Fertilizing turf: when, how & with what?

A beautiful lawn needs to be fertilized - but what about turf? We explain everything to you about the correct fertilization of turf.

Even if a rolled turf looks as flawless as an artificial turf: in order to stay dense and healthy, it needs the first nutrients very soon after it has been laid. Since the time of the first fertilization depends on various factors, we would like to provide you with a decision-making aid here.

If a turf is laid, a finished lawn is created within a few hours. There is always some soil at the roots of the turf, which was supplied with fertilizer before laying if, when, how and with what a turf will be fertilized next, some people are sure to ask themselves got to. We give you tips so that your turf stays beautiful.

Do you have to fertilize turf?

Overall, the nutritional requirements of a rolled lawn do not differ from those of a sown lawn. Since turf is laid with a thickness of 1.5 to 4.5 cm, it has almost no soil of its own and hardly any nutrients. As a result, like any other lawn, it has to be fertilized at some point to be of high quality.

Fertilize the turf after laying

A turf does not have to be fertilized immediately after it has been laid. Because it should have been laid on optimally prepared soil that was supplied with a fast-acting complete fertilizer. Fertilization “from below” promotes the rooting of the turf and is extremely important. Since roots prefer to spread where nutrients attract, a turf is already rooted after three to five weeks. Thus it is able to use the ground water and you can enter it. The time of the next fertilization depends on the season in which the turf was laid, because this can be done all year round - except in frost and snow.

Time of laying the turf	First fertilization
spring	Early summer
Early summer	Early fall
Early fall	Autumn, with organic autumn lawn fertilizer
Late autumn or winter	Spring, with organic fertilizer

When and how often fertilize the turf?

Rolled turf is also fertilized two to three times a year. The first fertilization of the year takes place between February and June, depending on the choice of fertilizer and the soil. Fertilization in the middle of the year is only necessary if the first fertilization is carried out very early and rather sparingly failed or if the lawn is exposed to very high mechanical loads - such as a football match is. The last fertilization of the year should be with mineral or organic-mineral slow-release fertilizers can be carried out as early as July or August to prevent frost damage to the lawn and nutrient leaching avoid. Organic autumn lawn fertilizers with long-term effects can also be applied in midsummer. However, spreading them later does not cause any damage, as the nutrients they contain are only released in large quantities when the weather is warm enough. More detailed information on the correct timing of lawn fertilization in year can also be found here.

Summary: When and how often do you fertilize turf?

• Like any lawn, a rolled lawn is fertilized two to three times a year
• The first fertilization is carried out in spring or early summer, the last in late summer or autumn
• Organic lawn fertilizers can be laid during the entire growing season without hesitation

How much and with what fertilize the turf?

Since the supply of a lawn with purely mineral fertilizers can be tricky, we recommend the use of organic lawn fertilizers with a natural long-term effect. We have summarized the reasons for this for you.

Mineral lawn fertilizers	Organic lawn fertilizer with long-term effects
Immediate effect, risk of over-fertilization and leaching	Delayed effect, requires earlier fertilization, minimal risk of over-fertilization or leaching
Frequent top dressing required, otherwise it may be Deficiency symptoms	Long-term effect and continuous implementation, long fertilization intervals
Fertilization exactly when there is a need; otherwise overfertilization / deficiency and thereby damage to lawn plants	Fertilization can also be done a little earlier and “in advance” - if necessary even in a single application per year
A high nutrient content promotes the degradation of humus, resulting in a loss of water and nutrient storage capacity, necessitating more frequent watering and fertilization	Organic matter content promotes humus formation, thereby maintaining / increasing the soil quality and an even supply of water and nutrients to the lawn
High salt contents are harmful to microorganisms and attack the skin	Organically "packaged" nutrients are harmless to all animals and humans
Production is energy-intensive or requires the extraction of limited fossil resources and is therefore environmentally damaging	Manufactured from by-products of the food industry, partly also without animal components, therefore environmentally friendly

The perfect turf fertilizer

In order to keep your lawn healthy in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way, we have our Plantura Organic lawn fertilizer and ours Organic autumn lawn fertilizer developed. The fertilizers meet the high demands that a lawn places on fertilization and have all of the above-mentioned advantages of an organic fertilizer. Since they do not contain any animal components, they are not only exceptional, but above all extremely environmentally friendly.

Fertilize turf correctly: Instructions for ideal application

We have prepared detailed instructions for you to fertilize your turf below:

• In spring or early summer about 50 g / m² of our Plantura Organic lawn fertilizer Spread on the freshly mown lawn. As always, the exact date depends on the type of soil that affects the shoot
• More heavily used lawns can be used on two dates each with 30 g / m² be fertilized
• The fertilization with our Plantura Organic autumn lawn fertilizer is 80 g / m² carried out in July, but here too, if the lawn is used for a longer period of time, the application rate is 60 g / m² in July and 30 g / m² possible in September / October

If you want to know more about our Plantura organic fertilizer you can find out more here.

Everything else on the topic Fertilize the lawn you can find out in our overview article. More information about various lawn fertilizers is also available here.