A complete guide to lawn and grass feeding

It’s a fact that lawns benefit from regular feeding. Without extra nutrients, the grass soon uses up plant food reserves in the soil and then turns pale and thin.

Without food to develop side shoots and thickness a lawn is also open to invasion by weed seeds and moss that thrive in low nutrient conditions. A regular supply of supplementary food makes your lawn thick and green.

There a few types of lawn feed, so you may be a little confused about what to look out for when buying online.

Don’t fret; below are the descriptions and properties of the types of lawn feeds, including the specific benefits of each.

Which lawn feed should I use?

Some lawn treatments just feed your garden lawn and are ideal if your lawn is weed and moss free, but others have added ingredients such as weed killers and/or moss killers. Furthermore, some are designed to use in the autumn to toughen up the grass ready for the winter and/or kill moss.

The reason some lawn feeds are better than others, is because they can release nitrogen and feed over several weeks rather than in one rush soon after application.

The best lawn feed (or fertiliser) to use is one that provides protection from weeds while systematically feeding your lawn and ideally should be applied between April and September. Try Miracle-Gro EverGreen Complete 4 in 1  as it will provide year-round feed when applied no more than twice a year.

Spring and summer lawn feeding

For spring feeding use a product containing feed, weed killers and moss control. This will quickly help the grass to start growing again and control any weeds that are present, plus kill off the moss that might have invaded the lawn over the winter.

Later in the spring once the weeds and moss are under control, move over to just a lawn feed to keep the grass looking thick and green. Liquid lawn feeds via a hose end feeder are ideal for using in late spring into summer as they water the lawn as well in dry periods.

If the weather turns very hot garden grass stops growing and will not use any feed. In addition to this lawns get ‘stressed’ during prolonged dry spells which makes them more susceptible to damage by lawn fertilisers. This will result in you having to take extra care of your garden lawn from that point on.

During these conditions stop feeding your lawn and wait until it has rained to let the water soak in for a few days, then start feeding again. Feed throughout the summer at 6-8 week intervals, weather permitting.

Autumn lawn feeding

Your lawn needs another type of feed in autumn, one which will keep the grass growing at a slow rate and not so lush but still green. It also prepares your lawn for the winter by building up the roots and health of the grass to withstand the cold.

Additionally, some autumn feeds have moss control added to combat any moss present. It’s important to feed with a specific autumn lawn food, such as Miracle-Gro EverGreen Autumn Lawn Care, to get the grass ready for the colder wetter weather of winter and strengthen the lawn ready for spring. Autumn lawn feeds are low in nitrogen as we don’t want to encourage any soft top growth that can be easily burnt by frost.

Feeding in autumn helps encourage strong root growth so your lawn will recover quickly from a harsh winter and put on lush green growth in spring. Autumn feeding is actually the most important feed and an integral part of lawn care!

Whichever product you are using, always carefully read the label before use and apply according to the instructions.