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Hi, my name is Harold Enger from Spring-Green, and I want to talk to you about what do these
numbers on a fertilizer bag mean, and why are they useful to know?
Well, every bag has an analysis or fertilizer analysis. This is the active ingredients that
are in this bag. Now, this one is a fifteen-three-seven. The fifteen, which stands for the percentage
of nitrogen by weight – fifteen percent of this bag is nitrogen by weight. Three percent
of it is phosphorus. And, seven percent is pot ash or potassium. And, each of these can
play an important part in the development of a lawn. The nitrogen is for greening and
growth. The phosphorus is for root development, and the pot ash is for strengthening of the
grass. Now, why do we need to know that information?
Well, a lot of times you want to put that product down at a certain percentage, a certain
amount of the active ingredient per thousand square feet. For example, this is a fifty
pound bag. Fifteen: fifteen percent of fifty is seven point five. So, there is seven and
a half pounds of nitrogen in this bag. Now, if we want to put down that at rate of
half a pound per thousand square feet, we just take that seven and a half, divide it
by half a pound and now we know that this bag will cover fifteen thousand square feet.
So, if I have a lawn that’s only five thousand square feet, I’ll only use about a third
of this bag to put down that amount of fertilizer, that half a pound of product.
That’s how you figure out. So, you should know what these amounts are. Look at the weight
of the bag, and that will help you determine how much material you’re going to need for
your lawn. Now, this might be a little bit confusing
for you to try to figure out all of this information. If you purchase your fertilizer from a large
retail store, or like a big-box store, hardware store, read the bag. Read the analysis. Read
the information that’s on that label. And, that will tell you how much product that you’re
going to want to use per thousand square feet. If you’re really confused or you don’t
know, it’s better to contact your neighborhood lawn care professional, and they will definitely
be able to give you the right amount of fertilizer at the right time, so that you will have a
nice looking lawn. If you want to know more about fertilizer
and the fertilizer analysis, contact your neighborhood Spring-Green professional, or
you can visit my Ask the Expert blog at www.Spring-Green.com.