A lawn is one of the most prominent aspects of a residential property. It is the first thing people see when they enter your house, and its appearance can have a huge impact on what they think of you. Moreover, your lawn’s condition can also greatly influence the general value of your property!
A lawn serves many purposes; you can use it to host lively outdoor parties and barbecues with your friends and family, it’s a place for your kids to play and have an outdoor experience, and it can also be your peaceful little abode away from the fast-paced, rushing world!
A green, lush lawn can serve as a great relaxing place, especially if you do gardening as a hobby or have a love of plants! No wonder almost every homeowner wants a healthy, thick, and fresh lawn!
And one of the first things you need to have your dream lawn is proper and effective lawn fertilizing! Fertilization enriches the soil with all the essential nutrients that allow rapid, thick, and lush growth of your grass, outdoor plants, and lawn trees!
Let’s have a look at some major benefits of lawn fertilization and why it is essential for a healthy and beautiful-looking yard!
What Is Lawn Fertilizing?
The whole procedure of applying all the essential nutrients to a lawn to improve its soil quality and enhance growth and overall health is called lawn fertilizing. With time, soil generally loses its quality (porosity, water retention ability, soil pH, nutrients, etc.) due to many factors, such as environmental and weather conditions, weeds, pollution, and pests.
Poor soil quality can negatively affect the health of the grass and plants in a lawn and slow down their growth. This is why fertilizers are applied to maintain and improve the quality of the soil. Lawn Fertilizing involves applying fertilizers of different kinds and types.
Generally, there are two main types of lawn fertilizers: organic and inorganic. Organic fertilizers are made of organic matter, such as manure and compost, whereas inorganic ones are lab-synthesized and made from different chemicals. Soil tests are commonly used to decide which fertilizer would be best for certain soil. A soil test gives a detailed report on the soil’s quality and amount of nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium) present in it.
Major Benefits of Lawn Fertilization
Now that you have a general idea of lawn fertilization, let’s discuss its major benefits.
#1. Improved Growth
One of the primary benefits of lawn fertilization is that it helps improve the overall growth of your grass and lawn plants and trees. Just like sunlight and water, nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus are also important for the normal growth of plants. However, these nutrients often get used up over time. This causes a deficiency that negatively affects overall plant growth and health.
Fertilization replenishes all the essential nutrients in the soil, which enhances growth. Better growth means a thicker, fresher, and greener lawn, which has its many advantages!
#2. Thick and Evenly-Grown Grass
One of the biggest and most annoying problems homeowners and gardening enthusiasts face is uneven grass growth in their lawns! Have you ever seen a poorly maintained lawn with irregular growths of grass in some places and completely barren, dry patches in some? Yes, that’s exactly what we’re talking about.
A lot of people don’t know, but this is because of the irregular distribution of nutrients in the soil. This could be due to many natural as well as man-made reasons, but it causes irregular, uneven grass growth. There would be thick growth at places where the soil is rich in nutrients, whereas there would be zero growth at regions lacking these nutrients. This completely ruins the aesthetic scenery of a home lawn.
Proper and effective fertilizer application helps overcome this problem by evenly distributing nutrients in the soil. This results in thick and even grass growth at all ends of the lawn!
#3. Improved Soil Health
The quality or health of the soil a plant grows in has a major influence on its health, growth, and disease resistance. A plant obtains water from its soil, nutrients, and some essential gasses. Moreover, soil provides basic support to the plant’s roots, which hold them in their place. Plants grown in high-quality soil have been seen to develop stronger root systems and are sturdier and healthier as compared to those grown in poor-quality soil.
A lot of qualities such as soil porosity, water retention ability, toxicity, texture, pH, nutrient retention ability, compaction, and availability of gasses and essential nutrients make up the overall soil health. Lawn fertilizers are applied to enhance all these qualities for optimum growth of grass and plants.
#4. Stronger Root System
Without a doubt, roots are some of a plant’s most important organ systems. They provide the plant with support, water, oxygen, and nutrients. A healthy and strong root system aids in rapid and lush outer growth.
Fertilizers help plants develop strong root systems. These better-developed root systems are resistant to temporary unavailability of water, diseases, pests, and even droughts!
#5. Enhanced Disease Resistance
Plant diseases are a gardener’s biggest fear. They may seem insignificant, but these diseases can quickly spread and completely ruin your lawn in a matter of days! There are many different methods to prevent diseases in plants, such as chemical sprays, but these sprays can be harmful in more than one way. This is why expert gardeners recommend using fertilizers to enhance the natural disease resistance of a plant!
Fertilizers provide the plants with all their required nutrients to improve their overall health. This ultimately enhances their ability to resist and fight diseases!
#6. Better Weed and Pest Resistance
Weed and pests are a homeowner’s number one enemy. Weed growth can ruin your lawn’s clean, aesthetic look, whereas pests can seriously damage plants. Where chemical weedicides and pesticides are the commonly used solutions, they are not recommended by experts as their harsh chemical components can negatively affect the plants (wilting, stunt growth) and deteriorate the soil quality of your lawn.
Instead, experts advise the use of fertilizers to control weeds and pests! Fertilizers cause the plant to grow thick, healthy, and strong roots, which prevent weed growth. In addition to that, these roots are better resistant to damage from pests! Even if your lawn is already infested with pests and weeds, a well-thought-out fertilization plan can help you save it!
#7. Environment-Friendly Solution
Fertilization is an environment-friendly solution. Organic or inorganic fertilizers contain nutrients and vitamins and are mostly free of harmful chemicals. When we apply fertilizers, we are actually enriching the soil with all the essential nutrients plants need, indirectly preserving the environment.
In addition to that, a lush, green lawn aids in filtering pollutants from the environment, as well as providing clean, oxygen-rich air to breathe.
#8. Cost Efficient
A lot of people think that fertilizers are extremely expensive. However, this is completely false! You can visit your nearest green store or contact a well-known lawn fertilizing service to learn how affordable fertilizers are!
Fertilization also reduces the overall maintenance costs as there is less need for watering and mowing, as well as fewer weeds and pests to handle!
#9. More Aesthetic Lawn Appearance
By improving the overall health and growth of your grass and lawn plants, fertilization gives your lawn a more fresh and aesthetic appearance. Not only will you get thicker, healthier, and evenly grown grass, but dense branches and deep green color in your plants. Moreover, reducing weeds will also add to the clean look of your lawn.
#10. Enhanced Recreational Value and a Peace of Mind
A healthy and clean lawn will not only make a great place to play, relax, and entertain but will also provide a safe and inviting space for guests, children, and pets. You will also have peace of mind that your lawn is healthy and safe from pests, weeds, and diseases.
Choosing the Right Lawn Fertilizing Service
Fertilization is a complex task and should be left to the experts. You can hire a lawn fertilizing service to handle all your fertilization needs for you! However, there are a lot of different companies in the market, and unfortunately, not all of them are actual professionals.
A-Z Landscaping is a well-reputed, professional lawn fertilizing service that has been in business for over 40 years! The brand specializes in lawn fertilization and can provide you with excellent fertilizing solutions. Its highly-trained experts will handle your lawn with the utmost care!
You can get in touch with an A-Z Landscaping representative to get a schedule. They offer fertilization schedules in early spring as well as summer and winter. You can also contact them if you have questions, like when to fertilize trees and shrubs. How to fertilize plants naturally? How do you fertilize indoor plants? What is the best fertilizer for trees? How do you fertilize large trees? Etc.
Final Thoughts
Lawn fertilizing is the process by which we add essential plant nutrients to the soil. These nutrients commonly include phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium and contribute to the healthy growth of grass and lawn plants. We have discussed the major benefits of lawn fertilization. Go through these points to learn how fertilizing can help you grow your dream lawn!