Your lawn needs to workout, too!

Any of this sound familiar to you? Well, for me, all I can see are parallels to my work in lawn care. Let’s look at some of them.

1. If you think about working out your muscles, you need to put some pressure or stress on them in order for them to grow. The same goes for the lawn. Pressure, when kept in check, is good for the lawn. Just cutting the lawn puts a bit of stress on it, even if you cut your grass properly. But we know this is a good stress because it stimulates growth both on top and in the root zone, making the lawn thicker just like your muscles.
2. We feed our bodies healthy nutrients, and the same goes for the grass. If you put solid-quality, slow-releasing nutrients on your lawn in the right proportions and at the right time, your lawn will respond and stay vigorous for the long haul.
3. Water is the staple of life. You need proper water intake in your body so your liver functions properly. The same goes for the lawn. If you keep it properly irrigated, you will find that everything else will just work out.

So you see that working out and staying healthy is very much the same whether you’re talking about your lawn or your body. Isn’t it great when people notice your hard work and say to you, “Hey man, nice grass?”

Some of you will choose to fertilize naturally, and that is a good choice. Others still may go with a more synthetic option. Both will work if care is taken to get the most from the nutrients you are applying. Let’s talk about ways to ensure product is applied in the best possible manner.

Buy A Good Lawn Spreader

I recommend all homeowners invest in a good quality fertilizer spreader. The better the quality, the better, more accurate the nutrient or fertilizer application will be. When the bag of fertilizer reads, “three pounds product per one thousand square feet of lawn space,” that doesn’t mean you can just “spray and pray” and hope for the best. If you apply too much product you can and will harm the lawn. If you don’t apply enough, on the other hand, your yard is not getting the proper benefit and won’t respond properly.

A first rate spreader will cost you in the neighborhood of $80 and is well worth the investment. It should last you a good five or more years under normal homeowner-type wear and tear.

Aerate The Lawn First

The second and final part of the lawn fertilizing tip involves lawn aeration. I highly recommend you aerate your lawn in the spring and fall to help open up compacted soil and punch holes in the thatch layer. This will effectively give your fertilizer a “leg up” and get it directly into the root system of the yard where it can be utilized more effectively.

That’s really all there is to making sure you perform your fertilizer applications properly. You can pick up a good lawn spreader now and get it all ready for the first application in March!