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Can You Use Milorganite with Other Fertilizers?

If you are asking, can you use Milorganite with other fertilizers? You must be thinking of using it along with other fertilizers, and the answer to this question is a resounding yes.

It’s safe to use Milorganite along with other fertilizers. Many lawn care experts recommend you do this as Milorganite doesn’t contain all the necessary nutrients, which can throw your lawn and soil out of balance.

You compensate for the missing nutrients when you use other fertilizers, so you have a healthy lawn.

While it’s highly recommended you use other fertilizers, you should be cautious of the fertilizers you use, as using the wrong one puts you at great risk of damaging your lawn and your lawn suffering from nutrient runoff.

You also risk burning your lawn if applying synthetic fertilizer.

Before you apply fertilizer, do a soil test to tell the nutrients your lawn is missing.

How to do a soil test

Testing the soil is simple. You need to take soil samples from different areas of your lawn (10-15 areas) and send them to your local lab for testing.

It’s wise to send the samples to different labs and compare the results.  For a more detailed process of how to do it, watch the video below:

Benefits of using Milorganite

Although, you should use other fertilizers in your lawn, there are plenty of benefits that come with Milorganite:

Since it is organic, you not only feed the grass, but you also feed the soil, so, over time, you not only have a beautiful lawn, but great soil as well.

Milorganite is easy to use, and you can use it in different areas. You can use it in a wet lawn, dry yard, and many other scenarios. This makes it an excellent choice for many new lawn owners.

Since it contains iron, you have a dark green yard that is beautiful and elegant to look at. You can tell the presence of iron in the fertilizer after a week of application when the yard gets a beautiful dark green color.

Why should you not use Milorganite as your only lawn fertilizer?

While Milorganite has nitrogen and phosphorus, which are essential for the grass to thrive and develop a strong root system, it lacks potassium that is vital for the overall health of the grass and in building up resistance against lawn diseases.

So when you leave out potassium in many fertilizer applications, you end up with an unhealthy plant and can’t defend itself against diseases.

When to fertilize your lawn

For a healthy, green lawn, you should fertilize your lawn twice a year. Unfortunately, if you fertilize it the wrong time, you risk encouraging weed growth and even burning the grass.

To avoid this, you should ensure you fertilize your lawn at the right time.

A good rule of thumb is to fertilize the lawn when the grass is actively growing, which varies depending on your grass type and location.

Fertilizing cold season grasses

Popular cold season grasses are tall, Kentucky bluegrass, ryegrass, and fine fescues, and they are prevalent in the northern parts of the United States.

From their name, cold-season grasses love lower temperatures, so they have two peak growing seasons: early spring and early fall.

In early spring, the grass wakes up hungry, and by fertilizing it, you strengthen the roots, getting it off to a good start. You should apply the fertilizer between February and April when the grass is beginning to green up.

In fall, your lawn is looking for nutrients and needs to recover from the summer damage while at the same time getting ready for the winter nap.

When you fertilize your lawn at this time, you strengthen the roots and increase nitrogen storage for a healthy, green lawn in the coming spring.

For best results, fertilize heavily in fall and lightly in early spring. You can use a quick or slow-release fertilizer. You only need to ensure you apply the fertilizer before the temperatures peak in summer.

Cold season grasses need 1-2 pounds of nitrogen-rich fertilizer per 1,000 square feet per year. You can buy the fertilizer online or from your local stores.

Fertilizing warm season grass

Warm-season grasses thrive in the southern parts of the United States. Since the grasses are of a tropical origin, they do well in warm temperatures, so their growth is peak in midsummer.

The most popular types of warm-season grasses are Bermuda grass, St. Augustine grass, Zoysia grass, centipede grass, and Kikuyu grass.

When you fertilize your lawn in summer, you will be protecting and strengthening it. The best time to do the feeding is just as the grass starts turning green in the spring.

Feed your warm-season grass with 3-4 pounds of nitrogen-rich fertilizer per 1000 square feet per year.

You have the option of fast or slow-release fertilizer, but ensure your fertilizer is fully absorbed before the high temperatures kick in.

After applying fertilizer, water the grass, washing the grains off the grass blades, and into the soil, this way, you are sure that the soil fully absorbs the treatment.

You should consider applying a second round of fertilizer once the peak summer heat is gone.

Valuable fertilizer tips

While nitrogen is a vital ingredient for grass growth, you should avoid applying nitrogen-rich fertilizer as it can lead to unwanted weed growth.

If your grass went into dormancy due to prolonged winter, delay the treatment until the grass gets out of dormancy.

Take care not to over-fertilize your lawn, as you can easily burn your grass. Before applying fertilizer, read the fertilizer label and find out how long it’s designed to last.

Like you should avoid fertilizing your lawn in dormancy, you also should avoid fertilizing it in drought.

Most fertilizers need water to soak into the soil, and since there is no rain during a drought, the fertilizer sits on the top of the lawn, which can lead to grass burning.

On my 15th birthday, I became the designated gardener in my home.

Now at 32, I have a small garden and every day I'm out trying different plants and seeing how they grow. I grow guavas, peaches, onions, and many others. Want to know more about me? Read it here.

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