Fertilising Lawns In The Rain

Q

I wanted to put down an application of lawn fertiliser but it will be raining for the next few days. I'm assuming the rain will water the fertiliser into the lawn for me, is this true or is there something I should be aware of?

A

Fertilising lawns when rain is expected can be done, but does carry possible problems, so it's going to be a judgement call on behalf of the lawn owner.

Some light rain after fertilising will indeed water the fertiliser into the lawn as is supposed to happen. So if the lawn owner knows that expected rainfall will be minimal then by all means - fertilise the lawn at this time.

If heavy rain is experienced after lawn fertilising, then the large amounts of water may wash much of the fertiliser off the lawn and into the drain system, and into the broader environment, as well as washing the fertiliser way past the root system of the lawn and into the underlying water table.

This isn't a good idea, and not a risk worthy of taking, as it not only wastes the fertiliser and our money with no benefit to the lawn, but it also poses the risk of causing damage to our environment.

The final risk involves the use of Winter Fertilisers. These fertilisers contain Iron, and if applied to the lawn during rain then the Iron will stain surrounding paths. This occurs when fertiliser is overspread and inevitably lands on surrounding paths, to be later dissolved by the rainfall.