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Did you know that there are fertilizers that can be used for lawns at nearly any time of the year? But even in the middle of the summer, it’s quite common for homeowners to find brown patches of grass outside. Grass must be tended to in order for its color to remain a brilliant green, to which fertilizers can help with immensely.
Below are three of the best grass fertilizers online, chosen for ease of application and the length of time it takes to see results. Be sure to check out the Buyer’s Guide afterward, for in-depth info that’ll make your shopping easier. Let’s get started!
What Is The Best Fertilizer For Grass?
This comparison chart shows basic details pertaining to each reviewed fertilizer’s selling point. For more info, visit the description page of the product.
1. Scotts Turf Builder – Best Fertilizer For Green Grass
The Scotts Turf Builder is made for people that notice browning grass during the spring and summer months. You can use it at any time during these periods, even as far as late August. If your home is situated on sandy soils, this is the product for you.
You can apply it in specific areas that you see need tending to, or simply cover your entire lawn with the fertilizer. Once finished, you’ll notice the grass getting greener after about a week or two.
How to Achieve the Best Results
Water the lawn as normal but skip a day on your regular lawn mowing routine. And best of all, most lawns won’t become choked with weeds. If you do notice any along the edges, simply go over it with a weeder once the grass has had time to fully rejuvenate. All in all, the Scotts Turf Builder is great for all lawns, regardless of the region you stay in. Highly recommended.
Features
- Works well on grass plugs and sod lawns
- Sold in a durable bag that’s difficult to puncture
- Has sizes for lawns ranging from 1,000 to 14,000 square feet
- Promotes faster growth on sandy soils
- Effective results when used in the late spring
- Doesn’t cause an abundance of weeds to grow
- In some cases, two times the recommended amount of food might be needed to see results
2. Maximum Green & Growth – Best Fertilizer For Centipede Grass
Sold in a 32-ounce bottle, the Maximum Green and Growth lawn food is a concentrated formula that’s nitrogen-rich and very easy to apply.
You can hook it up to your garden hose from the back, then spray the nozzle throughout the areas you see browning grass. Again, this is concentrated, so there’s no need to go through the entire bottle in one session.
But don’t worry, as the nozzle that attaches to the hose has a slow-release function that’ll keep you from using more than the desired amount that you want.
When and Where to Use the Formula
Try it out in the spring and summer and your yard will be brighter in as little as a week. If you’re in a rainy and/or humid region, brightening could occur even quicker.
If possible, test your lawn before you begin to see if it’s nitrogen-deficient. If so, consider this product before all others. But overall, you’re guaranteed to have healthier grass with a brilliant green that could stretch into the mid-fall.
Features
- Concentrated formula
- Attaches to most garden hoses
- Has a slow release mechanism
- Builds up nitrogen level in plants, allowing dying grasses to sprout back to life
- During the spring and summer months, results can be seen within days
- The plastic container includes a spray nozzle, making the solution easy to dispense
- Based on soil conditions, may not cause better growth unless a backup fertilizer is used
3. Jonathan Green & Sons Inc 12400 10-0-20 – Best Fertilizer For Grass In The Fall
The final product on the list is the Jonathan Green and Sons Fall Fertilizer, made for use in the Autumn.
As you know, grass will inevitably turn brown the later it gets into the year. Yet with the right preparation and care, the next season’s bloom could not only occur earlier, but with less work required for the grass to turn back bright green.
This is where the Fall Fertilizer comes in. You’ll want to spread this over your lawn around September or early October, the perfect time for the formula to work its way into the roots of your grass.
Healthier roots mean less root death when the cold and ice makes contact with the ground. This is allowing the grass to “hibernate” instead of regressing to a near-death state.
Application Details
Use the formula or any and all grasses, or even centipede grass in the warm months of the year. It contains little to no nitrogen, however, so know this before you buy. But for most, this won’t be an issue if you settle to its application in the fall. Then early in the next year, get ready to see your grass come back to life without with little to no effort.
Features
- 5000 square feet coverage
- Made specifically for protecting roots from damage during the fall season
- Sold in a 14-pound bag
- Keeps roots healthy during the cold months of the year
- Safe to use on centipedegrass in the summer
- Works well for grasses in warm and cold temperate climates
- Not recommended for soil that’s nitrogen-deficient
Buyer’s Guide
This guide will allow you to hone in on which fertilizer product reviewed is suitable for your lawn.
How to Choose the Best Fertilizer
Before picking one of the fertilizers shown in the reviews, you’ll want to do a bit of testing on your soil, if possible. There are a variety of ways that this can be done, so the choice of up to you.
One of the easiest methods is by hand-testing, although this way might not accurately indicate your soil’s nutrient levels.
The reason for testing in the first place is to determine what kind of fertilizer is best for you. Sure, you can pick any of those shown, but some contain more nutrients than others, which has the potential to yield better (and faster) results.
Know when you Plan to Use
If you want to use your fertilizer immediately, know what season that the product will perform best in. Those features are made to be used in the spring, summer, and early fall months. If you’re shooting to fertilize in the early fall, then find a product that’s specifically made for the season.
Additional Steps to Encourage Healthy Growth
Applying fertilizer is only one step in the process to getting a greener lawn. Don’t apply it and expect to do nothing else afterwards. You can water as normal, but cut back on the amount of lawn mowing you do, particularly if the grass is very brown.
The more you mow, the harder it’ll be for the grass to clean away the dead plant material and make way for the green. So ease up on cutting the grass. And when you do wish to cut, set the blade a bit higher off the ground, if possible, to promote green grown near the base.
Region-Specific Recommendations
If you stay in a region that stays cold longer in the year, you’ll want to start fertilizing your grass as soon as the temps rise a bit above freezing. Add the fertilizer to all portions of your soil, paying special attention if the roots were buried in ice and snow previously.
It might take about two weeks for your grass to fully recover but it will become greener than what would occur has you not applied fertilizer. And during early autumn, consider using a fall-based spread to make application in the next year a bit easier to manage.
Fall Fertilizer Application
Again, try to use fall fertilizers early. Don’t wait until you see ice on the ground to do this. September is the idea time for application for most temperature regions. The key here is to work the fertilizer into the lower portion of your grass, not to make it greener.
Why you May not Experience Good Results
If you’ve applied your fertilizer and haven’t noticed any improvements after two weeks have passed, check to see whether or not there’s something you’re missing (or not doing correctly) on your end. A lot of times, it’s due to not watering the grass adequately.
You don’t have to drench your lawn every day, but do ensure that you’re giving it the proper amount of water based on the temperature and humidity of the region that you live in. If you’re doing this, consider allowing your grass to grow for a while without mowing it. Are you using any weed eaters?
When to Fertilize
The best time to apply your fertilizer is on a clear day when there’s no rain. You don’t want anything running off of your lawn, do try and add it to your grass when there’s no precipitation in the forecast. Other than that, you can apply at any time that you wish.
As mentioned earlier, based on the conditions of your soil and grass, it might be a good idea to hold off on cutting. This is also the case before adding fertilizer to the grass.
Keeping your Pet Safe on your Fertilized Lawn
Do you own pets? If so, try to keep them away from some fertilizers. Some dogs might be attracted to the fertilizer. Don’t allow them to play in or get the fertilizer into their mouth, which could give them diarrhea.
However, most dogs and cats aren’t that curious so you shouldn’t have any issues. As for small children, you won’t want them to play on the lawn that has been tended to, at least until you can get the grass back green again.
Summary/Conclusion
Which product do you think is best for your lawn? Although there were only three reviewed, one has all the features that most homeowners need to ensure that their lawn becomes healthier. That product is the first choice, Scotts Turf Builder. There’s plenty of nutrients in the ingredients and is easy to apply.
Furthermore, you’ll see changes in your grass color in as little as one week from the day that you apply it. This isn’t to say that the others are somehow inferior, as they’re just as great, more so for nitrogen-deprived lawns or those looking to safeguard their lawns during the winter. You’ll be satisfied with all of them, no matter which you order to your residence.
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