Baton Rouge Lawn Care Services: Spring Fertilization Tips

In south Louisiana, spring is the ideal time to fertilize your grass. The increased sunlight and warmer temperatures create the perfect environment for your grass to grow and flourish. To make sure you get the most out of your efforts, you must first grasp the best procedures for fertilizing your lawn in the spring before you begin applying fertilizer.

Test your Lawn’s Soil

Checking your soil is a good practice prior to fertilizer application. You can use this to determine the pH of your soil, which will impact how effective the fertilizer is. At your neighborhood garden center, you may purchase a soil testing kit, or you can send a sample of your soil to LSU Ag extension office for analysis. Garden supply centers carry a USPS box kit with everything you need to send up to 3 samples per kit at a time and the results will be emailed to you within 2 weeks.

Select the Right Fertilizer for Your Lawn and Soil

Choosing the proper fertilizer is the first step in fertilizing your grass. Find a fertilizer that is suitable for your lawn's type of grass that is made for use in the spring. Make sure you select the best fertilizer for your needs from the various varieties available, including slow-release and quick-release. Weed and feed fertilizers are great if you have an overabundance of broad-leaf weeds that are prominent during the winter-to-spring transition. Weed and feed products that contain Atrazine or Trimec are great at managing clover, Dichondra, Chickweed, and henbit that are usually found this time of year through early summer. Atrazine does have residual (pre-emergent) control and is recommended if you have an abundance of Pou Anna (annual bluegrassturf-building) that pops up for a few months before the heat of summer sets in. If your yard is mostly weed free, we recommend you opt for a turf building fertilizer without weed control as its always better to not put out chemicals that are not needed to prevent waste and runoff as well as inadvertently building weed resistance to herbicides which is a growing issue in weed control.

Correctly Apply the Fertilizer

It's crucial to apply fertilizer properly and strictly according to the labeled instructions after selecting the right type of fertilizer to use.  One useful tip in determining how far a bag will go in your yard is to measure the square footage either by using Google Maps or by dividing your yard into rectangles or squares multiplying one side by the other (Area=Length x Width). Knowing an approximate square footage amount will help to ensure you purchase the right amount needed and prevent having to make a second trip back to your local garden center!  Make sure to apply the fertilizer evenly and consistently using a walk-behind spreader or chest-style spreader (for smaller spaces) to ensure uniform coverage and complete coverage per total square foot.  It is always better to under-fertilize than to over-fertilize as over-fertilizing will lead to increased disease and fungal issues, burning of root systems, or too much blade growth requiring more frequent mowing to keep under control.

Water Your Lawn After Fertilizer Application

After applying the fertilizer, be sure to give your lawn a good watering. This will assist the fertilizer in penetrating the soil and getting to your grass's roots. To promote deeper root growth, irrigate your grass occasionally but deeply by running the system longer (without excess runoff) to allow water to work its way down through the soil column. You can skip the watering step by fertilizing before “light” rain is forecasted (less than .25” total) as Mother Nature can do the watering for you much more efficiently and for free! It is not advised that you put out fertilizer before heavy rain is forecasted as it will likely all wash out or get redistributed throughout the lawn if the grass goes underwater or is on a slope or hillside.

Don't Feed Fungus in Your Yard

If your lawn has big brown patches, brown circles, or small sporadic spots where grass is dying or turning brown, do not fertilize your lawn as you will only be making the problem worse. Fertilizing while you have an active fungal infection will actually “feed” the fungus and cause it to damage more of your healthy lawn faster. The transition between winter and spring is a prime time for Brown Patch fungus to run rampant and should be addressed immediately. Should you suspect you have fungal activity, we recommend two rounds of either a systemic granular or liquid fungicide, two to three weeks apart before fertilizing to ensure the infection has been cured and the grass can utilize the fertilizer to rebuild and grow back into those areas where it was damage or killed off.

Consider Hiring a Lawn and Landscape Professional

Consider using a professional lawn care provider if you don't know how to fertilize your lawn or if you don't have the time or resources to do it yourself. They can assist you in making the appropriate fertilizer selections, properly applying them, and caring for your grass well into the future.

Fertilizing your lawn in the Spring in Louisiana is an important part of maintaining a healthy and vibrant lawn. The experts at Lawn and Landscaping are here for all of your home or business’ landscaping needs.