Why Soil Tests Are Needed Before Applying Fertilizer

When finding the right fertilizer for your yard, you need to take several factors into account. Besides knowing the amount of fertilizer you will need, you should look at the makeup of the soil. Working with a lawn fertilizer service provides you with soil test experts to help you determine what nutrients need replenishing. Here are a few reasons soil tests are needed before applying fertilizer:

Find Nutrient Deficiencies

Before adding fertilizer to your lawn, it is a good idea to determine if there are any nutrient deficiencies. This makes sure you don’t add too much of a nutrient the soil already has while leaving out others it needs. The right amount of nitrogen, potassium, and other minerals will help your grass grow thicker and healthier. Certain soils, such as clay, need treatment because they are missing key nutrients found in loamy or peat soils.

Prevent Over-Fertilization

When you fertilize your lawn with formulas that contain nutrients already in your lawn, it could lead to over-fertilization. When this happens, the extra nutrients wash away with rain or sprinklers, or they might burn your grass. A lawn fertilizer service will perform a soil test that gives you the right formula of needed nutrients. This can prevent nutrient runoff and strengthen the blades of grass.

Stabilize pH Levels

Having the correct pH levels for your soil may have an effect on the health of your grass. If the dirt is too acidic or basic, it can cause yellowing of the grass blades, weed growth, and difficulty pulling in nutrients. Alkaline soil also stunts the growth of your grass, and it can become brittle or thin because of the lack of nutrients. After completing the soil testing, you will be able to see how much lime or organic matter you need to add to your soil to balance out the pH levels.

Customize a Fertilization Plan

If you have a lawn that needs fertilizer, contact a lawn care company. Natural Way Lawn can perform these soil tests and help you create a plan for your yard. We have three programs to tailor to your preferences. The fertilizers we use depend on the results of your soil test. Here are three of the test options we have: 

  • Naturally Green Lawn Fertilizer: This program spreads the fertilizer granules, followed by a liquid formula that keeps any weeds from emerging after it’s been applied.
  • Naturally Organic Lawn Fertilizer: If you want to reduce your lawn’s chemical dependency on nutrients, we have a program that uses only organic materials with traditional herbicide.
  • Naturally Free Lawn Fertilizer: This program provides fertilizer for the yard without the added weed prevention. 

Each program comes with follow-up appointments to make certain your lawn plan is still working. While soil tests are usually done every two to three years, we can do another soil test if needed to decide if any other changes are necessary.

Find a Lawn Fertilizer Service To Improve Your Soil

If your lawn needs care to make it healthier, contact a lawn care company to run soil tests. These tests will show any needed changes to increase nutrients, stabilize the soil pH, and remove possible pests. Contact Natural Way Lawn today so we can help you find the right fertilizer formula.