Long-term fertilizers save you constant re-fertilization and provide the lawn with nutrients for a long time. We will show you how to use slow-release fertilizers.
By using a long-term fertilizer you have the opportunity to extend the fertilization interval and thus reduce the maintenance effort for a beautiful lawn. With a little less effort, you can enjoy a dense, green and healthy lawn this way.
contents
- Slow-release lawn fertilizer: what is it?
- Long-term lawn fertilizer: effect and duration of effect
- Comparison of long-term lawn fertilizers
- Advantages of a slow-release lawn fertilizer
- Slow-release lawn fertilizer: application
In this article you will learn what constitutes a slow-release lawn fertilizer. We compare the effect, duration of action, advantages and the use of different variants of slow-release fertilizers so that you can find the right fertilizer 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.
Long-term 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.
- Immediately soluble, mineral fertilizer salts lead to an immediate effect that only lasts for a short time
- Encapsulated nutrient ions must first diffuse through the shell. A delayed, long-lasting effect occurs.
- Special chemical compounds, which 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 long-term fertilizers.
Comparison of long-term lawn fertilizers
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 | incorrect fertilization | washout | floor | special feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mineral | With moisture | When used incorrectly | When used incorrectly | Lowers quality when used alone | Possibly. contained urea behaves like an organic component |
| Organic | With humidity, heat and biological activity | Very rare | Very rare | Increases quality | May increase soil humus content; no immediate effect |
| Mineral-organic | Partly with humidity, partly like organic | When used incorrectly | When used incorrectly | Receives quality | Immediate and long-term effect |
| organic | With humidity, heat and biological activity | Very rare | Very rare | Greatly increases quality | Contains partially living microorganisms to improve damaged soils |
More to organic lawn fertilizers you can also find out here.
Advantages of a slow-release lawn fertilizer
As you have learned above, there are different variants 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 build-up: Increase in soil quality + Promotion of soil life + Harmless to humans and animals + Even less likely to be washed out and over-sluiced + e.g. T live microorganisms to revitalize a severely depleted soil |
| organic | + Possibly higher effective speed than organic fertilizers + Sustainably produced + Partially animal-free available |
The long-term organic lawn fertilizers also include the Plantura, which we developed Organic Lawn Fertilizer and Plantura Organic autumn lawn fertilizer, which we can only recommend to you because of the undeniable advantages of organic fertilizers. More general information about organic fertilizers you'll find here.
Slow-release lawn fertilizer: application
For fertilizing the lawn, we recommend a primarily organic or bio-certified long-term lawn fertilizer. Our Plantura Organic Lawn Fertilizer is applied as follows:
- You should work 100 g/m² 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 Scarify in spring spread 70 g/m² for regeneration
- 50 - 80 g/m² of the potassium-rich autumn lawn fertilizer are distributed between July and October
Please note the following when distributing:
- The lawn should have been mowed before fertilization; A cutting height of 3.5 to 5 cm is ideal
- 200 ml corresponds to 130 g of ours 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.
- While uneven distribution does not lead to overfeeding, it can cause uneven growth
- For an optimal distribution, we recommend the use of fertilizer spreaders; the settings of common fertilizer 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 there is still a large amount of the calculated requirement after the distribution, you can distribute this remainder equally over the entire area.
- After fertilization, the lawn can be used again immediately
More information about the different lawn fertilizers get here.
Everything else on the topic”fertilize lawn” You can also find out here in our overview article.
