Gardening Grass Fertilizer Tips

Don't Toss the Clippings

• After mowing the lawn, many gardeners rake up the excess clippings, toss them into a garbage bag and haul them off to the dump. Doing so is a big mistake; grass clippings are an all-natural fertilizer available free of charge with every mowing. The clippings will break down on the lawn within a couple of weeks, providing vital nutrients like potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus to the grass, as well as food to creatures that live in the soil and help make it healthy.

Give the Lawn Some Iron

• To freshen up a lawn's vibrant green color while also improving its health, give it a treatment with fertilizer high in iron. All About Lawns recommends using a granular or liquid fertilizer with iron to rev up the color of grass in just several hours' time. This is an ideal way to get your lawn looking good for special occasions. Besides the aesthetic appeal, iron also improves the health of grass without causing excessive growth, which can require additional mowing. Use iron with caution though, as too much can be harmful and turn grass orange.

Fertilize Seasonally to Nourish the Whole Year Through

• Lawns need regular feedings at different intervals, sort of like breakfast, lunch and dinner spread out over the course of a year. Organic Authority advises giving lawns a dose of nitrogen fertilizer just before winter to strengthen them through the cold months before spring. Another dose at the start of spring will help the lawn's roots grow strong before growing season arrives and fertilizing in the summer will provide grass with nutrients when heat and sun are bearing down.

Protect the Environment

• While fertilizers might make grass green, lush and healthy, they can harm other parts of the environment. Sweep away any loose bits of fertilizer that find their way to the sidewalk, driveway or other surrounding areas. This will keep the fertilizer from getting into the water supply when the next rain comes. Also, the Home Depot Garden Club recommends not fertilizing within 20 feet of streams, wells and other water sources to prevent contamination.