The Nitty Gritty Details of Lawn Health

01 Jul The Nitty Gritty Details of Lawn Health

The soil requires several micronutrients or trace elements which are vital for lawn health but are often overlooked by homeowners. Micronutrients and trace elements are required at minuscule amounts for the normal growth and development of living organisms. Since a small amount of these elements are needed for growth, they often get forgotten about, but several metabolic processes are affected in the process when this happens.

Here are some of the most critical micronutrients you should be monitoring in your plants’ soil

• Iron (Fe): Used in chlorophyll and carbohydrate production, respiration of sugars to provide growth energy.
• Copper (Cu): Component of enzymes, involved in respiration and utilization of iron and regulates soil nitrogen.
• Boron (B): Used for cell division, nitrogen and carbohydrate metabolism, flowering, and fruiting.
• Molybdenum (Mo): Aids in nitrogen metabolism and fixation.
• Manganese (Mn): Used as a catalyst in the growth process, formation of oxygen in photosynthesis.
• Zinc (Zn): Used in chlorophyll formation, respiration, nitrogen metabolism, and is needed for growth regulation and stem elongation.

If there are some concerns with your lawn and you’re unsure of the micronutrients or trace elements your plants might be lacking, you need to take a sample to an accredited soil testing laboratory. For Ontario residents, you can find a list of them here. Once you receive your results, you can gauge which nutrients are below average and add the necessary amounts needed to bring your soil back up to standard.

We’ll be writing more on how to diagnose the symptoms your plant may exhibit when certain micronutrients are below their desired amounts so tune into our upcoming blogs for more details!