Why fertilize your lawn?

Soils are made up of a variety of things that are just combinations of elements like Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium and an entire chemistry lab of other elements that would make your head spin if we tried to list them all. Most plants with root systems have developed a growth cycle that absorbs these elements and can then combine them in just the right proportions to build plant cells.

Carbon is just about everywhere as is Oxygen and Hydrogen, but Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium are three major elements that can be depleted fairly quickly from the soil during plant cell growth. This means these elements need to be replenished for optimum growth. That’s what fertilizer does.

Fertilizer is a common name for a group of chemicals combined either into a liquid or a dry granular structure. Both formats provide the right mix for optimum growth, but dry granular fertilizer has the added ability of slowing down the process by encapsulating those elements with a thin microscopic shell.

So, to answer why fertilize your lawn, is because your lawn uses up certain elements from the soil, and those elements are essential for plant growth. Will your lawn quit growing if it doesn’t get a supplemental supply of those elements? Of course not, but as those elements are reduced throughout the growing season, the turfgrass’ growth begins to slow. In time that growth no longer has the ability to replace the aging turfgrass plants that die of natural causes. The lawn begins to thin, opening up small spaces so that more sunlight reaches the soil. Unfortunately, it is when direct sunlight reaches the soil that certain weed seeds receive the signal to start growing. Almost overnight it seems, weeds begin to appear and multiply and compared to turfgrass, weeds are BIG users of those precious elements that have been depleted– so the cycle continues and accelerates.

Regular lawn fertilization is like money in the bank for your lawn. It keeps all those essential elements for optimum growth, readily available when they’re needed.

Brookside Lawn Service uses only quality lawn fertilizers to protect and nourish your lawn. We serve Highland Hills, Ohio and other northern Ohio communities.