ORGANIC
FERTILIZER:
This is the real stuff: fertilizer obtained from plants and animal,
or human waste (actually sewage sludge). Organic
is a "balanced fertilizer" but its drawback is that it is slow-acting
and lacks a lot of punch: a formulation of 1-1-1 is common. The
slow action actually can be beneficial since you usually can't burn
out the grass with too much nitrogen.
Prices
of organic fertilizers are generally lower than the man-made materials,
which can be an advantage if you have time for the slow organic
reaction. Organics work best in warm weather; unfortunately, warm
weather is not the time most lawns should be fertilized.
SLOW
RELEASE FERTILIZER:
You'll know these fertilizers by the label: "WIN," which stands
for water insoluble nitrogen. They have a very high percentage of
nitrogen-enough to burn grass to a frazzle. However, since the chemical
is slowly released, it is really not a problem (if properly applied,
of course) since the nitrogen doesn't release into the plant in
one sudden surge.
The
big advantage of slow release fertilizer is that you can douse your
lawn with a large amount of the product at one time so you don't
have to come back often for re-application. WIN, in spite of its
high nitrogen content, does not green grass fast, because of its
slow-release feature. This might be a consideration when you go
shopping.
SOLUBLE
SYNTHETIC FERTILIZER:
You get a lot to like with these products. But first, the negative
points: You probably will have to apply the fertilizer more often
because a normal lawn requires a certain amount of nitrogen annually
(about 8 pounds) so you have to spread more to meet requirements.
If applied properly there is no fertilizer burn; if the product
is overlapped when applied, there is danger of fertilizer burn.If
the lawn is wet when the fertilizer is applied or if the lawn is
not watered after application there can be trouble with fertilizer
burn.
The
good news includes this: the products are not cost prohibitive-in
fact, they are competitive among manufacturers. The products are
predictable in that you know before you apply them what the results
will be. They are easier to handle than other fertilizer types.
You can buy them with "additives." For example, fertilizers that
hype dandelion control. The fertilizer must be applied at a certain
time to be effective. Another example is crabgrass control. The
additive in the fertilizer coats the crabgrass seed, preventing
it from sprouting. The coating doesn't stop desirable turf grass
from germinating. If the crabgrass preventer is not applied in early
spring, before germination, it is worthless as a crabgrass control.
However, you can use other chemicals after the crabgrass is actively
growing. They can be applied with a spreader or they can be sprayed
on the turf grass.
Some
of the weeds controlled by fertilizers plus additives include dandelion,
crabgrass, common chickweed, ground ivy, mouse-ear chickweed, wild
garlic, goose grass, henbit, knotweed, nimble will, plantain, quack
grass, and sheep sorrel.
