Sod needs ongoing care to thrive, including the use of fertilizer. It’s important to understand the difference between natural fertilizer and chemical fertilizer so that you can make the best choice for your yard. The right fertilizer application will help to keep your lawn thick, healthy, and green.
What Is Natural Fertilizer?
Natural fertilizer is often referred to as organic fertilizer. It forms through the decomposition of plants, animal waste, and minerals. You can make it yourself or purchase it.
Gardeners and sod experts note a few important benefits of using natural fertilizers:
- Improves soil structure, which supports healthier lawns and gardens
- Infuses more nutrients into crops and sod
- Prevents toxic buildup of chemicals
- Slow-working action reduces the likelihood of killing or harming sod or plants
What Is Chemical Fertilizer?
Chemical fertilizer is considered “inorganic.” Dozens of varieties of chemical fertilizers are widely available at stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s. They are mass-produced and sold in bags, boxes, liquids, and many other forms.
Since chemical fertilizer is manmade, it’s easy to identify the exact percentage of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and other nutrients required for sod growth. In fact, most fertilizers are tailored to specific plant and sod types or purposes.
There are a few reasons you might consider chemical fertilizer for your sod instead of natural:
- Nutrients are available to plants immediately, so you can see improvement within days.
- Chemical fertilizers are widely available and affordable
- It’s easy to know the exact ratio of nutrients you are giving your lawn and garden.
On the downside, chemical fertilizer can’t improve soil quality or prepare it for future use, like natural fertilizer can. Chemical fertilizers are also known for causing a buildup of unwanted chemicals such as uranium, arsenic, and cadmium.
Ask a Sod Professional in Tampa, Florida
You don’t want to apply the wrong fertilizer to your sod, so be sure to ask a sod professional for guidance. Council Growers Sod specializes in residential and retail sod and offers the largest variety of fresh sod in Tampa Bay. The Council Growers Sod experts have decades of experience handling sod, so they can help you select the very best fertilizer choice for your sod. Call (813) 633-8665 today to learn more.