Alexandra Ramirez
1. Scotts
Best Overall Lawn Fertilizer
5/5 Product Rating
This lawn fertilizer from Scott’s is a great way to take care of your lawn and get it looking lush and green.
The Turf Builder Lawn Food will strengthen you yard against problematic conditions such as drought and heat. It is designed to protect the grass from many different bugs. The bag itself will have a list of insects that it protects against but some of the insects listed include:
- Fleas
- Grasshoppers
- Mole crickets
- Spiders
- Weevils
- Ants
- Chiggers
- Mealy bugs
- Crickets
This is not an inclusive list so be sure to look on the bag for the list of all the bugs it guards your lawn against. This lawn fertilizer is guaranteed not to burn the grass of your lawn.
There are many benefits to having a healthy lawn. Not only does it look beautiful but it produces oxygen, prevents runoff and soil erosion and cleans the air too. This lawn fertilizer will need to be applied to your lawn when it is dry.
After the fertilizer is applied, you will need to water it completely. This watering activates the product. Using a spreader makes things a little easier to spread the fertilizer around where it is needed. You will need to apply the fertilizer in the months of June, July and August. It can be used on any type of grass and will cover 5000 square feet and larger, depending on the size of the bag.
– Sarah Lytle
2. Dr. Earth
Best Overall Lawn Fertilizer – Runner Up
4.9/5 Product Rating
It is made up of a combination of potassium sulfate, alfalfa meal, seaweed extract, micorrhizae, feather meal, calcium sulphate, fish bone meal, beneficial soil microbes and fish meal.
This high quality fertilizer by Dr. Earth will help cultivate a strong root system. Along with controlling the insects it can control the buildup of Thatch too.
The mychorriza that is added to the fertilizer and grows regularly in the soil will enhance the quality where your lawn is growing. This Scott’s lawn fertilizer will provide a large array of beneficial microbes in the soil that will help you lawn thrive even in tough conditions including poor soil, low nutrients in the soil and drought.
Stimulate your grass’s roots to grow as strong and deep as possible for added strength. This product is pet and child safe and is 100% percent natural and Organic. This lawn fertilizer has a slow release technology that will take care of the nutrients your lawn needs for up to 3 months. This 18 pound bag of lawn fertilizer will take care of 2000 square feet of lawn and provide fast results that will make a noticeable difference.
– Sarah Lytle
3. Hasta Gro
Best Budget Lawn Fertilizer
4.7/5 Product Rating
This liquid food provides all the nutrients your lawn needs and since it is a liquid, it will be absorbed much faster and more efficiently than using dry lawn fertilizer.
This product has humic acid added to it which will increase the soil microorganism stimulation as well as provide the most benefits that the fertilizer can provide.
Your lawn will be greener and stronger spring, summer and fall.
The reusable container can be used with refills so you can fertilize your lawn when needed.
Refills and the Hasta Gro hose attachment are sold separately.
Liquid fertilizer absorbs into the lawn much more efficiently than dry fertilizer.
It contains low amounts of salt and there is a very minimal chance of the lawn getting burned from the use of this product which can sometimes happen with fertilizers.
– Sarah Lytle
Lawn Fertilizer Buying Guide
What is Lawn Fertilizer?
There are some telltale signs that your lawn will give you to let you know that it needs to be fertilized. Signs that it needs some extra help include the color of your lawn looking pale green, it has traces of yellow in places, you notice that it isn’t growing or that it is growing very slowly and lastly, it has been 8 weeks or more since you added fertilizer. A healthy lawn is not going to be yellowing in places nor will it be a pale, washed out green. If any of these things are going on, it’s time to get out the lawn fertilizer and get started repairing your lawn so you can see that green, lush grass you want.
Types
There are several different kinds of lawn fertilizer available that can help your yard. They are available in many different forms as well. Choosing the right type of lawn fertilizer depends on several factors. These include personal preference, what problems you are dealing with when it comes to your lawn, such as harmful insects, and even how much lawn you are trying to fix. We’ve listed the different types of lawn fertilizer below.
- Liquid Fertilizer – This type of lawn fertilizer works very fast because it is absorbed much quicker than other varieties. The leaves and roots of the plants and grass absorb the liquid and will need to be reapplied about every 3 weeks or so. The majority of liquid fertilizer comes as a concentrate that will need to be mixed with water. Do not put concentrated lawn fertilizer on your lawn without diluting it. Some of the concentrated fertilizers get mixed by attaching the container to a hose, which will then add the needed water as you spray. Others will need to be mixed first and then you will apply with a sprayer. Lawn fertilizers are most often seen for plants and flowers, but there is liquid lawn fertilizer for lawns too.
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Granular Fertilizer – This type of lawn fertilizer will be applied dry. It can be spread with a spreader or you can use a shaker type container and spread it yourself. This is a very common form of fertilizer for lawns and also gardens, mostly because it is easier to do large areas with the dry fertilizer. You can see exactly where you are spreading them and also how much you are using. There are two different kinds of granular fertilizers:
- Quick release – This is also called WSN or water soluble nitrogen. This type of lawn fertilizer will last for about 4 weeks but that is dependent on the weather conditions such as rainfall and temperature.
- Slow release – This type is also called WIN or water insoluble nitrogen. This type has been coated in sulfur and will last about 8 weeks. The ones coated in polymer can last as long as 12 weeks. The length of time they last will depend on how much it rains. With these types of lawn fertilizers, you will not have to reapply them as frequently. They tend to have more growth results as well. With the slow release variety, there is less worry about you burning your lawn.
Organic Fertilizers
Sometimes people don’t like using chemical based lawn fertilizers and want to use a more organic option. There are plenty of organic lawn fertilizers on the market that might appeal to you if this is the route you want to take. One thing to note about organic fertilizers is that they will have to be reapplied often since they do not contain the slow releasing abilities that a chemical based fertilizer has. We’ve listed many of the popular organic fertilizers below.
Benefits of Going Green
There are some advantages to using organize lawn fertilizers. We’ve listed three of the more popular benefits that users of organic fertilizers will notice.
- Living Green – Using organic lawn fertilizer will help the environment because none of the chemicals that are in regular fertilizers will be added to the soil and ground water.
- Food Tastes Better – The fruits and vegetables you eat will taste much better when they come from gardens that have used organic fertilizers.
- Healthy Soil – Using organic fertilizers will prevent the soil from becoming damaged. This leads to healthy lawns that look lush and green.
Conclusion
Using a lawn fertilizer, whether it is chemical based or organic will benefit your lawn in many ways. It can get rid of weeds, damaging bugs and take care of other problems that can keep your lawn from looking its best.
The first step in getting the right lawn fertilizer is knowing the challenges your yard is facing. Are there bald spots? Is it turning yellow in places? Is the color of the grass a pale, washed out green? Do you have a pest problem? Does it seem to not grow anymore? Any of these things and more can indicate a problem with your lawn. In most cases using a good quality lawn fertilizer can correct these problems and help get your lawn back on track.
Lawn fertilizers are not difficult to use. Instructions are simple and once you choose the one you want to use, all you have to do is follow those instructions, keep it watered according to the recommendations on the bag and watch your lawn be transformed.
The information in this buyer’s guide will help you understand the different kinds of lawn fertilizers so you can choose one that will work well with the kind of issues your lawn is facing.
Resources
- Scotts – https://www.scotts.com/smg/gosite/Scotts-v2/home
- Dr. Earth – http://drearth.com/
- Medina Hasta Gro – http://www.medinaag.com/product_details.php?pid=NTc=
