Phosphate Free Fertilisers

Q

Some lawn fertilisers are being sold without Phosphate, this is presumably to do with minimising algal blooms in rivers, which is a good thing, but is this any good for our lawns not to be getting Phosphate in their fertiliser?

A

Some lawn fertilisers are indeed being manufactured and sold without the Phosphorous (Phosphate) component. This is due entirely to the new environmental focus being brought onto all of us in every area of our lives, including lawn care.

Algal blooms and environmental damage caused by Phosphate in fertilisers made massive news headlines over a long period of time that each of us have since long been aware of, and as a result - the fertiliser manufacturers have taken our concerns on board and produced new lawn fertilisers without the Phosphate component.

But the truth is that almost all of the environmental damage caused by fertilisers were not coming from the home lawn or garden, they were coming from agriculture, and they were arising from the over-use of fertilisers.

Again, truthfully, if all lawn and garden fertilisers were used properly, and in the right amounts and at the right frequencies, all nutrients including Phosphate would be used entirely by the lawn and garden and no run-off of nutrients into the environment would ever occur.

Phosphate, also called Phosphorous is vital to all lawns and plants, and is responsible for root health and development. So by using Phosphate in our lawn fertilisers - we are helping our lawns to develop a strong healthy root system, and this leads to far greater lawn health, greater drought tolerance, and greater summer lawn health in particular. So we do not want our lawns to go without Phosphate in their lawn care regime.

With all these things in mind, the question is - how do we use Phosphate without damaging the environment?

And the answer is simple.

The first option is to alternate our lawn fertilisers between using a regular fertiliser, and using a fertiliser which is phosphate free. This can seem like a good idea, but it becomes a nuisance buying and storing two different fertiliser types, as well as having our lawns cycle with peaks and troughs of receiving it's feed of Phosphate.

The far better option, in my own opinion is to stay with regular lawn fertilisers year-round. Buy high quality lawn fertilisers only, as these are best used by the lawn, with the best results and with the least damage to the environment. Next is to learn to fertiliser properly all year round. Measure your lawn and use fertilisers only at manufacturers recommendations.

Remember, Phosphate damage only ever occurs from using too much fertiliser, which then cannot be used by the lawn and instead runs off into the environment. So apply fertilisers properly, and not too frequently, and if you still have concerns, then the very best option is still to fertilise at correct frequencies, but to lower the amount of fertiliser being used. This way the lawn will utilise 100% of all nutrients applied, with no run-off to the environment, while still receiving all of it's vital nutrient requirements, albeit at a lower rate, which is still better than no fertiliser at all, and still better than over-fertilising.