This Week in the Garden: Your Questions Answered, Week of March 30
Those warmer temperatures earlier in the week had us thinking about lawn care! Good lawn care practices rely on proper timing to keep that turf growing well. A healthy turf can also outcompete weeds.
Question:
What seasonal applications are recommended for my lawn?
Answer:
Spring is an important time to apply nitrogen fertilizer to your lawn, BUT DO NOT fertilize first thing in spring and avoid excessive nitrogen rates. This leads to top growth at the expense of healthy root growth.
Wait until MAY to apply fertilizer, or at least after two good mowings. We typically recommend fertilizing around the times of the major summer holidays, so the first one could be timed around Memorial Day, but it could be a little earlier in our southern region.
Choose a controlled-release nitrogen fertilizer and apply about 1 pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet of lawn area for full sun lawns and reduce the rate for shade lawns. Follow the directions on your product package.
IF your lawn has a recent history of crabgrass infestation, apply a preemergence herbicide when SOIL temperatures reach near 60 degrees for several consecutive days. When the forsythias bloom is usually a good reminder to apply preemergence herbicides soon. Unless otherwise stated on product labels, do not apply preemergence herbicides if reseeding lawn areas the same spring.
Crabgrass thrives in full sun and open, thin turf; take steps to thicken lawns to avoid future crabgrass infestations, starting with raising mowing heights. There is no need to apply preemergence herbicides to your lawn if crabgrass has not been a problem previously.
Stay away from the “weed and feed” mixes or ones that combine an herbicide with fertilizer. The timing to apply the pre-emergent herbicide is much earlier than when to apply fertilizer.
Currently, our soil temperatures are just above 40 degrees, so it is too early to apply anything to the soil like fertilizer or herbicides. Soil temperatures need to warm up in order for the microorganisms in the soil to be active so they can process the fertilizer and make it available to the turfgrass plants.
Learn more:
Please check out these resources as they will be really helpful for growing a thick and healthy lawn!
Wisconsin Lawn Care Calendar – https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/…/wisconsin-lawn-care…/
Spring Lawn Fertilizing Guidelines – https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/…/spring-lawn…/
Lawn Maintenance – https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/lawn-maintenance/
Have a question of your own?
Reach out—we may feature it in an upcoming post!
You can reach Julie, your local horticulture educator at 262-741-4958 or julie.hill@wisc.edu or use our online form: go.wisc.edu/PlantQ