Lawn Fertilizer Tips

Lawns need certain nutrients in order to thrive and need your help to get them. They need a steady supply of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and key nutrients. Too much or too little of these nutrients will cause your lawn to look coarse, sparse, yellow or stunted. The most important nutrients are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

Nitrogen is part of the lawn fertilizer that helps all the green parts of the grass. It promotes strong growth and dark green leaves. Too little and the lawn looks yellow and stunted. Too much and you have rapid, weak growth and delayed maturity. The best organic sources of nitrogen are blood meal, fish emulsion, and manure.

Phosphorus is a calcium phosphate mineral ore that is used by grass and other plants. Lawns need phosphorus in lawn fertilizer to help it grow, mature, and develop hardy roots. Too little phosphorous and the grass will have a red, purple or gray cast to it. Too much phosphorous and it can interfere with the lawn's absorption of other nutrients. Sources of phosphorous are bonemeal, super-phosphate, and rock phosphate.

Potassium is also used in lawn fertilizer to help grass complete photosynthesis, strengthen plant tissue and protect against diseases. Too little and the lawn yellows and falls victim to plant diseases. Too much and magnesium and calcium will not get absorbed. Sources of potassium are greensand, wood ashes, seaweed and muriate or sulfate of potassium.

Other ingredients of lawn fertilizer are not as necessary but still useful. Magnesium assists in photosynthesis and is a key ingredient in chlorophyll. Sulfur helps build proteins as well as amino acids and vitamins. Too little sulfur will turn grass a pale green. Calcium is needed to fortify grass cell walls and for normal cell division. Too little still stop growth. Zinc is also needed for grass cell division. Not enough zinc and your grass will be yellow and thin looking. Iron is needed for protein and enzymes. Leaf blades will be a streaky yellow without it.