When Is The Best Time To Fertilize Lawn – Before Or After Rain?

If you live in an area with steady rainfall, you must be wondering when the best time to fertilize your lawn is. You’re not alone in this confusion. We’ve written this article to provide you with the answer to your question. We’ll cover everything you need to be aware of to make your decision about the best time to fertilize your lawn.

By the time this article comes to an end, we’d have covered these topics:

• Why do I really need to fertilize my lawn?
• Pros and Cons of fertilizing before rainfall
• Pros and Cons of fertilizing after rainfall
• When is the ideal time to fertilize?

Interested? Great, let’s dive right in.

Why Do I Really Need to Fertilize My Lawn?

The answer to this is very straightforward; your lawn needs nutrients to flourish. Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium help your lawn to grow. Even though it can get this from the soil, it isn’t always enough and will not last your lawn through different seasons. If you want your lawn looking good at all times, then you need to provide it with all the nutrients it nights. This will help you prevent brown patches on your lawn and also control weed growth. Note that too much fertilizer is also a bad idea for your lawn.

Pros & Cons Of Fertilizing Before Rainfall

Fertilizing before rainfall might not be the best option for you if you do it just before the rain. The reason for this is because it might wash out your fertilizer before the soil absorbs it. This way, the fertilizer will be ineffective and a complete waste of money.

Light rainfall is great if you want to fertilize before the rain because it can help the nutrients break down and be absorbed into the soil. Note that moisture is an important part of the fertilization process and will prevent your soil from remaining healthy.

However, despite these benefits, if the rain washes some of the fertilizer away and empties into larger water bodies, it could lead to water pollution. Another downside is that it could kill aquatic animals and render water bodies unusable for a long while.

Pros & Cons of Fertilizing After Rainfall

If you don’t want to deal with the downsides of fertilizing before a rainfall, you can fertilize after the rain. However, you have to wait till the grass blades are dried out before you fertilize. Sunlight is a vital key in photosynthesis, and when there is no rainfall expected, but there is steady sunlight, you can fertilize your lawn.

It will improve the effectiveness of the fertilizer while improving your lawn’s quality. You get to avoid water pollution around your area, and there is no danger posed to the environment. Your fertilizer stays exactly where you want it to, and if you use synthetic fertilizer, there is no danger posed by water intrusion.

The downside to this select option is that you cannot benefit from the natural fertilizing means. Nitrogen can be added to a lawn through rainfall, but there is no chance of this happening if you water after rain. You have to depend on the nitrogen provided by the fertilizer.

So, when is the best time to fertilize the lawn?

While both options have their pros and con, fertilizing before rain poses more dangers. Yes, you get to miss out on the rain’s natural benefits, but you would be preserving the environment. The best option is to fertilize after a rainfall; there is no negative environmental impact to fear. Also, the rainfall prepares your lawn for fertilizer and makes most of the nutrients. The best part is that the top layers might still be wet and mix with the fertilizer to make it more effective.

Resource

• Tips for fertilizing the lawn – HomesGardensCare