Willingly or unwillingly, we do sometimes over-fertilize our lawn. As a result, the grass of your lawn gets damaged or destroyed because of the increased nitrogen and salt levels in the soil. And you keep wondering yourself how to fix your over fertilized lawn.
Well, the fix is easy but you have to 100% sure it is over fertilized. And it’s always better not to overkill it to get any fast result and applying the right amount of fertilizer to have a healthy lawn.
In this article, I will talk about how to solve the problem and save your lawn from devastating outlook. Identifying the problem is also crucial. So, I will mention some symptoms of your lawn due to over-fertilization.
6 Steps To Fix Over Fertilized Lawn
It’s time to give your burnt grass a new life. The root causes are excessive nitrogen and salt due to the excess fertilizer. You have to take quick action to lower the level of these two first.
You won’t see any overnight result following the below-mentioned tips, but you should follow them to save your lawn. Here are proven to be effective ways to protect your lawn:
- Deep Inspection
If the over fertilization did not affect the grassroots, the problem is not severe yet. So, the first job of fixing the problem is to inspect the grassroots and if you notice the grassroots are affected, you are in deep trouble. You have to be prepared for the long haul.
But if the grassroots are healthy but the leaves are brown, all you need to water it more. Perform the sample inspection from the multiple parts of the lawn to generate the complete idea.
In my experience, yellow and brown grass may revive with proper care but if they become crunchy; replanting is your only option.
- Start Watering
Before you start watering the lawn, there is another thing to do first. If you notice any fertilizer build up on the soil during the deep inspection, remove them physically first. After accomplishing that or if you don’t see any such build-up, you can begin watering.
Watering is a great way to lessen the impact of over fertilization. When you water the lawn daily for the next 5 to 7 days, the elements of the fertilizer like nitrogen and so on will go deep under the soil. So, watering a lot is what you need right now to flush the excess nitrogen and this is how you should do it.
But for how long should you water the lawn?
Well, water it until the soil can’t absorb water anymore. Watering that much and way will ensure that no fungus can grow on the soil of your lawn as well.
You can use your garden sprinklers or garden hose reel to water the entire lawn evenly. Don’t just water the affected areas only, do it for the entire lawn. If you notice the brown grass early enough and start watering as I said, the damage won’t be too severe.
You should see a significant improvement over the next few days. By the way, the proper time to water the lawn is early in the morning. Continuous watering the lawn will help flush out the excess salt from the soil as well.
- Inspect Again
Watering the lawn alone should be able to fix the problem. When you continuously water the garden for a couple of days, all the excess elements of over fertilization should go away. To see the improvement, reassess the grassroots again. If you see new roots, you have successfully fixed the problem.
If this is not the case, recheck the roots again. If watering for a week can’t fix the problem, the roots are definitely damaged severely. And there is nothing much you can do about it except replacing them with new grass on the affected areas.
Let me remind it again. Before you draw the conclusion that you have to replace the grass, make sure you water the lawn for at least 7 days and wait for a few more days. Maybe this won’t save the lawn but it will purify the soil for the new grass.
- Prepare Soil For New Grass
This is a very crucial step to give your lawn a new life with new grass. You need to get rid of the dead/burnt grass first. So raking up all the dead grass first. Once you get rid of the dead grass, start tilling the affected areas of the lawn.
Tilling will help easier moisture access for the new grass and raking up will help to prevent the dead grass creating any problem for the new grass reaching deep into the soil.
- Re-seed Vs. Re-sod
Whether you should re-seed the lawn or re-sod it depends on your budget and the size of the affected areas of the lawn due to over fertilization. If the affected areas are relatively small, go forwarding with re-seeding. For the opposite case, move forward with re-sodding if major parts of the lawn are damaged.
- Take Care of New Grass
Keep watering your lawn on a daily basis no matter whether you re-seed or re-sod. Keep watering until the roots establish pretty well. I would recommend watering for at least 7 days. This will help new grass to spread more quickly.
Let the new grass grow at least 3 inches higher until you mow them for the first time. With enough water and mowing the new grass high will let the proper growth of new roots.
Next time when you plan to fertilize your lawn, learn first what you are doing! Read the instruction mentioned by the manufacturer. If you are not sure, take the help of an expert from lawn care and maintenance service in your local area.
Over-fertilizing your lawn does not necessarily have to mean dumping a lot of fertilizer at once. Even fertilizing a little can cause the root burn of your grass if the soil can’t drain well. If the nature of the soil in your area is like this, you should apply slow-release fertilizer only.
Signs Of Over Fertilized Lawn
Before you start following the steps mentioned above, you have to make sure it is truly over-fertilized. Not just that, you can ruin your lawn by uneven spreading and accidental spilling of such fertilizers as well.
Unless you would be wasting your time and probably damaging your lawn further. So look for the following signs:
- In addition to brown/yellow grass blades, you will notice black grassroots as well.
- Instead of the rapid growth of grass, you will notice the opposite.
- You will see the buildup of fertilizer on the ground of your lawn.
If you notice any of the above signs, start the detoxifying process ASAP! Fertilizer burn is something that ruins your lawn very quickly.
Wrapping Up
Your all hope is not lost yet if you over-fertilize it somehow. Keep calm and follow the steps mentioned above. Never attempt to get a dramatic result overnight. A green and lush lawn is everybody’s dream.
But rushing to it would be devastating. Applying fertilizer on the lawn is not an easy task. It is complicated since the nature of soil varies from state to state. Read instructions or take professional help! Now watch the video to recap everything I just said!
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