Winter Fertiliser Guide

Winter Fertiliser Guide
Winter Fertiliser Guide

At The Grass People we recommend feeding your lawn at least twice per year, once during the spring and again during autumn. An autumn/winter feed will perk your lawn up after a busy summer and protect the grass during harsh winter conditions.

When to feed your lawn depends on the weather in your part of the UK. Fertilising may end much earlier in Canterbury than it would in Edinburgh. As a general rule of thumb fertilising season is sometime between the beginning of the wetter weather in September and before the frost comes during November.

Understanding fertilisers

On the label of any autumn/winter fertiliser there will be 3 numbers, the N,P,K numbers. These numbers explain the units of nitrogen, phosphate and potassium within the lawn feed - a bit like a balanced smoothie for your grass! With winter fertilisers phosphate and potassium are at increased levels as these elements will encourage the growth of roots and strengthen the lawn under the soil. During winter we do not want to encourage rapid grass growth hence the lack of nitrogen.

Winter Fertilisers from The Grass People

QUICK RELEASE: Autumn/Winter Fertiliser For root strength over the Winter. NPK 3.12.12. A low nitrogen fertiliser with high phosphate and potassium to strengthen the roots and stiffen the leaf blades in order to protect the grass plant before the Winter. This results in a healthier sward once growth begins the following spring.

SLOW RELEASE: Autumn/Winter Fertiliser  is labelled as 10.5.20 of N,P,K. A late season fertiliser with low nitrogen and high potassium and magnesium, designed to feed all grassed areas just enough to aid late-season growth without causing gluts of growth of lush grass that will be susceptible to frosts and disease as the days get shorter. The potassium and magnesium strengthen grass roots and leaves to give protection throughout the Winter resulting in a healthier sward the following spring.

Preparation is key
Cut your grass 3-4 days before you apply the fertiliser.

Watering is vital to fertilising

After fertilising it is really important to water off the fertiliser from the grass blades if there is no rainfall. If left dry the fertiliser will burn and damage the existing grass. Our time-saving tip is to fertilise on a day when you are expecting a good amount of rain so it does the job for you otherwise just water it off yourself using a hose/sprinkler system.