Everyone wants a green, healthy lawn. It’s one of the first things that people will notice when they are looking at your property. Because it’s so important, many people are looking for easy ways to maintain their lawns. This can cause them to turn to weed and feed formulations.
These combine a weed killer and lawn fertilizer, killing two birds with one stone. However, is this a good option or should you do each of these stages separately? Let’s take a closer look at this issue, so you’ll be able to take care of your lawn.
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Are Weed and Feed Products Good for Your Lawn?
Let’s start by looking at whether you should be using weed and feed products. There are many reasons why weed and feed products might not be a good solution. First, they might be presenting environmental harm. The weed portion of the product contains harmful chemicals, to kill the weeds. However, these pellets can be eaten by birds and other wildlife. When this happens, the animal might die from the chemicals. This could be responsible for thousands of animal deaths each year. These can also be ingested by small children, which might make them feel sick.
It’s also possible that the harsh chemicals might impact on the lawn. As we’ll see, weed killers need to be applied selectively to get the best results. However, weed and feed products tend to be distributed across the whole lawn. This can have a big impact on the lawn. Over time, the lawn will become dependent on these chemicals to stay weed-free.
So, despite the convenience of a weed and feed product, it might not be worth it over the long term. Thankfully, there is a simple solution. You just need to apply weed killer and fertilizer separately. Though it might take a little longer, it will reduce your environmental impact and you’ll be helping your lawn grow.
How to Weed Your Lawn?
The easiest way to weed your lawn will be using a weed killer. However, to be most effective, you’ll need to apply it at the right time. Usually, this will be when the weeds are growing during the spring months. At the start of spring, you’ll start to notice some weeds emerging. However, because there aren’t many, you’ll be able to pick them out of your lawn by hand.
As the spring months wear on, more weeds will start to sprout. This is the ideal time to use the weed killer. For the weed killer to have the best impact, you’ll need to make sure that you’re using it selectively.
First, you’ll want to use it in the middle of the day, only applying it when the grass is completely dry. You should make sure that you’re using it when it’s unlikely to rain for a few days. If the grass gets wet, the weed killer will wash off. If you’re mowing, don’t get too close to the weeds, so there’s something for the weed killer to attach to.
Once applied, don’t mow for at least three days so the solution has plenty of time to work. Generally, you’ll only need to apply one to two treatments per year, depending on the product that you are using. Often, you’ll just need to spray onto the weeds, rather than the entire lawn.
There are many types of weed killers on the market. For example, you might find some that come in pellet form. There are some other forms that you’ll need to mix with water and spray onto the weed.
There are also dozens of different brands, each offering a slightly different solution. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and confused about which option will be best for your lawn. And also, problems often arise with animals that are poisoned by these substances. Of course, this is the owner who did not spend enough time choosing the right lawn care product. To make this choice easier, you can use visit our friends from Backyard Style and read their weed killer for lawn analysis which compares some of the most popular brands on the market.
How to Apply Fertilizer
Once you’ve applied the weed killer, you’ll need to add the fertilizer to your lawn. This will encourage the grass to grow. The time to apply fertilizer will depend on the type of lawn that you have.
If you have a newly planted lawn, you’ll often need to wait at least six weeks before you can start fertilizing it. This is because they will be planted with plenty of fertilizer, so you don’t need to add any more. If you’ve recently installed a new lawn, you might want to call the nursery and check when you can start fertilizing.
Two days before you add fertilizer, you’ll need to water the lawn. This will help prepare the lawn to receive the nutrients. For an even better effect, you might want to aerate the lawn before applying the fertilizer. This will allow the nutrients to pass directly into the soil.
Once you’ve prepared the soil, you’ll need to add the fertilizer. There are many ways that you can do this. For example, you might want to get pellet fertilizer, which you’ll need to spread around the lawn. In other cases, you might get an attachment which you’ll need to slip onto the end of the hose, to spray it onto the lawn. The fertilizer will contain instructions about how it’s meant to be applied onto the lawn. Unlike the weed killer, which is applied selectively, fertilizer is applied to the entire lawn.
How often you need to fertilize your lawn will depend on the amount of maintenance you are willing to do. The more nutrients your lawn receives, the more rapidly it will grow. Generally, you’ll want to fertilize three times a year, during the Spring, Summer, and Autumn.
Conclusion
It’s important to take care of your lawn. Though you might find weed and feed products convenient, it’s often best to weed and fertilize separately. As we saw, this doesn’t need to be a difficult process. Usually, you’ll only need to apply these products once or twice a year. So, kill weeds and fertilize your lawn to keep the grass looking stunning year-round.
