- Slow release lawn fertilizer: What is it?
- Slow-release lawn fertilizer: effect and duration of effect
- Long-term lawn fertilizer in comparison
- Advantages of slow release lawn fertilizer
- Lawn Slow Release Fertilizer: Application
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Slow-release fertilizers save you constant re-fertilization and provide the lawn with nutrients for a long time. We'll show you how to apply slow-release fertilizer.
By using a long-term fertiliser, you have the opportunity to extend the fertilization interval and thus reduce the effort required to maintain a beautiful lawn. So, with a little less effort, you can enjoy a dense, green, he althy lawn.
In this article, you will learn what makes a slow-release lawn fertilizer. We compare the effect, duration of action, advantages and use of different variants of slow-release fertilizers so that you can find the fertilizer that is right for you.
Slow release lawn fertilizer: What is it?
Lawns are nutrient hungry, sensitive to deficiencies and will quickly show uneven fertilization with uneven growth. A long-term lawn fertilizer releases the nutrients it contains evenly over a longer period of time. In this way, larger amounts can be fertilized at once without over-fertilization damage occurring. The fertilizer application per year can be greatly reduced in this way. Depending on the product, the effect can last between three and six months. However, the actual duration of action depends not only on the ingredients, but also partly on natural influences such as moisture and heat.
Tip: You should only do without long-term fertilization on lawns that are looked after extremely intensively, in order to be able to control the supply of nutrients meticulously and to be able to react immediately to every event. This is the case, for example, on golf courses, professional sports fields or the finest English ornamental lawns.
Slow-release lawn fertilizer: effect and duration of effect
The effect and duration of action is ultimately determined by the form of the nutrients contained. Many fertilizers contain different components that complement each other.
- Instantly soluble, mineral fertilizer s alts lead to an immediate effect that only lasts for a short time
- EncapsulatedNutrient ions must first diffuse through the sheath. A delayed, long-lasting effect occurs.
- Special chemical compounds that must first be converted by soil organisms before they become available to plants behave more like organic fertilizers. This applies to urea, among other things. The effect is delayed and long-lasting.
- Nutrients bound in organic "shells" can only be made available to plants by using a diverse soil life. Their effect is the longest-lasting and the most weather-dependent of the slow-release fertilizers.
Long-term lawn fertilizer in comparison
Mineral, organic, organo-mineral and bio-certified long-term lawn fertilizers differ in their properties. When the release takes place depends to a large extent on the components contained and at the same time influences the risk of over-fertilization and leaching. The presence or absence of organic matter affects soil quality. In addition, all fertilizer types also have certain special features.
| Fertilizer Type | Release | Faulty fertilization | Washout | Ground | Special feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mineral | In case of humidity | If used incorrectly | If used incorrectly | Lowers quality when used alone | Possibly. contained urea behaves like organic component |
| Organic | For humidity, warmth and biological activity | Very Rare | Very Rare | Increased Quality | May increase soil humus content; no immediate effect |
| Mineral-Organic | Partly with moisture, partly as organic | If used incorrectly | If used incorrectly | Preserves Quality | Immediate and long-term effects |
| Organic | For humidity, warmth and biological activity | Very Rare | Very Rare | High Quality | Contains partially live microorganisms to improve damaged soil |
You can find out more about organic lawn fertilizers here.
Advantages of slow release lawn fertilizer
As you learned above, there are different types of slow-release lawn fertilizers. The following table now lists the advantages of the different variants: The advantages add up from top to bottom.
| Fertilizer Type | Advantages |
|---|---|
| Mineral | + The amount of work required for lawn fertilization is reduced |
| Organic-Mineral | + Preservation of soil life and soil quality + Prevents leaching and over-fertilization |
| Organic | + Larger amount of organic matter for new humus formation: Increase in soil quality + Promotion of soil life + Harmless to humans and animals + Washing out and over-fertilization even less likely+ partially living microorganisms to revitalize a severely depleted soil |
| Organic | + Possibly higher effective speed than organic fertilisers + Sustainably produced + Partly available animal-free |
The long-term organic lawn fertilizers also include the Plantura organic lawn fertilizers and Plantura organic autumn lawn fertilizers that we have developed and which we can only recommend to you because of the undeniable advantages of organic fertilizers. More general information about organic fertilizers can be found here.
Lawn Slow Release Fertilizer: Application
For fertilizing the lawn, we recommend a primarily organic or bio-certified long-term lawn fertilizer. Our Plantura organic lawn fertilizer is used as follows:
- 100 g/m² should be worked into the seedbed when planting new plants; after the grass has emerged and the second to third cut, another 40 g/m² is distributed
- 80 - 120 g/m², divided into two doses, are applied annually as maintenance fertilization
- After scarifying in spring, spread 70 g/m² for regeneration
- 50 - 80 g/m² of the high-potassium fall lawn fertilizer distributed between July and October
Please note the following when distributing:
- The lawn should be mowed before fertilization; 3.5 to 5 cm cutting height is optimal
- 200 ml correspond to 130 g of our Plantura organic lawn fertilizer: You can use measuring cups, glasses or other defined volumes for dosing
- After fertilizing, rain should follow, if necessary also from a lawn sprinkler. Otherwise, the effect will be affected.
- Uneven distribution, while not causing over-fertilization, can cause uneven growth
- For an optimal distribution, we recommend the use of fertilizer spreaders; the settings more commonFertilizer spreaders are indicated on the Plantura organic lawn fertilizers
- In the case of manual distribution, the distribution on the areas is widespread, the edges are reworked. If a large amount of the calculated requirement is left over after distribution, you can distribute this remainder equally over the entire area.
- After fertilization, the lawn can be used again immediately
You can find more information about the different lawn fertilizers here.
You can find out more about "fertilizing the lawn" here in our overview article.