Are You Wondering When to Fertilize New Sod?
Call 281-431-7441. You’ve installed your new sod grass and you want it to prosper. Should you fertilize new sod? Houston Grass Owner Michael Romine answers that question in this video.
Summary of When to Fertilize New Grass Sod
Wait Four to Six Weeks Before You Fertilize New Grass
When do you need to fertilize new sod or fertilize new grass? Usually, depending on time of year, we recommend that you wait about one month from the time that it’s been laid down, four to six weeks, and then we recommend that you put out a balanced fertilizer such as a triple 15, or a 15-5-10, or something like that. Just use a fertilizer that doesn’t have crazy amounts of nitrogen.
The first number of the three numbers listed on the bag is nitrogen. You just don’t want like a 40-0-0, or something like that, which is just a big dose of nitrogen and all you’re doing is getting a burst of green.
You’re trying to get your grass going and established and you’re trying to feed it everything that it needs. So, you want to put fertilizer out about four to six weeks after you’ve laid the grass and you want to follow the directions on the bag.
Apply Your Fertilizer at Half the Rate on the Bag
If say the bag says open your spreader up to 13, you want to put it on 6 and a half. We recommend a half dose of whatever the manufacturer recommends because you’re just trying to give it a little kick in the pants is all you’re trying to do. You’re not trying to do your normal fertilizing.
Depending on the time of grass we’re talking about, you fertilize the St. Augustine’s at least two to three times a year, the Bermudas maybe a couple more times than that. It uses a little bit more fertilizer, so you might want to, to keep it its greenest you might fertilize it a little bit more often.
What’s the Best Time of Year to Fertilize New Sod
There are certain times of year that it’s best to do that. I would say early Spring and late Spring and possibly after early Fall, say September are times that I like, that’s when I fertilize my own yard. That’s when we fertilize around here.
As far as the new grass goes, I would say four to six weeks after installation, put a half rate out and really follow the directions on the bag. Use a spreader. Never, ever just they call it chicken feeding the fertilizer, where you just reach in the bag and throw it out with your hand. You see it, that is the world’s worst thing that you can do for anything. Maybe it’s okay for flower beds in some instances, but never ever do that with grass. You want to evenly distribute the fertilizer and just a light dose for that first fertilization.
