Home Garden
# Home & Garden >> Garden & Lawn >> Lawn Maintenance

What Type of Fertilizer Should I Put on My Yard in the Fall?

Regardless of where in the country you are located, fall is an excellent time to give the lawn a good last feeding or two to help it through the winter and be prepared for spring. The rates of fertilizer and timing vary depending on whether you have warm or cool season grasses.

  1. Warm Season Grasses

    • Nitrogen is the first number on a bag of fertilizer.

      For lawns in warmer climates that have grasses such as zoysia, St. Augustine, centipede and bermudagrass, they benefit from a September application of nitrogen fertilizer at a rate of 1 pound of actual nitrogen per 1000 square feet of lawn area. Subsequent applications of one-quarter to one-half of a pound of nitrogen fertilizer that also contains potassium can be applied every four to six weeks thereafter until your area has received its first frost; this will help your lawn to recover more vigorously the following spring.

    Cool Season Grasses

    • Granular lime is easier to apply to your lawn than pulverized lime.

      For lawns in the northern region and cooler parts of the country that have primarily Kentucky bluegrass, fescue or ryegrass lawns, an application of a nitrogen lawn fertilizer in September is recommended. Apply at a rate of 1 to 1 1/2 pound of actual nitrogen per 1000 square feet of lawn area. If the pH of your lawn is too low, October or November is the time to apply lime to your lawn to raise it.

    Other Fall Lawn Maintenance

    • If seeding in the fall, select a seed mix that is a blend of several different grass varieties for maximum disease resistance.

      In addition to fertilization, fall is the time to tend to other maintenance tasks in your lawn. Competition from lawn weeds is lower in the fall than in spring and as such, it is the best time of year to do any seeding or overseeding. If there are still weeds in your lawn, they can be treated with an herbicide. They often continue to grow after other grasses have gone dormant, so it is safer to apply herbicides without risk to your desirable plants.

    Soil Testing

    • A professional lab analysis will tell you a soil's pH, nutrient levels and porosity.

      Recommended fertilizer rates and application suggestions should be determined by a complete soil analysis. If your lawn is generally healthy, maintenance applications of lawn fertilizer should be all that is required most years, but soil should be tested every few years even in healthy lawns. Use do-it-yourself soil kits available at most garden stores, or send a soil sample to your local cooperative extension or university lab. Sampling is inexpensive and will tell you exactly what you should apply to your lawn.

Previous:

Next:

Lawn Maintenance
  1. What to Put in an Island in the Front Yard
  2. What Happens When I Put Too Much Fertilizer on the Grass?
  3. What Grass Should I Plant in the Fall?
  4. What Kind of Fertilizer Do I Use for My Grass in the Fall?
  5. What Affects the Growth of Grass?
  6. What Can I Do If My Yard Is Lumpy?
  7. What Does Bermuda Grass Need in the Fall?
  8. What Fertilizer Do You Put on Fescue Grass in the Winter?
  9. Why Put Peat Moss on Grass Lawn in the Yard?
  10. Should One Fertilize the Lawn in March?
  11. What Is the Difference Between Lawn Fertilizer & Garden Fertilizer?
  12. What Are the Numbers on Lawn Fertilizer?

Home Garden © https://www.98905.com