How about you create a beautiful and luscious green lawn working for the whole year, and summer comes to make it brown and dry? I am sure that many people don’t make a move to create a lawn in their front yard just not to let summer kill their lawn. And that’s why most people ask how to save the lawn from the summer heat. The best answer to the question is to use the best summer lawn fertilizers.
Summer is, no doubt, the most terrible season for your lawn. At the same time, summer is the best time for the grass to grow. So, utilizing the summertime is the best thing one should do. And using a summer fertilizer is the most effective solution.
But choosing the right summer fertilizer is tricky. Always remember that the wrong fertilizer in the summer can simply kill your entire lawn. So, first, I will let you about how to choose the right summer fertilizers, and then, I will introduce you to some of the best fertilizers to use on your lawn in the Summer.
Buying Guide: Best Summer Fertilizer
If you go to the market to buy fertilizers, most of them look quite similar from the outside. You can’t differentiate them or understand which will apply to you. To know what your lawn needs, you must know how much nitrogen, potassium, or other essential nutrients your yard needs. To know that, you must focus on some specific features of a fertilizer. Those are given below.
1. NPK Ratio
The NPK number always written on a fertilizer sack indicates the ratio of three essential nutrients for your lawn. They are nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. All of these 3 are very important for your grass health, and they have different tasks to do. The basic task of these nutrients is as follows.
- Nitrogen- Improves grass growth, brings out the bright green color, and thickens the grass.
- Phosphorus- Improves root development and fastens the growing process.Â
- Potassium- Also known as potash. Stimulates root development and protects the grass from drought or heat.
While purchasing the fertilizer, make sure to understand which nutrients you need the most. You can have soil testing, and after that, you can specifically determine which fertilizer to buy. In general, the lawn doesn’t need phosphorus in the summer. The ideal ratio of NPK for summer is 6-0-0, 15-0-8, and 10-0-4.
2. Fertilizer Volume
You should purchase a lawn fertilizer that can cover 5,000 or 7,500 square feet. The good news is that most fertilizers packages are built to cover a minimum of 5,000 sq ft area. Check the label of your chosen fertilizer bag to see the coverage area. It’s important to know the coverage area as you’ve to apply the correct amount of product on the entire lawn. You can reserve the rest in a dry and cool place until the next use. Â
3. Environment & Pet Friendly
If you’ve children or four-legged companions in your house, you better get an environment and pet-friendly fertilizer. Most organic fertilizers are eco-friendly and harmless for pets or children. For your information, the fertilizers which have protection against bugs, weeds, or worms aren’t pet or children-friendly.Â
4. Protection Against Heat & Drought
For extreme summer heat and drought, you should choose a fertilizer with a high quantity of nitrogen. Nitrogen initially helps to keep your grass healthy, strong, fresh, and lively green under heat stress and less water. For summertime, choosing those lawn fertilizers specifically designed for protection against heat and drought is better. Don’t forget to read and check the labels of the bag.Â
5. Effective For All Types of Grass
It’s better to choose fertilizers designed for all types of lawn grass. This kind of versatile fertilizer prevents any soil erosion or runoff. So, it’s a very effective and also affordable option. Plus, there won’t be any potential issues if you use fertilizers suitable for all types of grass, even though you don’t know your lawn grass type.
6. Others
Aside from the following factors, there are a few more facts you should check while buying the right lawn fertilizer for the upcoming Summer. The following points will tell you all about them.
- Fertilizers can be of different types, like synthetic fertilizers, organic fertilizers, etc. Using organic fertilizer is a better idea.
- You shouldn’t buy a big sack if you have a very small lawn.
- Make sure to choose a fertilizer from a popular and reliable brand.
- Choosing a slow-release fertilizer for your lawn in the summer is good.
- A liquid fertilizer is more effective than the granule one when it is summer.
- Make sure to choose a fertilizer after checking if your lawn is suffering from any disease. And also choose a fertilizer based on the treatment.
Before you choose a summer lawn fertilizer, going through some research must be helpful. But if you manage to check the mentioned factors properly, there will be less chance of buying the wrong fertilizer. The last thing we suggest is not to fall into the trap of a cheap fertilizer that can end up causing destruction.
5 Best Summer Lawn Fertilizers
You can now make a purchase as you have learned what to check before buying the right fertilizer. And we can help in this segment too. Here you’ll get a list of the 5 best summer lawn fertilizers. More or less, all of them are high-performing fertilizers. Still, they have variations in their safety factors, coverage, working time, etc. So, it is better to check all the reviews to find out the most suitable one for your lawn.
1. Scotts Turf Builder SummerGuard Lawn Food
You can easily revive your dry and damaged lawn into a fresh, lush green lawn with Scotts Turf Builder SummerGuard. It offers you visible results within only 2-3 weeks. This amazing summer lawn fertilizer has the proper and ideal quantity of Iron that can thicken the grass and reduce the brown or yellow spots.
Not only will the old grass be revived into thicker and greener, but new grass will also appear. So, if there are weeds on your lawn, those will disappear within this new green grass. Notable mention, this fantastic fertilizer contains sufficient nitrogen and potassium to keep your lawn strong, healthy, and green.Â
Pros
+ This fertilizer initially protects your lawn against bugs, ants, or armyworms
+ It is extremely eco-friendly and super inexpensive
+ YOu will see it fights with the weeds and covers your lawn with green grass
+ It also comes with almost zero chance of burning your lawn
+ Your lawn grass will be grown thicker and faster with this fertilizer
+ This fertilizer won’t cause any soil erosion and prevent runoff
Cons
– If you use this fertilizer, you have to water from 6 AM to 10 AM
Regular feeding this summer lawn fertilizers can improve your lawn look faster and quicker. You should rely on rain to water your lawn after using the fertilizer. However, it’s suggested to water within 6-10 AM, as it ensures less water evaporates and more water reaches the root.
2. Scotts Turf Builder Summer Lawn Food
The next one is again from Scotts. The main target of this summer lawn fertilizer is to keep your lawn grass green with up to 50% less water. Amazing, isn’t it? This fertilizer is rich in nitrogen, so it fastens the process of growing bright green grass. The potassium helps to strengthen the grass and stay green in the heat and drought.Â
This powerful summer lawn fertilizer is a 2-in-1 item that feeds your lawn as well as maximizes water usage. Scott’s lawn food and EveryDrop technology are combined in this fertilizer, making the grass green, thicker, and stronger from the root.Â
Pros
+ It is infused with both special Scotts lawn food and EveryDrop technology
+ A huge coverage area, over4,000 sq ft, can be covered with one pack
+ Not just a particular type, it is an ideal summer fertilizer for any type of grass
+ This fertilizer also prevents soil erosion or any runoff
+ The effect of this fertilizer stays up to 6 weeks
Cons
– You’ll need proper spreader settings to spread this fertilizer. Hand spread won’t work here
Using these effective summer lawn fertilizers is very easy; just calculate the size of your coverage area with Scotts My Lawn. Then, pour the fertilizer into the spreader in the proper quantity. Then, set and adjust the spreader according to the product label requirements and finally apply! Water your lawn after applying the fertilizer for the best result. Believe me; this is a very much effective and versatile fertilizer.
3. Espoma EOSR30 Organic Summer Fertilizer
Let’s learn about one of the best chemical-free organic lawn fertilizers from Espoma. This one is a high-quality organic and odorless fertilizer which is mainly root-nutrition based. It’s rich in iron and sulfur, which helps to grow green, thick, and lush grass. With the 30 lbs packet, you can cover almost 5,000 sq ft. area.
The fertilizer is made of elemental sulfur and feather meal poultry manure iron oxide. The feather meal poultry means that it’s high in nitrogen. This effective fertilizer is designed for the summer season, so it can revive the dry and yellowish damaged grass.Â
Pros
+ This is an organic, chemical-free, and odorless fertilizer
+ It simply fastens the growth of grass and covers your lawn with green grass
+ This fertilizer is completely safe for children and pets
+ It doesn’t burn your lawn and even, and it will help your lawn grass stay hydrated
+ Eventually, this fertilizer prevents soil erosion and any runoff
Cons
– It is quite an expensive product in comparison to others
Even if it’s expensive, this fertilizer can offer you so many extra benefits. Within a couple of weeks, you’ll be able to see the visible results of thick, lush, and green grass. So, just cover your lawn with fertilizer and water to penetrate it into the soil. As for being organic, this fertilizer makes your grass stronger and healthy. Plus, it’s entirely safe and environment-friendly.
4. Andersons Premium Lawn Food
This one is probably the best package out of all the reviews on the list. Andersons brought nice lawn food that keeps your lawn hydrated all over the summer. Using this fertilizer, your grass will be fresh green amid high heat or low rain. You’ll find iron, potassium, and nitrogen in this outstanding fertilizer.
Nitrogen promotes the fast growth of grass and produces a green color. Iron helps prevent the yellowish or brownish color of grass, and potassium helps to thicken the grass. After applying the fertilizer, within 1 week, you’ll be able to see the visible changes.Â
Pros
+ This effective fertilizer works and is effective for eight weeks
+ You can use this product in all seasons on any type of lawn grass
+ The superfine particles get evenly spread on the lawn
+ One pack can cover up to 5,000 sq ft and is very affordable
+ This fertilizer also contains Humic DG, which enriches the soil
Cons
– Unlike most effective fertilizers, this one takes a bit of time to be effective
Even though the fertilizer takes a couple of weeks to get effective, it stays effective for up to 8 weeks. It makes the grass healthy and green from the root. Plus, you can use this effective lawn fertilizer in all seasons. So, think twice before you look for another fertilizer.
5. Lawnbox Lawn Luxe Organic Summer Grass Fertilizer
LawnBox Lawn Luxe is built to use in all types of grass. These effective summer lawn fertilizers can revive your dry and almost dead grass into green and fresh ones. With a balanced blend of proper nutrients, this fertilizer is the best. This product is specifically designed for summer and spring.
However, you can use this fertilizer to improve the grass’s growth, thickness, and color. This product is completely organic and made with high-quality ingredients. With one 14lbs bag, you can cover up to 2,500 sq ft of area. Unlike other organic fertilizers, it has no animal ingredients, waste, or manure.Â
Pros
+ This is one of the most inexpensive yet effective organic fertilizers
+ It contains nitrogen, potassium, sodium nitrate, soybean meal, and humic acid
+ This fertilizer also prevents soil erosion or any runoff
+ Eventually, it will be completely safe for children and pets
+ Can be used on all types of grass
Cons
– You can’t be used in winter
– You will need two or more sacks for a medium size lawn
This fertilizer is specifically designed to use in summer, spring, and fall. However, you can still use it in winter, but the effect won’t be as effective as in summer. Take the product in the spreader and spread the fertilizer evenly. Water the lawn after applying for the best and fastest result.Â
That’s all about our best summer lawn fertilizers. The products I mentioned are safe for lawns, and they are also chosen considering the pets in your house. But we didn’t use all of them and tasted them personally. We gather information from people who use them. That’s how we formed the reviews. So, you should check them on the online marketplace to learn more about them.
FAQ
Q: What is the best ratio for summer lawn fertilizer?Â
A: Your lawn needs a lot of summer nitrogen to strengthen it. Nitrogen helps to keep the grass healthy, fresh, bright green, thick, and lush throughout the heat or drought. It’s better if the first NPK ratio is 20 or more. Remember not to use the winter season fertilizer in summer; it’ll burn your lawn.Â
Q: What is the most versatile summer lawn fertilizer?
A: Most of Scotts’ fertilizers are versatile and good for any kind of lawn grass. If you are looking for a summer fertilizer, you can try Scotts Turf Builder SummerGuard Lawn Food. It is good to fight the summer heat and sunburn. This fertilizer will also keep your lawn hydrated and moist even if there is no rain for a long time.
Q: Will fertilizer stain my lawn, patio, or path?
A: Yes, fertilizers with iron can stain the concrete patio or paths. Those stain marks aren’t permanent, so don’t worry. Those stain marks will be transformed into rust and can be used using vinegar. You can use any water solution that can be used to remove rust buildup.Â
Q: Is summer fertilizer safe for children, dogs, or cats?Â
A: That fertilizer contains weed or worm killers that aren’t safe for children or pets. Some organic fertilizers claim to be children and pet safe. However, it’s better if you let your children or pet on the lawn 24-72 hours after applying the fertilizer. By this time, the fertilizer will break down into the lawn.
Q: What are the most important nutrients for lawns to keep them green in the summer?
A: Nitrogen is the most important nutrient to keep your lawn grass green in the summer. Keeping the lawn grass green and moist is the most challenging task in the summer for any person. But if you use a fertilizer that is rich in nitrogen, timely, it will moisturize the grass and keep it hydrated and green all the time.
Final Verdict
Every lawn owner should remember that Summer is a very significant time for your lawn. At the same time, it can be a blessing and a curse for your lawn. It is the pick growing time, and it can be harsh with excessive heat for the lawn grass. So, if you manage to utilize this time with proper summer food, it can definitely help.
So, please choose the right summer lawn fertilizer for your lawn to repair it for the next summer. But make sure to check the lawn’s condition and if there are any diseases, it suffers from. You can also do a soil test to choose the appropriate lawn fertilizer.
Now, let us know which fertilizer you used the previous summer and how it worked. Also, inform us if you have more confusion about the summertime lawn fertilizer. We always love to get your feedback. Thank you for your time.