You’ve sprinkled your lawn with fertilizer and watered it to ensure it dissolves. Now you’re wondering for long you will wait to see a lush green color in your garden. If you used a granular fertilizer, expect the results as follows:
Quick-release granular fertilizers take 1 to 2 weeks to work after application. Slow-release fertilizer is gradually broken down into available nitrogen by microorganisms and will take 3 to 10 weeks to improve your lawn
How long does granular fertilizer take to work on grass?
The importance of fertilizing your lawn is to have a lush green color and healthy grass that is resistant to infections. However, you need a fertilizer that will work and give the best results.
How long it takes granular fertilizer to work on your grass depends on the fertilizer type; is it organic slow-release or synthetic quick-release?
Organic granular fertilizers
Organic slow-release fertilizers contain primary nutrients the plants require, i.e., Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. It may also contain micronutrients, potash, and microorganisms that are helpful to your lawn. These nutrients are derived from organic sources such as fish emulsion, bone meal, blood meal, or other organic materials
Fertilizing your lawn with organic fertilizers takes longer before you notice any positive results. This is because they have to decompose fully before releasing nutrients. However, they have long-lasting results. They are also environmentally friendly.
2. Synthetic Granular Fertilizer
Synthetic fertilizers also contain nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium as the main components. They are artificially made in a laboratory using chemicals. They dissolve easily to release nutrients. Therefore, they have quicker results when applied on the lawn.
When purchasing synthetic quick-release fertilizer, be sure to check its nutritional ratios or percentages. For instance, when choosing fertilizer to apply on your lawn in spring, use a higher phosphorus ratio to stimulate root growth.
Synthetic fertilizers can also be designed to release nutrients slowly. They are coated with other compounds to slow the release. Fertilizing your lawn with such fertilizer may take a little longer to show results. Probably 1 to 2 weeks after application.
Also Read: Liquid vs Granular Fertilizer for Lawn – Which is better?
Does granular fertilizer need to be watered in?
The short answer is yes. Granular fertilizer needs to be watered in the lawn right away after application. It helps to wash the fertilizer off the grass blades into the soil. Water also dissolves the fertilizer into a form that plants easily absorb.
It is also important because fertilizers have scorching effects. They can burn your lawn when allowed to sit on the grass blades for too long. I am sure you won’t like brown patches on your lawn.
The soil needs to be moist before and after fertilizing your lawn. However, you are supposed to water moderately. Excess watering can cause run-off and end up washing away the nutrients. Water evenly and deeply for about 20 minutes.
Fertilizers also present other dangers when washed away through. It can pollute the underground water, nearby streams, and ponds. This can lead to the poisoning of marine animals and other wildlife.
If you are using a sprinkler and a horse, move it around so that the whole area receives even water coverage. If you don’t have an irrigation system, you can let the rain do the trick for you, but you have to do the correct timing.
When relying on rainfall, visit a weather forecasting station to get details on the expected amount of rainfall. Fertilize your grass or plants before a light rainfall of about ½ an inch. If the weather station forecasts heavy rainfall, do not use fertilizer as it may leech.
Now that you’ve watered your lawn or plants after fertilizing, what do you do next? Do you stop or continue watering? This is really an important question. After the initial watering, wait a couple of days for the fertilizer to settle in before returning to your routine watering procedure.
Avoid light and frequent watering; instead, water evenly and deeply. Frequent and light watering promotes shallow and needy root growth, while infrequent and even deep watering promotes deeper and healthy root growth.
Also Read: Does Lawn Fertilizer Go Bad?
How long does granular fertilizer last in the soil
How long granular fertilizers last in the soil is determined by the type, formulation, and purpose of the fertilizer you use. Different fertilizers are made from different ingredients to meet the intended nutritional requirements of the plant.
Generally, fertilizers can stay in the soil for between 7 days to 9 months. The exact time may vary depending on the fertilizer’s type and purpose.
Type of the Fertilizer
Slow-release fertilizers contain nutrients in a more complex form. They dissolve slowly to release small quantities of nutrients into the soil. They can last in the soil for up to 9 months. Most of them are meant to last for the entire growing season.
On the other hand, quick-release fertilizers contain readily available nutrients for plants. They are absorbed by the plants almost immediately after application and can only last in the soil for 2 to 4 weeks.
The purpose of the Fertilizer
Some fertilizers are formulated to target a certain growth stage, while others are meant to last for the entire growing season of the plant. For instance, you may require different fertilizers during the planting, growth, and flowering stages. Each fertilizer formulation will only last for a couple of weeks.