We have put together for you here how to use the right lawn fertilization to repair summer damage and prepare the lawn for winter.
Fertilizing your lawn in the fall is an important factor in maintaining and maintaining the he alth of a lawn. A few points are still unclear to many lawn owners. Mistakes can often damage the beautiful green, which can also affect the coming year.
To clear up any possible confusion, we want to summarize the why, when, how and with what questions as well as the right fertilizer dosage in a way that is easy to understand for you, so that your lawn is resilient and lush green next year.
Why does autumn lawn fertilization make sense?
Only a lawn that is optimally supplied with nutrients shows its best side. Deficiencies are quickly visible, because lawn grasses have a high nutrient requirement. On the one hand, autumn lawn fertilization covers the general needs of the grasses so that they can still use the last sunny days of the year effectively for photosynthesis and storing reserve substances for the winter. On the other hand, autumn lawn fertilization increases resistance to frost due to the high content of readily available potassium.
Note: A normal lawn fertilizer does not have a high potassium content and is therefore not suitable for autumn lawn fertilization.
The timing of autumn lawn fertilization
Autumn lawn fertilizers are almost always slow release fertilizers. Both organic and mineral autumn lawn fertilizers can therefore be applied as early as July to prepare for the winter. When using mineral fertilizers, you should make sure that the period of effectiveness of the fertilizer ends in October at the latest. Otherwise, rain in early winter can wash the released nutrients unused into the groundwater. You can use organic autumn lawn fertilizers such as our Plantura organic autumn lawn fertilizer between July and October, as they slowly release the nutrients they contain, depending on the weather. The risk of leaching is therefore significantly lower and the lawn is cared for in the long term.
When is the best time to fertilize the lawn in autumn?
- Generally, the last fertilization takes place between July and October
- Mineral autumn lawn fertilizers are applied in summer to prevent leaching into the soil
- Organic autumn lawn fertilizers can still be used in September or October and are a better and more sustainable choice
Product characteristics of autumn lawn fertilizers
Autumn lawn fertilizers always have a low nitrogen (N) content and a high potassium (K) content. Excessive nitrogen fertilization in autumn stimulates growth and, in the worst case, even leads to long, soft stalks that are very susceptible to frost. Potassium not only supports the cell wall stability, it is also stored in large quantities in the watery vacuole of the plant cells in autumn. In this way, it prevents ice crystals from forming, which literally burst the cell. As mentioned above, organic fertilizers with a natural long-term effect are very suitable as autumn lawn fertilizer.
The right autumn lawn fertilizer
To keep your green space he althy over the long term, we recommend using an organic fall lawn fertilizer. This does not harm the environment or the animals in your garden and only requires a small amount of effort to keep your lawn perfectly cared for. After some time of use, the fertilized soil will thank you with good nutrient storage, water retention capacity and resilience. Due to the formation of humus, the topsoil becomes elastic and can withstand normal loads without compaction. In order to achieve this, we have developed our already mentioned Plantura organic autumn lawn fertilizer. Not only does it have all the qualities of an organic fall lawn fertilizer, but it's also free from animal ingredients.
Instructions for ideal application
We have put together the following instructions for you so that you can start providing your lawn with the right nutrients for the cold season.
What is the best way to fertilize the lawn in autumn?
- For an autumn lawn fertilization with our Plantura organic autumn lawn fertiliser, 80 g/m2 is a good amount to apply between July and October.
- Alternatively, you can also fertilize 50 g/m2 in July or August and 30 g/m2 then again in September or October .
- Distribute the fertilizer evenly over your lawn. Ideally, this is freshly mowed. Our fertilizer can also be optimally applied with a fertilizer spreader.
- Watering after fertilization is a good way to make the organic matter more easily broken down by soil organisms.
- Mow your lawn to a height of about three centimeters in mid-November and then overwinter it like this. You should not mow or fertilize your lawn in winter.
Tip: If you want to improve the soil fertility of your lawn, we recommend applying a soil activator such as our Plantura organic soil activator. You can find more information about soil activators for the lawn here.