If your lawn is lacking color and needs a little push to promote fast green-up and fresh growth, liquid fertilizer concentrate is what you need.
Today we are sharing our favorite liquid lawn fertilizer concentrates and tips for application.
Why We Love Liquid Lawn Fertilizer Concentrate
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Easy to Use
Applying liquid fertilizer to your lawn is a simple and effective way to promote green grass and supply your lawn with the nutrients it needs.
If it’s your first time using liquid fertilizer we recommend using a product that is bottled in a ready to spray container/concentrate for the best results and ease of application. This set up allows you to connect the container to your hose and you’re ready to go.
Applying liquid fertilizer with overlapping passes with a hose end sprayer or a backpack sprayer will allow for even coverage. In contrast, a broadcast or drop spreader requires much more precision to get even application.
A premixed liquid lawn fertilizer is a foolproof way to get your grass green fast.
As with all products it’s important to follow the products label and instructions for your application.
Cost
Liquid fertilizer can also be more cost effective compared to traditional granular fertilizer applications, so you can save some money and have a green lawn.
Traditionally when we’re talking about fertilizers and a green lawn we are talking about nitrogen. Nitrogen is the primary macronutrient for growth and color for your lawn.
When comparing liquid fertilizers and traditional granular fertilizers you would need to consider how much total nitrogen is in the product and recommended application rate. Liquid fertilizer applications require significantly less product than granular products to produce similar results.
Because the product is applied directly to the blade of grass you don’t need as much, which saves you money in the long run.
While granular fertilizers work, the product must be absorbed through the roots of the plant and much of the product just gets absorbed into the soil or washed away with a heavy rain or watering.
Even Application
As mentioned above, one of the reasons why we love and recommend liquid fertilizer is because it so easy to apply evenly.
Even application is essential to make sure you get a uniformly green lawn. If you miss a spot, that area may appear brown compared to the surrounding grass. On the other hand, if you apply too much fertilizer in one area it can burn the grass and create dead patches.
Bioavailability
When you spray liquid fertilizer on your yard you are using a foilar application method.
In a foilar application the fertilizer is applied directly to the leaves of the plant. In the case of grass, the leaf is the plant.
This works well because plants can absorb nutrient directly through their leaves, they don’t have to take it up through their roots. A comparison would be if humans could absorb nutrients through their skin and not have to actually eat their food.
Because the fertilizer can quickly be absorbed by the grass we call it “bioavailable”. This means that more of the product enters the plant and can actually be utilized. In comparison, when you apply granular fertilizer to your lawn only a small percentage actually goes into the soil and is absorbed by the grass roots meaning you need a lot more product for the same result.
Fast Results
As mentioned above, foilar feeding is the fastest way to get the nutrients into your grass.
If you use quick-release liquid fertilizer you can see improvement with a day or so, while it can take two weeks or longer for the granular version to work.
The Best Concentrated Liquid Lawn Fertilizers
18-3-6 Liquid Fertilizer (50% SRN & Micronutrients)
This product offered by Pendelton Turf Supply is a good all around liquid fertilizer for your lawn. This product contains 50% fast release nitrogen for a fast green effect and 50% of a slow release nitrogen for prolonged feeding. This product comes in a 2.5 gallon jug and can be used in a hand or backpack sprayer.
Products Highlights
- 18-3-6 NPK analysis
- 3oz of product per 1,000 sq ft
- 2.5 gallon jug
- Small amount of micronutrients
- Apply with a sprayer
Pendelton Turf Supply 18-3-6 Liquid Fertilizer (50% SRN & Micronutrients) (2.5 Gallons)
- BENEFITS: All purpose fertilizer designed to be used throughout the growing season that provides readily available nutrients AND extended, long lasting nitrogen (Product contains 50% SLOW RELEASE NITROGEN (SRN))
Triple 10 All Purpose Liquid Fertilizer 10-10-10 with Amino Acids & Seaweed Extract
This balanced fertilizer is a good alternative to traditional granular fertilizers with a 1-1-1 NPK ratio. This product is great for lawns but can also be used on ornamentals or in your garden. This product is best applied with a hand or backpack sprayer.
Product Highlights
- 10-10-10 NPK analysis
- 1-2oz of product per 1,000 sq ft
- 32oz easy to measure system
- Contains seaweed extract
- Apply with a sprayer
Triple 10 All Purpose Liquid Fertilizer 10-10-10 with Amino Acids (5.5%) & Seaweed Extract (32oz)
- ALL PURPOSE: 10-10-10 with Aminos (5.5%) & Seaweed Extract is a generic liquid fertilizer designed for all stages of plant growth.
Simple Lawn Solutions Lawn Energizer- Grass Micronutrient Booster with Iron & Nitrogen- Liquid Turf Spray Concentrated Fertilizer
Simple Lawn Solutions product offerings are great for homeowners who are starting to use liquid applications in their lawn. All of their products come in different sizes to accommodate different lawn sizes. This product contains 6% nitrogen along with micronutrients including iron for a green lawn. Due to the low nitrogen content this is a great product to start with. The 32oz bottle attaches to your garden hose and makes for an easy application.
Product Highlights
- 6-0-0 NPK analysis
- Micronutrients + Iron
- 32oz bottle covers 3,200 sq ft
- Easy to use bottle with hose attachment or Handheld sprayer
- Liquid Lawn Fertilizer Booster: Iron and Nitrogen Blend. Lawn Energizer booster provides essential nutrients needed to darken the green of your lawn
Advanced 16-4-8 Balanced NPK Spring & Summer Concentrated Spray
Here is another great product from Simple Lawn Solutions. This 32oz ready to spray bottle has an 16-4-8 NPK analysis with seaweed. This product will provide your lawn with the nutrients it needs for a boost of color and overall health.
Product Highlights
- 16-4-8 NPK analysis
- Micronutrients + Iron
- 32oz bottle covers 3,200 sq ft
- Easy to use bottle with hose attachment or handheld sprayer
Sale
- Complete NPK Lawn Food: 16-4-8 is the perfect blend of key macronutrients. This lawn liquid food turf fertilizer also contains Seaweed & Fish.
Maximum Green & Growth- High Nitrogen 28-0-0 NPK- Lawn Food Quality Liquid Fertilizer
Our final product from Simple Lawn Solutions is a straight nitrogen product with an analysis of 28-0-0. This product has a mix of quick and slow release nitrogen and this product is best used in the spring or fall for grown and maximum color.
Product Highlights
- 28-0-0 NPK analysis
- Mix of fast and slow release nitrogen
- 32oz bottle covers 3,200 sq ft
- Easy to use bottle with hose attachment or handheld sprayer
- Easy to Use: Our 28-0-0 Lawn Fertilizer Food comes with an attached sprayer that applies the perfect ratio of product for lawn applications. Covers up to 3,200 square feet, when using the attached sprayer
Scotts Liquid Turf Builder Lawn Food Fertilizer
Scotts liquid lawn fertilizer comes in a ready to spray bottle and has an NPK analysis of 29-0-3. This bottle is packed with nitrogen and will give your lawn the boost it needs to green-up. This product will cover about 2,000sq ft so it’s best for smaller yards and come at a competitive price point.
Product Highlights
- 29-0-3 NPK analysis
- Mix of fast and slow release nitrogen
- 32oz bottle covers 2,000 sq ft
- Easy to use bottle with hose attachment
- Scotts Liquid Turf Builder Lawn Food contains the essential nutrients and feeding power lawns need for great results
Easy Peasy Urea Fertilizer- 46-0-0 Plant Food
This bag of Urea fertilizer is easy to use and is water soluble. Mixing your own liquid fertilizer is a cheap and easy way to control how much nitrogen you apply to your lawn. This fertilizer product is fast release and will give your lawn the pop you need.
Product Highlights
- 46-0-0 NPK analysis
- Fast release nitrogen
- Mix approx 1 tbsp per gallon of water for foilar feeding
- .25 lbs of nitrogen recommended per 1,000 sq ft
- 5 pound bag will cover 20,000 sq ft at recommended rate
- For use with a backpack sprayer
UREA FERTILIZER 46-0-0 | nitrogen granular fertilizer | NITROGEN PLANT FOOD
- High Nitrogen Concentration: Our Urea 46-0-0 fertilizer provides strong source of nitrogen
How to Prepare Liquid Fertilizer Concentrate For Use:
If are new to using liquid fertilizer products on your lawn it is best to use a product that can easily attach to your garden hose.
Before you apply your product it is best to perform a practice run with just your hose and a simple spray nozzle. Turn on your water and practice watering your lawn with a smooth even pace moving from one end to the other. As you do this practice light over lapping swaths with an slow but steady walking pace. After you get a feel for this process you can apply your product in the same manner with the products easy hose attachment.
If you are using a liquid lawn fertilizer concentrate that came in a jug or container that does not have a provided hose attachment you can use a hose end sprayer, we recommend this product.
When applying using this method you need to determine how much product you use by referring to the products label and instructions. It will give you a recommend volume in oz per 1,000 sq ft. For example, if the product recommends 5oz. per 1,000 sq ft. and you have a 5,000 sq ft lawn, you would put 25 oz of product in your hose end sprayer.
After performing this step you can attach your hand held sprayer to your hose and turn on your water supply and your are ready to go. Remember this application need to be done in a smooth manner while applying overlapping passes to the entire lawn.
For homeowners that are more advanced and dilute their own fertilizer with a water soluble product like urea here are the steps for preparation:
As with all products you need to determine how much product to use.
Straight urea is a potent fertilizer and we recommend applications rates of .25lbs of nitrogen or less. For application purpose this will equate to 0.50 lbs of the actual product per 1,000 sq ft. If your lawn is 3,000 sq ft you would need only 1.5lbs of urea for your fertilizer application.
Measuring for this is best done with a kitchen scale as it is a small amount. Urea has a nitrogen analysis of 46 meaning that almost 50% of your products bag weight is nitrogen so a little bit of product goes a long way. Once you have determined how much you are going to use you can prep your equipment for application which will be a backpack sprayer.
A good rule for spraying liquid products using a backpack sprayer is to use 1 gallon of carrier (water) per 1,000 sq ft. For this example we will be using our 3,000 sq ft example.
- Start by filling your sprayer with half of the total water you will need for your application. We will need a total of 3 gallons of water so our initial fill will be to your sprayers 1.5 gallon mark.
- After the sprayer is filled half way add your urea fertilizer to the water. Urea is water soluble and should dissolve in about 5 min. If you are having trouble with your product not dissolving you can add some warm water to your sprayer to speed-up this process.
- When the urea is dissolved you can top of your sprayer to our 3 gallon mark.
- Once you have the sprayer filled insure the urea is fully mixed by agitating the liquid with a paint stir stick or by closing the lid and shaking the sprayer back and forth.
- Now that the product is fully diluted you are ready to apply.
How to Apply Liquid Fertilizer to Your Grass
Follow these tips and you’ll see the results you desire in no time.
When applying liquid fertilizers, or any other products to your lawn, it is important to determine the square footage of the area. This is done by multiplying the length by the width which will give you your square footage.
After determining the square footage, you will reference your product’s label to determine how many square feet your product will cover. This will give you an idea of how much product you can safely apply to your lawn. As with all labels it is important to follow them to decrease the likelihood of an over application that may injure your lawn.
Liquid fertilizing is best practiced with small amounts of nutrients which generally come premixed by the manufacturer.
When in doubt less is more with liquid products applied to your lawn. On the other hand, liquid fertilizers can be applied more often during the growing season, as often as every 2-4 weeks during the spring and fall. Avoid liquid fertilizer applications during the hot summer months as well as applications during the hottest time of the day.
Liquid fertilizers can be applied in a few different ways:
- The majority of homeowners are probably going to begin ready-to-spray product, all you have to do is attach your hose. This going to be the easiest to use especially if it is your first time applying liquid fertilizer to your lawn.
- However, if you choose a concentrate that doesn’t come with a hose attachment you can use a hose end sprayer like this ortho product.
- These products can also be applied using a backpack sprayer filled with water. Backpack sprayers also work well for granular fertilizers that are water soluble like nitrogen urea and can be a great cost effective way to apply nitrogen to your lawn.
Whether you are using a hose-end attachment sprayer or a backpack sprayer the application process is the same.
When is the best time to apply liquid lawn fertilizer?
When applying liquid fertilizer products it is best to avoid applications during the hottest parts of the day during the warmer months.
Applications made in the cooler morning or evenings are best. If you make liquid fertilizer applications in the morning you can turn on your irrigation system in the evening to help water-in the extra product that wasn’t absorbed by the blade of grass.
Conversely if you make an evening application it is best to wait and water your lawn the next morning.
If you have a cool season lawn it’s best to apply your liquid fertilizer during the spring and early fall as that is when cool season grasses growth potential is at its peak.
Warm season grasses peak growth period will be from mid spring to early fall. During these warmer months, including summer, is the best time for your liquid fertilizer applications.
More Fertilizing Posts:
- How Often To Fertilize Your Lawn? (The Surprising Answer)
- The Best Battery Powered Backpack Sprayers
- Liquid Iron for Lawns: Everything You Need To Know
- How To Turn Yellow Grass Green Fast
