How Often Can I Apply Sulfur To My Lawn?

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Besides the primary nutrients necessary to grow a lush green lawn, your grass also requires secondary nutrients like sulfur.

Although your lawn needs sulfur in lower quantities compared to potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus, it helps increase the soil’s PH.

It can take many years for a sulfur treatment to make an impact on your lawn soil, and it’s vital to apply sulfur multiple times over time.

This helps boost optimal growth and inhibit lawn damage. With that said, the question is, how often can you apply sulfur to your lawn?

What Does A Sulfur Treatment Do For Your Lawn?

how often can i apply sulfur to my lawn

Sulfur treatment is a necessary soil amendment that transforms your lawn into beautiful, healthy, lush grounds.

It is quite beneficial to brown or patchy lawns if applied correctly, but the impact will be realized after some time.

The primary purpose of sulfur in your lawn is to reduce soil PH if high, but note that the effect isn’t immediate.

As you continue to apply sulfur to your lawn over time, the build-up of this nutrient in your soil will occur and consequently alter the soil PH, thus promoting green, healthy grass.

Also Read: How to apply lime to your lawn

Making sulfur part of your lawn also helps make your yard harsh weather, disease, and drought-resistant. Moreover, your grass will recover from fungal infections quickly.

Below are ways your lawn will benefit from sulfur:

  • Growth of green, lush grass
  • Your yard will deal with harsh winters better
  • It makes your grass less vulnerable to diseases and pests since this nutrient is a potent pesticide and antifungal
  • Improves your lawn’s density and appearance
  • Your yard will tolerate drought much better

How Often Can I Apply Sulfur to My Lawn?

The number of times you can apply sulfur to your lawn depends on various factors. These are the grass type, current soil PH, climate, lawn condition, and the quantity of sulfur already in your lawn soil.

Generally, you should apply sulfur to your lawn only two times a year. However, using sulfur in most grasses every two months is beneficial, mainly if your grass is in poor condition.

The maximum sulfur safe to apply to your lawn is 4.5 kg (10 pounds) per 1000 sq. ft. do not exceed this to avoid burning your grass.

Below is the recommended number of times based on the soil PH.

Soil PH of 6.0 to 6.5

Apply sulfur once annually in spring or fall when the grass is growing actively to ensure your grass gets the needed nutrients to thrive and maintain the proper soil PH.

Soil PH of Over 6.5

You will likely need to put sulfur on your lawn twice annually in the fall and spring to correct the soil PH and make sure your grass gets the required nutrients for optimum growth.

How Do I Know If My Lawn Needs Sulfur?

You can see the physical consequences of sulfur deficiency, including younger grasses taking a long to reach maturity and mature grass turning yellow or discolored.

However, to be entirely sure, perform a soil test for PH.

The ideal PH for a lawn with turfgrass is 6.0 to 7.0. Your grass won’t grow well if the PH is lower or higher.

You can test soil PH using a home test kit which is a more economical and convenient approach. However, for more accurate results, use laboratory testing.

You will likely require 5 to 10 random samples of soil from your lawn; dig up to 3 inches. If you are testing fresh soil to establish a new yard, dig up to 6 inches.

The test will help determine if your soil is basic, alkaline, or acidic. To test soil PH at home, make sure you have baking powder, soil samples, a measuring cup, water, and vinegar.

How To Apply Sulfur To The Lawn?

 

how to apply sulfur to the lawn
Sulfur

 

Once you test your lawn’s soil PH and determine your yard needs sulfur, ensure the soil can also retain moisture and drains well.

You’ll then have to determine how much sulfur your lawn needs.

The amount of sulfur to apply to your lawn depends on the soil texture and PH.

For instance, you can lower the PH of a yard with sandy soil from 7.5 to 6.5 using 4.5 to 6.8 kg (10 to 15 pounds) of sulfur per 1000 sq. ft. on the other hand; you will likely require 9 to 11 kg (20 to 25 pounds) on lawn soil that has a clay consistency.

It takes more sulfur to change the PH of clay soil compared to sandy soils.

You may also have to introduce other soil amendments like compost, peat moss, manure, or potting soil to clay soils to change the earth’s consistency and make it more suitable for developing a healthy yard.

What To Consider Before Applying Sulfur To Your Lawn

  • Apply sulfur to your lawn when there’s little wind for proper precision
  • Apply sulfur when the weather is cool to protect grass from burning (temperatures below 28°C (82°F). In addition, avoid days with high humidity
  • Do not use sulfur on land with delicate fruit trees like pears, apples, or apricot. This also applies to trees with fruits you intend to preserve
  • Don’t mix sulfur with alkaline reaction elements or oils. For example, wait for 21 days following sulfur application before using neem oil
  • Sulfur plugs are great for established lawns because they introduce sulfur without burning the grass

Applying sulfur to your yard is pretty straightforward. Just put on gloves before sprinkling the sulfur, then water your lawn after 20 minutes.

While sulfur on an established lawn works, you can incorporate this nutrient into your lawn soil before laying sod, using sprigs or plugs, or seeding.

Final Remarks

For your lawn to fully benefit from sulfur, know how many times you should apply it and the quantities to use it.

Don’t exceed the recommended dosage for your lawn’s well-being.

Also, testing the soil PH before application is vital since it will inform you whether your yard requires sulfur in the first place and how much to use. Organic matter-rich soils contain higher sulfur concentrations.

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