How To Choose The Best Fertilizer For Green Grass? Tips For Beginners

By Harry RamosLast update: 2024-09-25

Your lawn soil might be rich in nutrients to produce healthy vibrant grass but your picture-perfect lawn sometimes still needs some help to establish and preserve its greenery at its best.

Hopefully, after reading our review on the best fertilizers for green grass which are a blend of the most essential nutrients, you can easily pick out the best one for your lawn.

  • Simple Lawn Solutions Lawn Food Natural Liquid Fertilizer - Best Liquid Fertilizer
  • Scotts Turf Builder Starter Food - Best For New Grass
  • Milorganite 0636 Organic Nitrogen Fertilizer - Best Organic Nitrogen Fertilizer
  • Simple Lawn Solutions Natural Liquid Spray Concentrated Fertilizer - Rich In Nitrogen And Phosphorus
  • Miracle-Gro Water Soluble Lawn Food - Best Overall
  • Scotts 44611A Green Max Lawn Food – Best Choice For Fastest Result

What Fertilizer Makes Grass Green?

How To Choose The Best Fertilizer For Green Grass? Tips For Beginners

Either organic fertilizers or synthetic blends in both liquid & granule forms with a low phosphorous percentage and a high nitrogen percentage can promote lush leafy growth. Too much nitrogen or quick-release blend can result in yard burn, excessive yet weak growth, and discoloration, though.

What's The Best Lawn Fertilizer For Spring?

Fertilizers are basically a blend of 3 major nutrients including nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, and each type might have a different ratio of these three nutrients.

Nitrogen is responsible for vibrant leaf color, stable foliar growth, and the form of roots. Phosphorus helps with early plant development, boosting flower, and root health while potassium increases the plant’s drought-, stress-, and disease-resistance.

The decision on which fertilizer to go for depends on the area you live, the grass type you want to grow, and any lawn problems which you might be facing. However, 20-5-10 is considered as the best ratio for the spring season.

What Is The Best Fertilizer For Grass In The Fall?

A high percentage of nitrogen applied in the autumn is the most necessary grass fertilization within a year for your lawn recovery from summer and preparation for winter. A shot of nitrogen in September, for example, can encourage green color in turf and push blade growth.

What Is The Best Winter Fertilizer For Lawns?

Both quick and slow-release fertilizers can enrich plants’ foot with all required nutrients and ensure that soil slowly absorbs food during the winter season, but these winterizers should be fully consumed before the onset of scorching summer heat. And you have to start fertilizing your lawns with these fertilizers with the high ratio of phosphorus again after that heat has become less intense.

What Brand Is The Best Lawn Fertilizer?

Miracle-Gro

How To Choose The Best Fertilizer For Green Grass? Tips For Beginners

This Ohio-based company has been in the business of growing healthy gardens and lawns for more than 150 years. Aside from product quality, customer satisfaction is also Miracle-Gro’s priority.

Milorganite

How To Choose The Best Fertilizer For Green Grass? Tips For Beginners

Established in the year 1926, Milorganite holds the privilege of being the very first pelletized fertilizer in the USA. And since then, it has been manufacturing high-quality products to beautify landscapes & lawns and assist in their vigorous growth.

Best Fertilizer For Green Grass

Simple Lawn Solutions Lawn Food Natural Liquid Fertilizer - Best Liquid Fertilizer

Simple Lawn Solutions Lawn Food Natural Liquid Fertilizer
Simple Lawn Solutions Lawn Food Natural Liquid Fertilizer
Pros
  • Work for any grass type
  • Suitable for different applications, professional lawn services, and large-sized properties & landscapes
  • Safe use around pets and kids
  • No harsh chemicals
Cons
  • Liquid inside the bottle is hard to come out

This natural liquid fertilizer by Simple Lawn Solutions is a premium food nutritional supplement, which can safely enhance greenery in your properties.

Aside from the supplement for green coloration& growth, the complete & balanced nitrogen – phosphate – potash ratio of 4-1-2 also offers enough essential nutrients for turf & roots strength as well as your lawn’s health.

The only tradeoff is the bottle does not work making the liquid inside it hard to come out.

Product Specifications

Capacity

2.5 Gallons

When to Apply?

Spring and summer

Coverage

Up to 32,000 square feet

Ratio

Balanced 4-1-2 Ratio

Highlight Features

Made from high-quality, natural feed grade ingredients &formulated with Fish and Seaweed for soil health

If you want to see quick-produced results on your large-sized lawns full of Bermuda, Bahia, Centipede, St. Augustine, Florida Palmetto, Fescue, Kentucky Bluegrass, Zoysia & Ryegrass, the Simple Lawn Solutions Lawn Food Natural Liquid Fertilizer is a go-to solution.

Scotts Turf Builder Starter Food - Best For New Grass

Scotts Turf Builder Starter Food
Scotts Turf Builder Starter Food
Pros
  • Grow new grass 70% thicker, 35% quicker versus unfed grass
  • Safe for any types of grass
  • Promote faster root and blade development
  • Suitable for sod and grass plugs
  • Cost-effective
Cons
  • Short protection life

With this synthetic fertilizer from Scotts, reviving your lawn and establishing much stronger roots has never been easier.

Because the Scotts Turf Builder Starter Food is phosphorus-free, there is no water runoff contamination. However, it also means that it cannot help build root growth for the newly planted lawn.

Moreover, this cost-effective product can work for various types of both warm and cool weather grasses and help them survive through harsh periods or droughts without many waterings or much effort.

Though the Scotts Turf Builder Starter Food works as advertised, some users reported that if you don’t use it continuously, you might spot new weeds like crabgrass with fury again.

Product Specifications

Capacity

1M

When to Apply?

Spring only

Coverage

1,000 square feet

Ratio

24-25-4

Highlight Features

Ideal nutrient balance for developing lawns, no waiting period, 2-month feed duration

Everything that lackluster lawns need is a fertilizer which is mostly nitrogen with a small potassium dose to produce much stronger roots like the Scotts Turf Builder Starter Food.

Milorganite 0636 Organic Nitrogen Fertilizer - Best Organic Nitrogen Fertilizer

Milorganite 0636 Organic Nitrogen Fertilizer
Milorganite 0636 Organic Nitrogen Fertilizer
Pros
  • Reduce the need for watering
  • Cut down mowing time
  • Eco-friendly
  • Safe for both pets and children
Cons
  • Strange odor

Milorganite 0636 Organic Nitrogen Fertilizer has been famous for growing a thick, lush, and incredibly green lawn for more than 90 years.

The key to the impressive performance of this fertilizer for golf courses is the addition of 4% non-staining iron for your grasses’ deeper green color.

As a plus, the slow-release formula delivers superior results with reduced mowing time making it easy to use whenever and wherever you want. However, the lack of robust-root-system-growing elements makes it inappropriate for the newly-planted lawn.

As the Milorganite 0636 Organic Nitrogen Fertilizer releases a smell keeping animals far away from your lawn, there is no need to worry about rabbits and deer attack. The downside, though, is that you have to smell that bad odor.

Product Specifications

Capacity

36 pounds

When to Apply?

Anytime

Coverage

2,500 square feet

Ratio

6-4-0

Highlight Features

Organic composition, iron-rich, slow-release nitrogen fertilizer, lower energy cost& great for use on golf courses for decades

Milorganite 0636 Organic Nitrogen Fertilizer is the best choice for use on golf courses.

Simple Lawn Solutions Natural Liquid Spray Concentrated Fertilizer - Rich In Nitrogen And Phosphorus

Simple Lawn Solutions Natural Liquid Spray Concentrated Fertilizer
Simple Lawn Solutions Natural Liquid Spray Concentrated Fertilizer
Pros
  • Perfect for new sod/seeding as well as established grass
  • Work on multiple types of grass
  • Kid- and pet-friendly
  • Made in the USA
Cons
  • Cannot be used in all states

Manufactured in the USA with a superior quality yet coming at a reasonable price, the Simple Lawn Solutions Natural Liquid Spray Concentrated Fertilizer is unsurprisingly among the best fertilizers for green grass.

This potash-free nutritional lawn food helps treat all nutrient deficiencies, improve cold- & heat-resistance while providing essential nutrients for top green grass and turf strength.

However, as phosphorus runoff might pose a major threat to the quality of water, it is illegal to apply this phosphorus-containing concentrated fertilizer on non-agricultural grasses in some states.

Product Specifications

Capacity

32oz

When to Apply?

Every 3 weeks or once each month & 7-10 days after using any weedkiller forms

Coverage

3,200 square feet

Ratio

6-19-0

Highlight Features

High-quality natural & organic food-grade ingredients, advanced humic & fulvic acid formula & ready-to-use hose-end sprayer

Simple Lawn Solutions Natural Liquid Spray Concentrated Fertilizer is among the greatest nutritional products for small Centipede, Bermuda, Buffalo, St. Augustine, Palmetto, Zoysia, & Bluegrass lawns which need assistance for grass growth.

Miracle-Gro Water Soluble Lawn Food - Best Overall

Miracle-Gro Water Soluble Lawn Food
Miracle-Gro Water Soluble Lawn Food
Pros
  • Instantly feed all grass types
  • A quick solution for a thick, green lawn
  • Cost-effective
  • Easy to use
Cons
  • Might burn your lawn

This water-soluble lawn food by Miracle-Gro is popular among gardeners for a good reason.

This easy-to-apply and long-lasting fertilizer is specially formulated with the ideal nutrient amount for the stems, roots, and leaves’ stable development for a soft green grass carpet.

The dispenser included in the package saves you much effort applying this fertilizer across the whole large yard. Not to mention the fertilizer amount you will be getting alongside its inexpensive price making this lawn food cost-effective.

The only minor issue you might with this synthetic fertilizer is that you might cause damage or even burn your lawns by intentionally over-applying. If you strictly follow the directions, though, there is no need to worry about that bad scenario damage.

Product Specifications

Capacity

5 pounds

When to Apply?

Every 4 or 6 weeks

Coverage

7,200 square feet

Ratio

6-19-0

Highlight Features

Use with the Garden Feeder & water-soluble formula for better coverage

If performance-oriented fertilizer is all you need to make your lawn or vegetable/flower garden the pride of your neighborhood, the Miracle-Gro Water Soluble Lawn Food is tailored for you.

Scotts 44611A Green Max Lawn Food – Best Choice For Fastest Result

Scotts 44611A Green Max Lawn Food
Scotts 44611A Green Max Lawn Food
Pros
  • Recommended for many lawns as part of the Scotts Lawn Care Plan
  • Rich in iron
  • Feed and supplement with iron for deep greening within only 3 days
  • Work for any types of grass
  • Not stain even when being used directly
Cons
  • Rusty pavers

For the easiest and quickest green grass, the Scotts 44611A Green Max Lawn Food is a second-to-none option. With a boost of iron (5.17%), it promises to make your grass much greener, stronger, and thicker within 3 days after fertilization.

Those who do not have much spare time for lawn care also find it a perfect pick as they only need to apply this fertilizer every 6-8 weeks.

Were we to have to complain about one thing, it would be the fact that this fertilizer will paint your pavers with a rusty color.

Product Specifications

Capacity

10M

When to Apply?

Spring, summer, and autumn months & every 6-8 weeks & between 6 and 10 AM

Coverage

10,000 square feet

Ratio

27-0-2

Highlight Features

Dual-action 2-in-1 formula

If you want your lawn to turn green within one day or two, there is no better choice than the Scotts 44611A Green Max Lawn Food.

FAQs

How To Choose The Best Fertilizer For Green Grass? Tips For Beginners

When should I apply lawn fertilizer?

Apply the fertilizer in three phases: first in early spring when the lilacs start blossoming & the grass begins to green, next in late spring (mid-April to May), and one more time in late summer.

However, your lawn will thrive unless you over-fertilize it and feed your grasses in the hottest time of summer months.

How often can I fertilize grass?

Though each type of grass has a specific fertilizer demand, to keep your lawns green and healthy, feeding them once or twice per year is enough.

Is it OK to put fertilizer on wet grass?

Fertilize your lawns at from 8- to 10-week intervals, and don’t do it when the foliage is wet.

Is liquid or dry fertilizer better?

Liquid fertilizers: this water-soluble fertilizer is the most fast-acting type. It is convenient to use and easy to absorb and reach your garden soil’s bottom, but hose & nozzle together with little care are required while usage.

Dry fertilizers are generally shaped into small granules. Whether it is a water-insoluble or quick-release formula, gardeners love this kind of fertilizer as it is easy to spread in gardens.

Can brown grass turn green again?

Yes, it can.

How long does it take for grass to turn green after fertilizing?

If drought stresses your lawn or makes it totally dead, you cannot bring it back. Fortunately, after from 3 to 4 weeks of regular irrigation can you revive dormant lawns with some brown, spongy thatches.

Conclusion

With our list of the best fertilizer for green grass above, saying goodbye to yellow, dead, or sparse grass is not a mission impossible anymore.


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