By Staff
KALAMAZOO -- Now that Spring is officially here, it is time to prepare our gardens and lawns for the upcoming growing season. Here are some tips to start your lawn and garden off right this year.
The first step is a soil test. All fertilizer users should test their soil before buying fertilizer for the year to determine which fertilizer their garden or lawn needs. The soil in Southwest Michigan is naturally rich in phosphorus and in many cases does not require additional supplementation.
Soil tests will also indicate the pH of your soil, which is an important component in how well plants utilize fertilizer, and nutrients in the soil. Soil test kits are available at most garden centers, but lab soil tests will have more accurate test results.
Michigan State University Extension-Kalamazoo County offers soil testing services through the Michigan State University Soil Test Lab.
Next, measure the area that you would like to fertilize. This will allow you to determine how much fertilizer you will need to purchase. For example, to determine the area of a rectangular garden simply multiple the length times the width.
Then, to select a fertilizer, look at your soil test results. The fertilizer bag should have three numbers printed on it.
For example, 22-3-12 means that the fertilizer is 22 percent nitrogen, three percent phosphorus, and 12 percent potassium. Plants need additional nitrogen each year and potassium aids in drought tolerance.
If you already have a high level of phosphorus in your soil, select a fertilizer that is either low or contains no phosphorus. Another factor to consider, is what type of fertilizer you should use. Slow or timed release fertilizers may cost more than fast release fertilizers, but they are designed to dissolve at different rates allowing one fertilization to benefit the plants over a longer period of time.
Always wait until your grass is actively growing before applying fertilizer in the spring. Applying it too early wastes money because the plants will not be able to fully utilize it, and this can cause the fertilizer to contaminate our groundwater, lakes, and rivers.
Make sure that all fertilizer spills are cleaned up. This includes all of the fertilizer that lands on the driveway, road, and sidewalk. If the fertilizer is left on these impervious surfaces, it will wash away with rainwater into our stormwater drains and contaminate our surface water. Just one pound of phosphorus can support 750 pounds of algae.
For more information on this topic and soil testing information, contact Sarah Kelly at the MSU Extension office in Kalamazoo (269) 383-8830.