How Important Is Phosphorus Fertilizer Lawn Care?
You would find many veterans advising you to fertilize your lawn at regular intervals so you could have the best looking green grass growing. If done correctly, the grass would be able to absorb it as required and prevent the fertilizer reach the water table or the natural ground water and contaminate it. This is why you need to understand how the fertilizer works.
Why Is The Phosphorus Fertilizer Lawn Care Needed?
Phosphorus consists of about four percent of the total combination of the fertilizer required by your lawn. Hence, you cannot look only at the phosphorus fertilizer lawn care when you talk abut fertilizer. The rest of the components are potassium and nitrogen. This trio is what makes your fertilizer; the ratio being 29:4:8 representing nitrogen:phosphate:potash composition.
The role of the nitrogen which is also known as the factor that 'greens' your lawn, is to help the roots to 'catch' nutrients better and hence creating a healthier and greener lawn. This element is the most wanted factor when the grass is young and the roots are yet not fully developed. The nitrogen fixation in the roots helps the grass stabilize the required nutrients and grow as per your expectations.
The role of the phosphorus fertilizer lawn care is totally different from that of nitrogen. This is more useful in the initial stages of the formation of the lawn as this promotes germination and strengthens the roots. It is in the initial stages that the phosphorus fertilizer lawn care is highly necessary because it helps the formation of the roots and hence strengthens the grass itself. The phosphorous is a very stable element which stays well in the soil resisting erosion and washing out by excessive watering.
The last component of the fertilizer is the potash which promotes the formation of the plant carbohydrates. Though there is not much pollution problem with this particular element, when the soil gets eroded for any reason, the potassium which gets fixed in the soil moves away with it.
As you can see the phosphorus fertilizer lawn care is necessary only in the initial stages when the grass is very young and thereby needs adequate strengthening of its roots in order to capture the required nutrients and grow well. Not always you would need all the components; in order to know for sure, it is always advisable to carry out a few soil tests and check out what are its deficiencies. This can be done once in four years for best results.
