Our Fertilizers and the Drought

Synthetic Fertilizers

It is often thought that lawns should not be fertilized in the heat of summer, and in many cases this is true. High-salt synthetic fertilizers provide a readily available quick burst of nutrition to the plant. This quick release format greens lawns up rapidly but is short lived, requiring more applications throughout the season to keep a lawn green, and primarily promotes shoot growth rather than root growth. Synthetic fertilizers are water soluble - nitrogen is released via the application of water, but the byproducts of this process are salts that often remain in the soil and tend to burn turf if they are not flushed out thoroughly with enough water. These salts may also contribute to a decrease in soil fertility.

Slow-Release Fertilizers

By now you may have realized that NutriLawn continues to fertilize throughout even the hottest part of our North Valley summers. This is made possible by our use of special blend slow-release organic-based granular fertilizers. These fertilizers do not burn lawns and require less water use. They work by feeding the soil - microbes in the soil break down the organic components to release nutrients that in turn feed the lawns. This process promotes a healthy soil ecosystem and improves soil texture, which also increases water retention.

Instructions for Watering Our Applications In

Clients will notice that the invoices for our services include watering instructions. Our regular lawn applications (RPs) will typically be marked to instruct clients to water within 12-24 hours. Normally, a good rule of thumb is to water the next morning. This is based on best practice, however, clients following the Cal Water two day per week schedule might not have the luxury of watering the following day. Waiting to water the application in on your next scheduled watering day is, in most cases, not a problem. If we do need you to water an application in within a specific timeframe, we will work with you ahead of time to schedule said application around your watering schedule. However, applications with such strict irrigation requirements are not common.