How to Properly Water and Fertilize Your Lawn?

Choosing the wrong lawn care program can bring about a few problems. First, you can bid goodbye to that lush green lawn that would make your neighbors jealous! Second, you may be putting your lawn at risk of being harmed by either too much moisture or insufficient moisture.

A proper and timely watering schedule is how to start avoiding watering problems. The same goes for fertilization. Crystal Greens Landscape has put together expert tips and tricks so that you don’t make any mistakes while caring for your lawn. Read to learn to properly water and fertilize your lawn.

How to Properly Water Your Lawn?

Watering your lawn helps the grass grow, keeps it green and healthy, and reduces the number of weeds that grow there. Here are tips for watering the lawn effectively:

Water In the Morning

Water between 5 and 7 am. It will help reduce evaporation during the day, lowering your lawn’s water content. It also gives your grass enough time to dry out before nightfall, when fungal diseases are more likely to occur.

Don’t Water Daily

Over-watering damages the soil’s structure and encourages shallow roots, leading to drought stress and fungal growth. Look at your grass to know how you should water it. If it’s green and lush, you’re probably good—but if many dead spots appear, then you should water. Water your lawn twice a week.

Understand Grass Needs

The water your lawn requires will depend greatly on the grass type. Bluegrass and fescue are examples of cool-season grasses that thrive when the temperature is 60 -75 degrees Fahrenheit. If the weather is too hot, they will turn brown and go dormant, but once it cools down, they will return to their green state. 

80- 95 degrees Fahrenheit are ideal for warm-season grasses like Bermuda and zoysia. Despite the heat, they maintain their green color throughout the summer.

Additionally, your lawn has seasonal watering requirements. The grass requires more water in the spring when it is actively growing. The hot and dry summer weather means you may need to water your lawn more often. The grass has less watering needs in the fall because it is dormant during that time.

How to Fertilize Your Lawn

Proper lawn care involves more than mowing, edging, and watering. Fertilizing is important in keeping your grass healthy and green, so it’s important to know how to fertilize your lawn correctly.

While many fertilizers are available, most fall into organic or synthetic categories. 

• Organic fertilizers are from plants or animals. They can be applied as a top dressing or mixed into the soil. Organic fertilizers are less expensive than synthetic ones, but they may take longer to be effective on your lawn.
• Synthetic fertilizers contain chemicals that help plants absorb nutrients more quickly. Synthetic fertilizers are often more expensive than organic ones, but they work faster and last longer than organic ones.

Importance of Fertilizing Your Lawn

While each type has its unique benefits, they work similarly in terms of their effects on a lawn’s growth patterns. 

• Fertilizing helps maintain healthy root systems that help prevent drought stress during dry periods and encourage faster recovery after drought. It results in a more resilient lawn.
• It keeps it healthy and green.
• It will keep weeds from taking over.
• Fertilization makes the soil more productive. The turf’s foundation will be sturdy, with access to more nutrients. Soil run-off and other problems can be mitigated when the grass is healthier and denser.

Here’s how to fertilize your lawn:

• Be sure to follow the directions on the package. If you’re using granular fertilizer, spread it evenly across the area you want to fertilize.
• Keep in mind that different grass needs different fertilization. For example, cool-season grasses like fescue require higher nitrogen levels than warm-season grasses like Bermuda and zoysia.
• Don’t overdo it! You don’t need to apply fertilizer every time you mow your lawn—twice a year.

If you want to reduce evaporation from your soil, mulch is an excellent method. Mulch also cools the soil and keeps moisture in it. The best mulches are wood chips or bark chips, though straw or hay can work. You can even use grass clippings.

Mulches can also be used as weed barriers; they’ll keep out most weeds while allowing water and nutrients to reach your plants.

A lawn doesn’t need to be watered deeply. You should water it regularly, but you don’t need to overdo it. You also don’t need to fertilize it more than twice a year. If you are beginning your lawn care journey, start by following the simple tips shared above. As you gain experience as a lawn care pro, you can adjust accordingly.