Fertilising your lawns in winter

Winter is actually the best time to fertilize your lawn and replace all of the nutrients that can be lost from the soil during the hot summer months. Once the weather turns cold, the fertiliser will remain in the soil and feed your lawn’s roots all winter long.

When spring comes your lawn will be full of healthy, lush, green grass that has been feeding on good fertiliser nutrients.

Which fertliser should I use?

The key ingredients you will find in increased amounts in most winter fertilisers are potassium and Iron.

• Potassium provides strength to the whole plant and helps with cell function.
• Iron helps to strengthen your grass as well and also improves leaf colour.

At this time of year, foliar fertiliser applications are more effective than granular as the nutrient can be absorbed through the leaf. Be mindful however, that you won’t see much improvement with your lawn during winter if soil temps are below 14 degrees Celsius.

Winter fertilisers should be applied the same as any other type of lawn fertiliser, following the manufacturer’s directions.

There really is not much other lawn care that needs to be done during the cold months of winter. But you could:

• Rake away any dead leaves that may have fallen and collected on your yard to avoid wet spots that can become mossy or moldy.
• Keep the lawn cleared of debris and help everyone in the family respect the yard while it is dormant.

Don’t expect miracles…

Depending on how cold it gets this winter, and the actual temperature of the soil, results can vary.

While the nutrients are important to the lawn and will improve the appearance of the lawn in most cases, sudden growths are not expected.

If a lawn is in poor health, and an application of winter fertiliser is applied, it generally will not turn the problem around. Winter lawn fertilising should be included inside of a correct year-round fertilising and lawn care regime.