Regardless of what’s written, or said, or promoted on TV…there’s nothing WRONG with applying spring nitrogen to your lawn.
And why do we make the point?
Because in recent years it’s become popular, and common, for some lawn care companies (and lawn care products) to promote themselves by declaring that if you properly feed your lawn in the fall you don’t need to do it again in the spring. They’ll tell you that you’re just throwing your money and resources away for the sake of thinking that if some is good…more is better!
The second argument against spring (March and April) feeding is this – that by doing so you’re creating a dependency in your lawn that discourages deeper, and more vigorous, root growth. Therefore, if you feed in early spring and again in early summer you’re subjecting your turf to a shallow root system that will wither and die for lack of ground nutrients come July and August.
Here are the facts.
It ‘is’ good to feed in October and November to create deeper root growth and sustain your lawn over a hard winter. But that was five months ago, and grass is a living organism, just like people. It gets hungry the same way we do. So by feeding it nitrogen in March you’re doing nothing more than promoting a faster, greener start to the growing season. It actually energizes roots, helping your lawn grow thicker, quicker, and ahead of spring weeds like dandelion and buckhorn. Remember, thicker grass means thinner, and fewer, weed problems.
It is true that you can ‘overfeed’, but systemic applications in March, May, July, September and November is hardly over-doing it if you consider that being a living, breathing thing turf grass must be maintained by regular meals. And whether you feed it, or you call Ever-Green, the rate of application is the same. Generally, a 50 pound bag of reputable nitrogen fertilizer will adequately cover about 15,000 square feet.
So if you’re confused, don’t be. There ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with fertilizing your grass in the spring.
