When your lawn is looking a little shabby, you may be tempted to throw some fertilizer on it.
But when, how, and at what time you fertilize your lawn requires some careful consideration.
Heat and dryness are your enemies when fertilizing your lawn.
akurtz/Getty Images
Even without hot temperatures, applying chemical fertilizers to grass exposes it to the danger of burning.
Should You Fertilize Your Lawn?
There are many things to consider before answering this question.
Not everyone’s goals and circumstances are the same.
So the answer will vary from individual to individual.
Proper fertilization is one factor that can make one lawn in the neighborhood stand out above the rest.
Which brings us to the question, How often should you fertilize your lawn?
For the ultimate manicured lawn, you should fertilize it two or three times per year.
But not everyone needs (or even wants) a lush lawn.
There are homeowners who valuelow maintenanceover having the showiest lawn on the block.
There are some homeowners who are organic gardeners, who shy away from using chemical fertilizers.
Homemadecompostcan be applied to a lawn, instead, but there is work involved in making compost.
Gardeners may value what compost is available too highly to waste it on lawns rather than on vegetable gardens.
Just don’t expect to have the best-looking lawn in the neighborhood.
Nonetheless, there’s no one “right” fertilizer schedule.
Different people have success doing it in slightly different ways.
All that can be suggested is a typical schedule favored by many.
They grow most actively when the weather is warm.
A downpour may wash the fertilizer away.
Your grass is stressed at such times, increasing the likelihood that a chemical fertilizer will burn it.
