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best fertilizer for new lawn

Best Fertilizer For New Lawn [2023 Top Picks]

The summer season can be a difficult period for lawns especially when certain nutrients are lacking in the soil. This often causes lawns to look scrawny and brownish – something that depicts the lack of nitrogen. Finding and choosing a good fertilizer to green up your lawn is easy-peasy, however, there are a handful of things to look out for. In this article, we selected a few fertilizers but we have a mixed selection of fertilizers in different ratios.


Advanced Balanced NPK- Lawn Liquid Fertilizer
1,026 Reviews
Advanced Balanced NPK- Lawn Liquid Fertilizer

The best fertilizer for a new lawn is the Advanced Balanced NPK- Lawn Liquid Fertilizer. It’s our top pick because of its high nitrogen ratio, quantity, and the sheer fact that you can use it for a large lawn.


Contents

Fertilizer For New Lawns: Comparison Table

FertilizerQuantityFertilizer Ratio
1Advanced Balanced NPK- Lawn Liquid Fertilizer2.5 gals16-4-8
2Scotts Turf Builder Southern Lawn Food28.4 pounds10-0-16
3Ultimate NPK Natural Liquid Fertilizer32 oz3-18-18
4Superior Nitrogen and Potash Fertilizer32 oz15-0-15

Want A Greener Lawn? Here’s What You Should Have In Mind


Fertilizers are created to provide plants with the much-needed elements lacking in the soil. Bear in mind that most of the elements required by plants to grow are naturally available in the soil.

We recommend applying your fertilizers at least two weeks before summer in your region. This will minimize the risk of your lawn getting damaged by the heat of fertilizers especially granules in summer.

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The Basics

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Sometimes these elements are not available in the right quantity for plants to share. Their absence is often as a result of being leached or being overused by the plants. Basically, there are three elements that your plants take up when they feed on fertilizer. They are Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium – in no particular order.

For a greener lawn, you need to understand the work of each of these elements.

  • Nitrogen holds the most important spot amongst these three elements. It is responsible for the green color in plants and helps them grow strong while developing thick and dense leaves.
  • Potassium and Nitrogen together make the foliage and root sturdy and enhance the plant’s resistance to drought, disease, and wear and tear.
  • Phosphorus encourages the growth of strong roots.

Many fertilizers contain these three major elements in different ratios represented by three digits such as 18-3-4. You, however, still need to determine the best ratio for your lawn.


Blend & Fertilizer Type For Your Lawn

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You still need to determine the blend of fertilizer that best meets your lawn needs. All brands of fertilizer list the ratio of their major elements and each blend of the elements serve a different purpose. The soil type and topography of your lawn can be determined by getting information from your realtors or the appropriate planning authorities. With this in hand, you should know which fertilizer to get.

When it comes to choosing the right fertilizer you need to bear in mind that there are different fertilizer types for plants. However, the most common types of fertilizers include:

  • Granular (comes in slow and fast reader sub-types)
  • Synthetic fertilizer
  • Liquid fertilizer and
  • Organic fertilizer.

Now, each of the fertilizer types above is designed to be used at different times and they produce different results.


Brand & Cost

When buying fertilizers for your lawn, you need to identify popular brands that are known to work better. For instance, Scotts is a household name when it comes to fertilizers. But with brand names comes cost too.


Best Fertilizer For New Lawn Reviewed


#1. Best Fertilizer For New Lawn – Advanced Balanced NPK- Lawn Liquid Fertilizer

Advanced Balanced NPK- Lawn Liquid Fertilizer
1,026 Reviews
Advanced Balanced NPK- Lawn Liquid Fertilizer

Features: 2.5 gallons, devoid of harsh chemicals, recommended for any type of grass, spray bottle, balance lawn food, and 16-4-8 NPK ratio.

This is a liquid summer lawn fertilizer. It comes in a 2.5 gal container and can cover up to 32,000 Square feet. Simply put, it’s an all-purpose lawn food in liquid form and comes with the right amount of nutrients for your lawn. It is made from high-quality natural and organic ingredients like fish and seaweed for adequate lawn health. It also contains pure liquid nutrients and Nitrogen, Phosphate, and Potassium in a balanced ratio of 4-1-2 or 16-4-8.

These elements’ unique ratio ensures your grass stays green and healthy and provides adequate turf and root strength nutrients. It is recommended for law grasses like the ryegrass, Kentucky bluegrass, St. Augustine, Bahia, centipede, Florida Palmetto, and fescue grass.

Bear in mind that this fertilizer is manufactured to treat NPK deficiencies and might not improve grasses suffering from insects, weed, fungus, and disease infestation. Lastly, to get the best result after using this fertilizer, you need to keep your lawn watered to ensure proper nutrients absorption.

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#2. Phosphorus-Free – Scotts Turf Builder Southern Lawn Food

Scotts Turf Builder Southern Lawn Food
2,933 Reviews
Scotts Turf Builder Southern Lawn Food

Features: Formulated for southern lawns, all-in-one particles, most grass types, covers 10,000 sq. ft, and 10-0-6 phosphorus-free NPK ratio.

If you have dense grasses on your lawn – Southern Lawn – you should consider having the Scotts Turf Builder Southern Lawn Food on that lawn, especially when it begins to turn brown. This Scotts fertilizer has a 10-0-16 NPK ratio and is made with the special Scotts all-in-one particle system that ensures even distribution of nutrients. The Scotts Turf Builder is manufactured with feeds to protect against drought and heat whilst giving you a lush green lawn.

Owing to its ingredients, it improves the ability of lawns to easily absorb nutrients and water while being able to handle stress from weeds of different kinds. This Scotts Lawn Fertilizer can cover large lawns up to 10,000 sq. ft. They are suitable for use on most grass types but typically Southern Lawns. They dissolve easily to ensure results in no distant time.

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#3. Phosphates + Potash – Ultimate NPK Natural Liquid Fertilizer

Ultimate NPK Natural Liquid Fertilizer
2,068 Reviews
Ultimate NPK Natural Liquid Fertilizer

Features: High phosphorus, elicits growth, 3-18-18 NPK ratio, increases resistance to diseases, can be used for all grass types.

Welting turf tip, low heat, cold tolerance, reduced growth, and density are the symptoms of phosphorus and potassium deficiencies. Your lawn needs basic elements to stay healthy.

If you add more nitrogen to your lawn, it will only be a matter of time before the lawn shows signs of a deficiency in other nutrients. The Ultimate NPK Natural Liquid Fertilizer has an NPK formulation ratio of 3-18-18. This ratio is specially formulated to treat nutrient deficiencies and maintain lawn health. The unique formulation ratio of this improves the mobility of phosphates and highly increases the absorption of NPK, thanks to a stronger root system.

This fertilizer contains high levels of potassium and phosphorus because it’s made from quality organic and natural food-grade ingredients. It can be easily applied to the lawn, the grass type notwithstanding. Due to the presence of phosphate, it increases the movement of food efficiently throughout the turf. The absence of harsh chemicals in this summer fertilizer for lawns makes it safe for pets and kids.

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#4. Phosphorus-Free – Superior Nitrogen & Potash Fertilizer

Superior Nitrogen & Potash Fertilizer
2,707 Reviews
Superior Nitrogen & Potash Fertilizer

Features: 15-0-15 phosphorus-free NPK ratio, organic and natural food-grade ingredients, liquid nutrients, quick and easy to apply.

As the name implies, the Superior Nitrogen & Potash Fertilizer is a liquid fertilizer devoid of phosphorus. It is just like the Scotts Turf Builder Southern Lawn Food – phosphorus-free but in liquid form.

It is designed to solve Nitrogen and potassium deficiency especially if the lawn already has a reasonable amount of phosphorus. This fertilizer combines the power of Nitrogen and potassium with Fulvic acid to highly improve strength, growth, and green grasses. If you don’t know, fulvic acid also helps plants transport food throughout their system and conditions the soil. This fertilizer is free very easy to apply and is free from harsh chemicals that cause stress to your lawn or pets and kids.

It’s also suitable for all types of grass and one gallon of it can cover over 3000 sq. ft. of grass. We’d have loved a larger size for our larger lawns. The hose-end sprayer makes for quick application of this fertilizer thus leading to a more effective result in no time.

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FAQ – Fertilizers For New Lawn

How can I make my lawn greener and thicker? Providing adequate amounts of water and nutrients for the grass is enough to make it become greener and thicker. Also, keeping people off the lawn will make it look firmer, fuller, and greener.

How long does it take for a lawn to turn green after applying fertilizer? Experts opine that it takes about 24 hours or more for fertilizer applied to the lawn to start having effects.

Can I over-fertilize my lawn? Yes, it’s possible to over fertilize the lawn.


Final words…

You can skip the whole process of buying fertilizer and walk up to that neighbor or someone you know that has a lush green lawn and ask them what they did to their lawns. I’m pretty sure they’d be willing to share their secrets with you.

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