If you're struggling to keep weeds from growing in your yard, fertilizing your lawn can help. Lawn fertilizer contains ample amounts of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium, which are all elements that grass needs to grow quickly and remain healthy. Fertilizing your lawn regularly and strengthening your grass helps it out-compete weeds that try to sprout on your lawn, reducing the number that you'll see in your yard. To learn how regular lawn fertilization helps keep weeds out of your yard, read on.

Fertilizer Helps Your Grass Develop a Strong Root System That Prevents Weeds From Taking Root

When the grass on your lawn is supplied with all of the nutrients it needs to grow, it will develop a very thick and strong root system in the soil. Weed seeds that are introduced to your yard by the wind or bird droppings will have difficulty penetrating the thick root layer underneath your grass. As a result, they'll have difficulty finding enough soil to sprout in, and the seeds will remain dormant on the surface of your lawn instead of turning into a full-fledged weed.

Fertilized Lawns Are Inhospitable for Many Common Weeds

Weeds like clover are nitrogen fixers, which means that their roots attract certain species of bacteria that take nitrogen out of the air and turn it into a solid form in the soil. Nitrogen-fixing is an adaptation that makes them able to grow well in low-nitrogen soil. Soil that's already high in nitrogen from lawn fertilizer will stunt their growth or even prevent them from germinating. Keeping your lawn fertilized and full of nitrogen will cut down on the nitrogen-fixing weeds you see in your lawn.

Keeping Your Lawn Fertilized Prepares Your Grass for Rapid Growth, Enabling It to Out-Compete Weeds

To keep your lawn as healthy as possible, you should fertilize your lawn even while it's still dormant in the cooler months. Even though your grass isn't growing and doesn't need the nutrients provided by fertilizer, the fertilizer will work its way deep into the soil and create a rich nutrient store that your grass can draw upon when it starts growing again. When grass starts growing quickly, it will take nutrients away from weeds that are trying to grow at the same time. Healthy grass can out-compete weeds for nutrients, starving them and causing them to die.

Overall, keeping the grass on your lawn healthy by fertilizing it regularly creates a strong barrier against weed growth. Fertilized soil is less hospitable for weeds, and they'll have difficulty breaking through your grass' root system and competing with it for nutrients. If you want to keep weeds away, call a lawn fertilization service in your area and have them design a lawn care schedule that will ensure your grass is provided with the nutrients it needs to grow strong and healthy. 

For more info about lawn fertilization, contact a local company.