationships, growing grass is a
two way street. Don't expect something for nothing.
The four grass "needs" listed above must be
taken seriously if you expect to grow happy and
healthy grass. Though most people are quick to say
"yes, I am willing to do whatever I can for my grass" 
and then just jump right in, growing grass will
need a lot more than just good intentions. Growing
grass requires a season long commitment; a constant
vigil if you will. This next section will help you
to better understand just what is involved. This
understanding will hopefully enable you to achieve
the results you want but more importantly, help
you to identify what it is that may have contributed
to failure in the past.

1) SOIL requirements for most grass species are 
very similar. The exact type you need will depend
largely on the type of grass you are growing; make
sure to have the right kind installed prior to 
seeding or laying sod. If you are attempting to 
grow grass from seed, rich soil will be a
necessity. If you are laying sod, it won't be
nearly as important. If you are trying to grow
back grass which has died out in certain areas
of your property, chances are the dirt which is
currently there has a problem. Most problematic
soils can be fixed with a few additives and rarely
have to be replaced. However, mixing in some
new top soil will never hurt. First and foremost, 
any serious turf manager (homeowner) must have
a way to measure the PH of their soil. This can
be measured with either a PH TEST KIT or a PH PROBE.
Since measuring PH should be done several times
during the year, the Probe will prove to be the
easiest to use and most cost efficient. Proper
PH is critical for any plant and though there
can be different preferences depending on grass
species, most all like a soil PH to be in the
6.5 - 7.0 range. Since PH tends to lower over
time, measuring it quarterly is recommended so
that any drop can be duly noted and proper action
taken immediately before levels get severely out 
of balance. To learn more about PH and why it
is so important for proper turf management, 
review this on line article which will explain 
all you need to know:

CLICK HERE FOR OUR ON LINE ARTICLE ABOUT SOIL PH

As our PH article explains, adjustments made
during the fall and winter months can be done with
granulated lime. If its February or later in the
year and you have just learned your PH is below
6.5, you need to get it adjusted and you need
to get the adjustment done quickly. Don't rely
on granulated lime since it takes time and 
shouldn't be used much during the growing season.
At this point, LIQUID LIME is much better suited.
Liquid Lime will have an immediate impact enabling 
your soil to reach the target PH in a day or two
when proper amounts are applied. Use one of our
SPRAYERS for doing the application and try to time
the job just before a rain or just prior to watering.
Our INLINE SIPHON SPRAYER is ideal for anyone that
irrigates since it will work for any liquid like
Lime, Insecticides and Fertilizer. Treatments will
become as easy as watering the grass and such
applications are very effective. If it turns out you
have alkaline soil and need to reduce your PH, you'll
have no choice but to apply granules. SULFUR GRANULES
are the best way to achieve this and the 90% strength
ones are as good as it gets. Be sure to use a lot of
water to get it penetrating the dirt ASAP for faster
results.

IT CANNOT BE STRESSED ENOUGH HOW IMPORTANT THE SOIL
PH IS IN ORDER TO GROW GREEN AND HEALTHY GRASS !!!

If your PH is not right, don't even bother 
attempting to grow grass. FAILURE TO MONITOR
AND ADEQUATELY ADJUST PH IS THE NUMBER ONE
CAUSE AND LEADING REASON WHY HOMEOWNERS ARE
NOT ABLE TO GROW THEIR LAWNS PROPERLY !!!
It is amazing how many people are not aware of
just how important PH is for growing grass. The
author hopes you get the point; get your PH
measured every three months and keep a journal
on the readings. This will insure early prognosis
when it starts to drop so you can adjust it as
needed throughout the year and keep it balanced.

2) WATER requirements can be extremely costly and
time consuming to facilitate. When deciding the grass
you want, be sure to consider this very important
variable. Water requirements are probably the second
most important "must have" ingredient when it
comes to growing grass. Clearly, without water, 
most turf will not grow or remain healthy for
extended periods of time. More importantly, grass
needs water to help generate new growth to replace
damaged turf. That being said, there are some species 
of grass which are bred specifically for arid regions; 
other grasses are designed to be more tolerant of 
high moisture and will do well in rainy regions. 
   The best way to get a handle on what will grow 
where you reside is to consult two or three local 
nurseries. Talk with neighbors and see what they 
are growing. One of the easiest things to do is 
just look around and see whose grass is "OK"
when everyone else's is dead. Whatever species he
or she is growing is probably a good grass type
to consider! Of course, personal preference can
come into play, but understand that the grass
types which look the best will probably need more
attention, food, water and general care then
some others. This means that if you are prepared
to water no matter what the expense, the types
of grass you can grow will probably be more
varied. In dessert regions where water is scarce
and in some cases simply not available, drought
resistant strains will be better suited. Don't
be tricked into thinking you can grow what the
local golf club has established; most golf
courses have water resources not available to
the general public. On top of that they have
seasoned professionals that do nothing but
spend their time calculating the exact amount
of food, water and other herbicides needed to
get their turf to grow at a specific rate. 
Realize that these folks do it for a living
and that their very livelihood depends on having
green healthy grass. For the average homeowner,
such levels of maintenance are not within their
budget. Failure to realize this limitation can
result in choosing the wrong grass to grow
so you will much better served by using another
homeowner as an example of what can be achieved.
   If you reside in a region that is generally
damp and moist, you still need to be prepared
for when a dry spell hits. For example, the
southeast region of the United States will
commonly have wet, rainy springs followed
by moist summers that become arid and dry by
July and August. Grass which has become accustomed
to the abundant water supply will be thirsty in
no time when the dry spell season hits. It is 
important to understand that once your grass is 
trained and expects water every 2-3 days, it will
become stressed when the water is not supplied.
To help identify when your grass is under stress,
a good pair of STRESS GLASSES will help. They 
are able to show when plants and trees are under
stress due to lack of water, disease, parasites
and other factors. They can be very helpful in
early detection of a problem so you can respond
before its too late. Of course, knowing your
local weather patterns will help too. To keep
the grass strong and better prepared to deal with
such spells, don't let it go two weeks without
water. If you know it won't rain for week or more,
give the grass some water after 3-4 days so it
will be better suited to deal with the upcoming
dry spell. If you choose to let it burn out
once it gets hot, chances are the grass will "shut
down" and go dormant. When this happens during the
spring or summer, new growth can take a month or 
more to start once water becomes available so 
don't expect it to heal overnight. Dormant turf
will take some time to rebound. To avoid this
delay, keep the turf from going dormant. Do this
by supplying the needed water when dry spells
occur. And remember to water just before dawn 
and into the early morning; don't water just 
after dark as this will help to promote fungus.
Lawns which are damp and wet all night tend to
be more susceptible to disease.
   The bottom line is that when it comes to water,
grass will need it. This is not an option. If you
are not ready to commit to the added expense and
time it takes to keep a yard properly irrigated,
maybe growing grass is not for you. Consider some
other option; attempting to grow grass without
first committing to what it will need is a 
recipe for failure.

3) FOOD. Grass needs food and plenty of it. With
the possible exception of centipede, most any
type of grass will need to eat. For grass, food
is basically anything with Nitrogen. This is where
things get confusing. Nitrogen comes in all
kinds of strengths. Its now packaged as "Spring
Feed", "Winterizer" and "Weed and Feed", "Starter
Formulation" and "Summer Fertilizer" just to name
a few. The large marketing departments of any 
fertilizer selling corporation have devised all 
kinds of schemes and plans which have taken a
very simple product and made it very complicated.
Most fertilizers will have three numbers that
are fairly important. These will appear on the
label looking like "28-8-16" or "32-4-8" or 
something to this effect. The first number
represents Nitrogen, the second number is 
Phosphate and the last number is Potash. 
As a general rule, it is best to avoid
applying pure nitrogen. The risk of damage
to the grass and soil is high and such
applications should be left to the professional.
Try to use a granule or dry formulation that
has a high amount of Nitrogen when demand
for growth will be high, like in spring. Once
the summer months arrive, lower nitrogen is
better for the turf allowing it to stay healthy 
but not over growing which is stressful. Just 
what brand to use and whether or not its a slow
release or a time released form won't be
so important. What is important is that most
people don't feed their grass enough. Thats
right, MOST PEOPLE DON'T FEED THEIR GRASS
ENOUGH. Grass which resides on soil that is
healthy and moist won't grow if it doesn't have
the nitrogen it NEEDS!! Try to remember how
important this is since most people feel
a bag or two of fertilizer applied in the
spring is enough for the year. THIS IS
WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!! Grass needs to be
fed over and over and over again. There 
are many variables that affect just how 
often grass should be fed but here are
some guidelines to consider.
A) Grass needs free or available nitrogen
to grow. Slow release granules are just
that, slow release. They won't get your
turf the needed food if its hungry and
wants to be fed now. Like watering, feeding
the grass is about timing. If you have
properly spaced out your fertilizer applications
chances are there will be plenty of nitrogen
available. This means you need to sit
down in the spring and set dates on the
calendar when applications should be made.
Follow the calendar and if you calculated
right, your turf should have all it needs
to eat throughout the growing season.
   While setting up these dates, make sure you
plan on having on hand the amount of fertilizer
needed to do the job. These quantities can be 
calculated easily once you decide what fertilizer 
will be applied. Since the amount of nitrogen
needed for turf is based on the amount growing,
you will need to get an accurate measurement of
your yard. Thats right, an ACCURATE MEASUREMENT.
Not an estimate, not some random number or 
description like "average" - this will not do.
In order to determine how much food should be
applied to the soil, you will need to measure
the ground. These measurements need only be
documented once and are well worth the time and 
effort. Once calculated, you can keep a record
for future reference. Square footage is basically
the width of an area times the length of an
area. In other words, a yard which is 100 feet
wide by 75 feet deep would have an area totalling
7500 sq/ft. Most yards are in the 5000 to 20,000
sq/ft range but a precise measurement is needed
if you are serious about Fertilizer requirements.
Use a Tape Measure or MEASURING WHEEL to get
the measurement; most every yard will have
"sections" and knowing their size will enable
you to know exactly how much fertilizer should
be applied to that given area.
B) Grass that is used and abused will require
more food to maintain itself. Understand
that the grass on a golf course which is
busy from sunrise to sunset is likely being
fed huge amounts of nitrogen. The super
intendant probably knows just how much
extra it will take to get the grass to grow
fast enough to replenish all that is lost
from day to day. Most homeowners yards
won't require this much nitrogen but if you
have a lot of stress from pets or children
playing on it, make sure to provide enough 
extra food so the turf can renew itself.
C) Grass can only eat what is available. If
you have a large sloped lawn, chances are
the turf on top of the slope won't have as
much nitrogen available to it as will the
section at the bottom of the slope. Rain and
natural leaching will cause a lot of the
nitrogen to funnel down to lower parts of
the lawn. Take this into account when fertilizing
making sure to add extra where needed to keep
the overall food supply more evenly distributed.
D) Along these same lines is the fact that most
grass which receives more direct sunlight will
require more or less nitrogen then the same
grass which is partially shaded. You will have
to experiment a little here to see just how
the grass grows over the course of the season
in order to make the proper adjustments when
making your applications. However, generally
speaking, the more sun the more growth. This
means local nitrogen levels will be depleted
faster in areas with more sun. When grass
doesn't have nitrogen but a lot of sun, it
will get stressed. Make sure such sections
have enough nitrogen to keep it growing strong
and looking good. 
E) Grass doesn't like to store high amounts of
nitrogen during the winter months so don't over
fertilize as the end of the season approaches.
F) Grass will do best when it receives small
doses of water and food over the entire season.
Though most people would like to fertilize
once or twice a season, such a scenario is far
from what is really needed. If you attempt to 
feed your lawn this way you will most certainly 
be disappointed with its performance. Your grass 
will look and grow so much better if you space 
out many small feedings and use a food which 
is immediately available and readily processed.
   Though most people prefer to use a granular
fertilizer, liquid forms of nitrogen are so
much better. They have many benefits including
the fact that they are immediately available
to the grass. LIQUID FERTILIZER is like giving
your grass an IV treatment. When doctors need
medications or nutrition to impact their patients
as quickly as possible, they administer an IV. 
The same can be done to your grass. By feeding
it with liquid nitrogen, you enable it to absorb
and process the food it needs immediately. This
will allow it to benefit from the application
overnight. New growth will not have to wait
for nitrogen to become available; the application
is just that, available nitrogen and ready to
be processed. This is so much better for the
grass and over the course of the growing season,
the difference can yield dramatic results.
   There are two main drawbacks, however, and
if you decide to feed your grass with liquid
fertilizer only, be aware of these two disadvantages.
First, applying Liquid Fertilizer is more work
than traditional granular forms. In fact, this
is one of the main reasons why granular fertilizers
have become the main form produced and applied.
For most applications, you will need to use one
of the Hose End Sprayers featured on our SPRAYER
page. They will allow for large volumes of water
to be sprayed, which is needed for most any type
of fertilizer application, though some of our 
other Sprayers can be used as well. To help minimize
the amount of work needed to get Liquid Fertilizers
applied, the use of an INLINE SIPHON SPRAYER should
be considered. They work well, require little
maintenance and will just about eliminate all
the work involved with liquid materials. They 
can be used to apply other products as well
like insecticides, fungicides and herbicides.
Siphon Mixer/Sprayers are a real help if you
want to use Liquid Fertilizers but don't want
all the work commonly involved. And if you have
a small yard and won't need that much fertilizer
over the course of the season, get the combo
RTS FERTILIZER which comes with it's own
sprayer. All you need to do is hook it to your
hose and turn it on - no hassle with mixing or
separate sprayers to be maintained.
   The second big disadvantage of using Liquid
Fertilizer is the fact that it won't last as
long as granules. Dry fertilizer can be designed
to slowly release and though during most testing
this concept works well, in the real world there
are many times such formulations are not ideal.
Such is the case when demands for nitrogen are in
a state of flux. This tends to happen over the 
course of the growing season and once granules 
have been spread, there isn't any practical way 
to remove them. If you continue to use a dry
form of fertilizer, make sure you don't over
apply them. With Liquid Fertilizer, you will
have to apply some once every 2-4 weeks for 
most turf. This will vary from region to region
for different types of grass but in general,
expect to be spending more time applying the
fertilizer than if you were using a granule.
Of course, the advantage of this format is that
you are able to add more when needed and cut
back when warranted. This is the beauty of
using the Liquid Fertilizer; it allows for a
more precise control of just what is available
at any given time for your grass. Another option
is to continue to use the granules to some
extent and then do Liquid Fertilizer applications
during the season as needed. This is a very good
option and should be considered. Again, it will
take a little more time and effort from you
compared to using a granular form exclusively
but the rewards will justify the extra work.
   
4) TLC. Your turf should receive some TLC through
out the growing season. This TLC can be administered
many ways. The first way is by fore seeing any
rough time ahead like drought or excessive rain.
If you know there will be a long time before any
rain may fall, make a point give the grass a
drink of water. Don't let it go dormant due to
lack of water; giving it something to quench
its thirst before it becomes too dry is important
if you want to keep it both healthy and disease
free. Conversely, if you expect a lot of rain to
fall during the next couple of weeks and its been
hot and humid, the environment will be prone to
having an outbreak of fungus. Prevent this from
happening by treating before the fungus emerges.
Our in depth article on Lawn Fungus can explain
all you need to know about this important part
of lawn care and can be seen here:
   
CLICK HERE FOR OUR ON LINE ARTICLE ON LAWN FUNGUS.

  Like people, your yard needs time to relax. Give
it a day or two by itself - particularly when its
been under a lot of stress. Keep the kids and dog
off it for some relief, let it get a lot of water
and give it an extra treat. Some Iron will always
help pep up most any lawn and comes in many ways.
LIQUID IRON or POWDERED IRON will give grass that
dark green healthy look and help to restore some
basic nutrients which "grow out" of the soil over
the course of any season. Either of these can be
applied with a Hose End Sprayer that can handle
liquid or powder. If you don't have one, check 
out our line of SPRAYERS for one. And if you know
you want to get the Liquid Iron, then either the
LIQUID IRON QUART w/SPRAYER KIT would be a good 
choice or the LIQUID IRON GALLON w/SPRAYER KIT
for bigger yards. Now if you have some areas
which have suffered damage due to burn out or fungus,
use a little LAWN GREEN to help mask discoloration.
Another Lawn Paint that's ready to spray with it's own
trigger sprayer is YARD SMART. It won't cover nearly
as much as the Lawn Green but it's fine for small jobs.
Iron, Lawn Green and Yard Smart can all help to 
cosmetically improve the way your turf looks but there 
is no need to rely on them for season long maintenance. 
A properly fed and maintained yard will reward you with
adequate and healthy growth with little fungus and
a lot of green. But using them when needed is a
good idea and can help get your turf through the
hardest time of year. By maintaining it and keeping
it looking good, you will be more inclined to
take the extra time and effort to insure it doesn't
get over abused by people and/or pets. Prevent such
over abuse by keeping everyone off it during harsh
and extreme temps or dry conditions. During such
times, the installation of some PESTICIDE WARNING SIGNS
can really help reduce traffic.

   Beautifully manicured and maintained lawns involve
a lot of work and constant attention. Most people
don't understand just how much time, work, cost and
consideration must be applied to keeping the average
yard both healthy and happy. Of course, it can be
done as evidenced by all the well maintained yards
that can be found in most any neighborhood. But
those yards are not "lucky" and did not turn out
this way without someone giving them attention
and some TLC. If you want such a yard, make the
commitment. You can accomplish this goal with the
right type of grass, the right soil conditions,
a good supply of water and the proper amount of
food. Knowing how much is needed and then using
the right amount of the right stuff will insure
you accomplish your goal. Keep expectations
realistic and you too will be able to grow and
maintain a lush green landscape which will add
both beauty and esteem to any property.
   
To see these products or any of the other home and
garden products we sell, follow the link below.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO OUR PRODUCTS PAGE

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