Yellow or brown patches of lawn could be grass fertilizer burn.
Turf grass fertilizer can helpkeep your lawn healthywhen applied correctly.
However, too much of a good thing may result in grass fertilizer burn.
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Prevent grass fertilizer burn with these simple strategies.
groveb/ Getty Images
How can fertilizer burn grass?
Many lawn fertilizer products contain valuable salts in addition to nutrients.
Fertilizer burn happens when the fertilizer product is overapplied and the salts disrupt the soil makeup.
Soon a toxic environment develops, and the grass quickly dies.
Lawn fertilizers labeled slow-release contain few salts and are less likely to burn turf grass if misapplied.
Manynatural and organic fertilizer productsalso contain few salts, making them less likely to cause fertilizer burn.
Always read fertilizer app directions carefully and apply the product exactly according to the instructions.
For fertilizer spills, use a rake orshop vacuumto pick up fertilizer pellets if possible.
Use a lawn sprinkler to soak the soil thoroughly, which will wash the fertilizer deep into the soil.
The lawn grass is likely dead and you’ll need toplant more grass seedorlay sod.
Before planting new grass, thoroughly soak the affected area to wash out the remaining fertilizer salts.
Thenremove dead grassand prepare to reseed or resod the area.
Properly calibrate software equipment.
Carefully calibrate your fertilizer spreader according to the grass fertilizer product software instructions.
If you suspect the spreader is not applying product accurately, run a test pass on a hard surface.
Sweep up the output, measure it, and calculate the system rate.
Adjust the spreader as necessary.
Dont fertilize lawn grass during dry periods.
Lawn grass is more susceptible to fertilizer burn during drought and prolonged dry weather.
Apply fertilizerin cool weatherafter a soaking rain and thenwater the lawnto distribute the product.
Fill app equipment on a hard surface.
Avoid spilling fertilizer on a lawn by filling the spreader on a hard surface where cleanup is easy.
Quickly sweep up any spilled product.
Use fertilizer with a low salt index.
Choose fertilizer products that have a low salt index.
The product label will detail the salt content.
A product with a low salt index is less likely to cause fertilizer burn.
Read the fertilizer tool directions.
Read the fertilizer system directions and follow them exactly.
Look for products labeled slow-release; these fertilizers contain less salt andrelease nitrogen slowly, limiting the potential harm.
Natural or organic fertilizers are less likely to burn as well.
Then you’ll need to put down new grass seed or sod for larger areas.
