Easy Ways to Get Nitrogen Into Lawns

Nitrogen and Lawns

• According to Ohio State University's Extension fact sheet on lawn care, "[f]ertilization is the single most important lawn procedure to improve lawn quality and to maintain a high quality, healthy lawn. The most important nutrient in the lawn fertilization program is nitrogen." Nitrogen deficiencies in lawn soil will cause poor growth and vigor while over-fertilization and an over-abundance of nitrogen will cause excessive top-growth and leave the grass more susceptible to disease and insect interference.

Soil Amendments

• The most common way of adding nitrogen to a nitrogen-deprived soil is through the use of fertilizers. If you are establishing a new lawn, first have your soil tested to determine its fertility and nutrient content. Fertilizer choices should be made in light of soil test results. Fertilizers are labeled with three numbers that indicate the concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium that that fertilizer contains. Therefore, the more your lawn is deprived of nitrogen, the higher the first number printed on the bag of fertilizer should be.

Application Tips

• The question of when and how often to use nitrogen fertilizer on their lawn is of course a pertinent one, but the answer is highly dependent on the species of grass being grown and the type of fertilizer used. In general, however, fertilizer should begin in April and May and continue every eight to ten weeks until the winter. Due to the dangers associated with nitrogen abundance in soil, very nitrogen-rich fertilizers should represent a smaller percentage of total soil volume than less nitrogen-rich blends.

Types of Nitrogen

• Due to the importance of nitrogen to healthy plant growth, there are numerous and varied materials used to impart nitrogen into soil. The most important distinction to make in regards to this question is whether to use slow release or fast release nitrogen. The answer, roughly, is both. A good fertilizer will contain both fast-release nitrogen that fosters immediate root development and a slow-release nitrogen source that makes the grass more winter-hardy and vigorous.