Spring is in the air, and many of us want to give our lawns a boost by applying fertilizer. Florida-Friendly Landscaping principle number #3 is “Fertilize Appropriately.”
Let’s discuss how one can accomplish the task of fertilizing appropriately. I must warn you – there will be math! I know, that thought makes me pause as well. Math and I are not friends, but this math is fairly simple, once you’ve got it figured out.
First things first, though! Hernando County has a Fertilizer Ordinance restricting the times a homeowner can fertilizer their lawn. January 1 – March 31 is a blackout period. No homeowner is allowed to fertilize their lawn during that time frame. Don’t worry about it! Your lawn isn’t worrying about it! The lawn isn’t actively growing during that time frame. Its roots have shed at such a rate, that they can’t even take up many nutrients anyway. Your warm season lawn (bahiagrass, Floratam, Zoysia, etc.) is in a semi-dormant state. Let it rest.
But we are no longer in the black-out period, are we? So, how does one fertilize their lawn appropriately? Let’s explore the mysterious label on a bag of fertilizer. There are 3 numbers right on the front. Let’s say those numbers are 16-0-16. What does that mean? The first number is always nitrogen. The second number is always phosphorous, and the third number is always potassium.
So, in a 50 pound bag, does that mean that 16 pounds of it is nitrogen? No! It can’t be that easy! I told you there will be math. Here goes –
Take the first number (N) 16. Divide that by the size of the bag – 50#.
16/50 = 8.32
.
There are 8.32 pounds of N in the bag.
Do the same equation with the other numbers, for phosphorous and potassium. The left over weight is fillers and micronutrients.
Now what? The University of Florida recommends 1 pound of N per 1000 square feet of your lawn per application. For ease of my terrible math skills, let’s say your lawn is 1,000 square feet. You have approximately 8 applications of N in that bag.
How do you know you are scooping out nitrogen and not everything else? You don’t – but here is a great tip…Listen GENTLEMEN – READ THE LABEL! It will give you application rates to achieve the recommended 1 pound of N per 1000 square feet. (I know ladies fertilize, too, but they also tend to read labels!) The label on a fertilizer bag is not a recipe with which you can experiment. The label is the law! That’s our mantra around here. Changing the rates on the label will do more harm than good to your lawn.
Back to those numbers, why is the middle number so often a 0 on lawn fertilizer bag? We discussed earlier that number represents phosphorus. Florida soils contain plenty of phosphorus (generally speaking.) We don’t need to add more. Also, phosphorus promotes fruiting and flowering. Not things we are looking for in a lawn.
Here is another tip regarding fertilizing. Don’t bag those lawn clippings! Let them fall. This does not cause thatch. It has been found that those clippings contain enough nitrogen to allow you to skip one fertilization application a year.
One more thing, Just Say No to the weed and feed products. Fertilizing and weed spraying are two different processes that should be done at different times in Florida. Remember our ordinance? We can’t apply fertilizer until April, and it already too hot for herbicides, and the weeds have already got a pretty good hold by that time. Not to mention, we don’t encourage broadcast weed control. Spot treat where you have a problem. If the weather regularly reaches over 85 degrees, many herbicides turn into total vegetation killers. That means your lawn, too. Just walk by the weed and feed products.
For more information on fertilizing your lawn, or on Florida-Friendly Landscaping tips, please call Lilly at 352-540-6230 or call a Master Gardener at 352-754-4433.
Lilly Browning
Florida-Friendly Landscaping Program Coordinator
Hernando County Utilities Department
Water Conservation Division
21030 Cortez Blvd.
Brooksville, FL 34601
(352) 540-6230