Portland Oregon lawn Care

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What is the best way to apply fertilizer?

For lawns that are small in size, drop type spreaders are the most efficient tools to be used in applying fertilizers. The use of drop spreaders can significantly reduce the chances of applying fertilizers inefficiently to streets, sidewalks, or driveways because of its accuracy.

Fertilizer does not spread across the surface when applied, that is why it is ideal to overlap with each pass to avoid skips on the soil. For an efficient application, reduce the application rate to half on the first, and apply the second half on the second pass of the fertilizer application. Applying twice using different angles will optimize the application of the fertilizer and can prevent skips. To prevent applying a large amount of fertilizer in just one spot, make sure that the spreader is in motion upon opening it.

It is a wise decision to invest on high quality and top of the line brands rather than buying spreaders that are offered on discount specials. Based on an extensive testing for spreaders in OSU, there are many manufactured spreaders that cannot efficiently apply fertilizer, and poorly designed and constructed that they cannot even be calibrated. Top selling brands perform excellently and are bought with instructions on proper use and different settings to be used with fertilizers.

Spinner types or rotary spreaders are recommended for larger lawn areas in terms of applying fertilizers. This type of spreader is best to be used on lawns with other plants surrounding the area because they can trap and use the fertilizer. Rotary or spinner type spreaders tend to spread the fertilizer past the lawn area, flower beds, shrubs, and even on the streets and sidewalks.

A majority of these spinner type models are very inaccurate, people find it difficult to use them. For someone who already has this type of spreader, the only way you can figure out how to use it properly is through trial and error. For starters, you may want to split the rates and make a few consecutive passes to efficiently spread the fertilizer in to the lawn. 5 to 15 feet is the recommended range for spacing, but this can still vary depending on the type of fertilizer and machine that is used. Going over the lawn at different angles for each pass may help in covering the area with fertilizer and avoiding skips.
v What should I know before I fertilize?

The first step is to carefully read the instructions printed on the package in order to determine the size of the area the fertilizer can cover. Using the directions on the package, adjust the settings of your spreader. Next, fill up the spreader on a flat or level surface, keeping away from the lawn. Check first that the spreader is closed before filling in the fertilizer to avoid spills and stains.

To avoid burning grass, apply your soluble fertilizers in the evening where there is more dew on the grass than in the morning. Also, this is the time when the lawn is dry from the morning and the temperature of the soil is cool.

In the summer months, applying fertilizer is not needed as the grass does not need it during these hot months. During the summer, the growth for shoots is more favorable rather than with roots. If it is needed, apply lower rates of fertilizer during the midsummer months.

If you have a blower, you can use it to blow the fertilizer away from the sidewalks or driveway and back to the lawn to avoid stains and to prevent them from getting washed in to the sewers. You can also reduce the risk of foliar burn by watering the lawn after cleaning your hard surfaces. This will also allow the fertilizer to be washed on to the root zone, where the roots of the grass can accumulate it. If the hard surfaces are dry, you can also water thoroughly. If the hard surfaces are moist, you can water it just enough to wash away the fertilizer from the foliage and back in to the roots of the grass.

What about environmental pollution?

With regard to environmental pollution, nitrogen and phosphorus are among the concerns that are involved with groundwater leaching and runoff. Nitrogen is said to cause leaching and phosphorus is said to contaminate surface waters.

If nitrogen levels in groundwater are high, it will most certainly lead to wells having high nitrogen levels as well. Based on research, there have been numerous diseases that are linked with drinking water having increased levels of nitrogen.

The growth of plants in ponds, lakes, and streams is said to be caused by pollution of the surface waters with phosphorus. Fish kill is also caused by the decrease in oxygen levels from the algal growths contributed by increased levels of phosphorus. Fouled waterways are also caused by the growth of aquatic plants stimulated by phosphorus, making them unusable even for recreational purposes.

Phosphorus and nitrogen pollution are found in many different sources, but according to research from universities, synthetic fertilizers used on lawns are not one of them. Consistent demonstrations have proven that this type of fertilizer does not contribute to groundwater or surface water pollution. Because grass is very efficient in absorbing nitrogen, there are rare occurrences for leaching and runoff. These negative effects are easily avoided when the fertilizers are applied properly, based on the appropriate rates indicated on the product labels.

According to a Penn State Agriculture report, 99.7% of nitrogen pollution is found in other sources aside from lawns and large fields such as golf courses.

87.9 % of nitrogen pollution is accounted to agriculture and atmospheric deposition, 8.4% is accounted to urban storm water runoff, 3.4% is accounted to septic systems, and only 0.3 percent is accounted to lawns and golf courses.

From the same study, it was revealed that agriculture contributed to 68.8% of phosphorus pollution, septic systems contributed to 13.1%, and urban storm water contributed to 10.8%, atmospeheric deposition contributed 7.1%, and lawns and golf courses contributed only 0.2%. Phosphorus pollution from sources aside from lawns and golf courses were attributed to 99.8% in total.

The study made by Penn State University is similar to other reports made from previous years. There were very little amounts of phosphorus and nitrogen that showed up from the soil tests done on specified lawn sites. The results showed very little of leachate or runoff.

The question is: Is it true that lawn fertilizers do not pose a risk for pollution? The truth is that fertilizer has many potential effects and problems, but with discipline and proper use, you can be safe to say that you are not contributing to any type of pollution. For more information, read on the tips for ensuring that lawn fertilizers do not contribute to pollution.

Tips for ensuring that lawn fertilizer doesn’t contribute to pollution

1. When applying fertilizers, make sure that there will be no residues from the lawn going on to the streets or sidewalks. Fertilizers that land from the lawn on the street are one of the greatest sources of pollution.
2. Before irrigating the lawn, make sure to wash away the fertilizers from the streets to avoid getting in to storm sewers and ground waters.
3. The best time to apply fertilizers is during the months of spring through fall, where the grass is growing and the nutrients are absorbed more efficiently.
4. Instead of fertilizing less frequently at higher rates, it is better to fertilize at lower or smaller rates more frequently.
5. To achieve your desired grass quality, observe your lawn in between fertilizing periods to determine when to fertilize at smaller amounts each year.
6. The middle number in the ratios is for the phosphorus. Make sure to use fertilizers with lower phosphorus ratios. The maximum is 1 pound phosphorus in every 1000 square feet for each year.
7. Slow release fertilizers are recommended on sandy soils to prevent nitrogen overload after application. Preferred choices would be organic fertilizers and synthetic slow release nitrogen fertilizers.
8. If applying fertilizers near lakes or streams, make sure to leave buffer zones unfertilized. The best way to do this is to get rid of mowed turf beside waterways and replace it with unmowed grass or dense vegetation that does not need fertilizing. Mowing the grass all the way to the surface of the water will result to algal growths and pollution.
9. When using composts and organic or natural fertilizers, be extra careful with its use as it contains high phosphorus levels. For example, a quarter inch of compost that has .75% nitrogen and .75% phosphorus is equivalent to 2 pounds nitrogen in every 1000 square feet for every application.

Are synthetic fertilizers bad for the soil?

Choosing between organic and synthetic fertilizers is not a matter of which one has good or bad effects over the other. Synthetic or natural fertilizers will give the same results provided that the instructions are properly followed. There can be problems out of using any of these fertilizers, but it is not possible to trigger easily.

For the past 50 years, commercialized fertilizers had soluble nitrogen in them. Based on extensive research, it has been proven that the prolonged use of these fertilizers affect the soil acidity high enough that it can alter the microbial balance. An example of this is from several experiments that were conducted with the use of ammonium sulfate applied on bentgrass turf. From a given 10-year period, the pH level of the soild decreased from 5.4 and reached 3.8, an indication of high acidic levels. This resulted to a change to a fungus dominated environment from a bacteria dominated environment. As for the grass, it grew into a fine, dense quality with dark green color intensity. The thatch was also extremely deep and developed because the layer of the soil was not microbe conducive. Although the soil was not dead, it was surely unbalanced.

With the use of different sources of nitrogen and the application of lime to increase the pH level of soil to 6.0 or 7.0, an excellent turf can be produced and a healthy population of soil microbe can be maintained as well. The response from synthetic and organic fertilizers was the same. For a long period of time that you will not use ammonium sulfate, and then apply lime, the microbiology of the soil will be similar to that which uses slow release organic fertilizers.

Should I add microorganism supplements to my lawn?

Based on research, there is no need for the use of supplemental microorganism applications. From work reviewed in five different Midwestern states, the following have been concluded:

• There are no long-lasting effects on the microbiology of the soil that used supplemental microorganisms.
• The microbiology of the soil was not affected with the use and application of pesticides.
• For sand based root zones, the microbial ‚º‚ was rapidly achieved, without the use of supplements which is equal to native soils immediately after planting.

Although there is no harm in applying supplemental microorganisms, its use is also not necessary. One should always remember that it is the fertilizer that affects the growth of the lawn, and not the microorganisms.

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