When a homeowner decides to use organic lawn fertilizer, it’s often a choice driven by concern. Harmful chemicals could leach into my lawn soil and contaminate the groundwater. These chemicals could pose potential threats to our health as well as the surrounding area.

Whether driven by a concern for your family’s safety or effects on the environment (or perhaps both), there’s usually less of a focus on exactly what kind of results to expect from organic lawn fertilizer. The emphasis is more often on reducing the toxic build-up of chemicals. Yet, as with any type of lawn care technique, you want to know that your investment still offers value.

With this in mind, we wanted to look at what kind of impact organic lawn fertilizer actually has.

How Long Does It Take for Effects To Appear?

Just like humans, plants need to eat on a regular basis. With synthetic, slow-release fertilizers, lawns receive nutrients in a gradual and measured manner. This steady flow of nutrition helps boost the health of lawns within a matter of weeks. (Tip: Avoid quick-release fertilizers. When plants receive a rush of nutrients all at once and then suddenly none, their health suffers.)

With organic lawn fertilizer, you’re far more likely to play the waiting game. Soil microbes need to first digest the natural ingredients and convert them back into nutrients that plants can absorb. So if there is limited microbial activity in your lawn soil, there’s little opportunity for the organic lawn fertilizer to take effect. In other words, no microbial activity means no reaction.

How Effective Are the Results?

It’s not just the speed at which synthetic fertilizers work that make them favorable, but also the effectiveness of their results. Formulated to have the right ratio of desirable nutrients, synthetic, slow-release fertilizers offer lawns the ideal distribution of nutrients they need to thrive. The result is a thicker, greener lawn.

Whereas synthetic products provide a clear breakdown of their composition and content, organic lawn fertilizer, to some degree, leaves this to the imagination. Organic materials break down at different rates, with unequal nutrient distributions throughout. This level of uncertainty translates into the potential for bare spots, as some of the lawn may receive more nutrients via soil microbes than other areas.

Swap Ineffective Organic Fertilizer for Safe Synthetic Fertilizer

If you’re worried about chemicals in your lawn fertilizer, you have every right to be. After all, safety should be a concern with any lawn care product you use.

This doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice effectiveness, though. The synthetic lawn fertilizers we use here at Weed Pro are phosphorous-free. This is especially important as phosphorus is known to pollute bodies of water and fuel the growth of algae blooms. The algae can harm aquatic life and also make humans and pets ill if they come into contact with the water or drink contaminated water.

Want to learn more about our fertilization services? Contact your local Weed Pro provider for details.