As
to lawn care, many homeowners start out with good intentions in
the spring and settle for almost anything that looks green by midsummer.
Some even have thoughts of asphalting the lawn area and painting
it green before the growing season is over. But what is usually
lacking at the outset-when the seed catalogs come in the mail and
the shelter magazines start touting weed and insect control-is a
planned approach to lawn management. Turf fertilizers are part of
this overall plan, and that's the subject of this 3-part article.
There
are three basic types of turf or lawn fertilizers that you will
find in stores: organic, slow release, and soluble synthetic. They
are not as difficult to understand as the names imply. Of these
three, you probably will use the soluble synthetic type if only
for convenience, availability, and price. But look over the other
two before making a buying decision.
READING
THE LABELS:
Bags of fertilizer are labeled by the manufacturer and give a basic
analysis of the contents. Below is a brief description of what you'll
find and how to interpret it:
The
formula-
The formula will be in numbers such as 20-4-8. The numbers stand
for the percentage of chemicals in the content of the bag. The first
number is always nitrogen. The second is always phosphate, and the
third is always potash-and always in that order. It never changes.
So that you'll always remember this, we've put together a little
"saying:" UP, DOWN, ALL AROUND.
The
first number is nitrogen. It makes the grass grow green and UP.
The second number is phosphate and it makes the root system grow
DOWN and healthy. The third number is potash and it makes the grass
propagate or grow AROUND. Thus: UP, DOWN, and ALL AROUND. You can
apply it this way: If you want the grass to grow UP and green, you
want a high first number. If you want to build a hearty root system,
you want a high second DOWN number. If you want the grass especially
newly established grass-to propagate, you want a high ALL AROUND
third number. An example: 16-10-10. You will get some greening,
but the roots and propagation will be the benefactors. 22-6-4. Lots
of greening, some roots, little propagation. A high first number
will give the grass a quick shot of green-up. (The above are examples.)
This
type of fertilizer is termed "balanced." The word "balance" refers
to the chemicals. Example: grass needs three to five times more
nitrogen as phosphorus and twice as much potassium as phosphorus.
That's why you will usually see this formula in numbers such as
21-7-14 or 24-4-8, although not always since soil and climate may
play a role in the product's formula. Sometimes there will be a
high first number and low second and third numbers. Or there will
be a fairly low first number a high second number, and a low third
number, or a low first and second number and a high third number.
By applying UP, DOWN ALL AROUND to the numbers, you will know what
the fertilizer is intended to do: green the grass (or plant), build
the root system, or propagate it. And this is about as technical
as you need to get unless you want to get into the chemical, climatology,
and other elements of turf building and maintenance.
Also,
for your information, all fertilizers are numbered in the same way.
If you have houseplants, for example, the fertilizer for them will
be ranked by number; 6-88 (for example)-high in phosphate and potash
for roots and plant development; low in greening.
On
the label of turf fertilizer, primary nutrients of the contents
will be noted. Typical would be urea, ammonium sulfate, urea form,
ammonium phosphate, and muriate of potash.
Potential
acidity also is listed. An example: "Potential Acidity 800 pounds.
Calcium Carbonate Equivalent per ton. Net weight 20 pounds." This
means in the above example that the fertilizer has a slightly acid
action. Calcium carbonate is limestone. About 8 pounds of limestone
would neutralize the acidity of this 20 pound bag.
