5 Best Liquid Lawn Fertilizers

If you’re laying sod and expecting a beautiful-looking yard without any extra work, you’re going to be disappointed with the results. Not only do you need to keep watering the lawn consistently, but you need a top-notch fertilizer to get the results you’re looking for.

That’s why we took the time to track down and review five of the best liquid lawn fertilizers out there. We searched for the best of the best by diving into everything each product has to offer for your lawn.

Not only that, but we also answered some of the most frequently asked questions you might have, and came up with a comprehensive buyer’s guide to walk you through everything you need to know to get the right fertilizer the first time.

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OUR FAVORITES

Liquid Lawn Fertilizers: Our Favorites

1. PetraTools Lawn Dethatcher – Best Overall

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Sizes: 8, 32, and 128 ounces

Application Method: Sprayer

When you’re looking for the best possible lawn fertilizer at the best possible price, you want PetraTools Lawn Dethatcher. Not only does it provide an outstanding mix of price and performance, but it’s also easy to use and entirely organic.

This means it’s safe around kids, pets, and more – and it comes with a satisfaction guarantee. Just because it’s an organic product doesn’t mean it can’t get the job done.

It’s everything you could ask for and more, and you don’t have to break the bank to get it. The only downside to PetraTools Lawn Dethatcher is that you need to purchase a separate sprayer and mix everything yourself.

This isn’t a huge deal if you know what you’re doing, but it is a few extra steps and little extra work compared to other fertilizers that use a standard garden hose sprayer.

Pros

• A great mix of price and performance
• Completely organic
• Easy to use
• Satisfaction guaranteed

Cons

• Needs a separate sprayer

2. Scotts Liquid Turf Builder – Runner Up

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Sizes: 32 ounces

Application Method: Garden hose sprayer

While Scotts Liquid Turf Builder is our runner up choice, it is a lower-priced option. So, if you’re on a lower budget, then it might be just what you need to keep your bank account intact and take your lawn to the next level.

Not only is it available for a great price, but it’s extremely easy to use. All you need to do is hook it up to your garden hose and spray the grass. You’re fertilizing and watering all in one step, which means you’re saving yourself time while you’re fertilizing.

Scotts Liquid Turf Builder works on any grass type, and does a great job, but the reason it didn’t earn our top spot is because it’s not an organic product. That’s not a big deal for some people, but organic products are better for the environment, and also mean you don’t need to worry about pets or children in your yard nearly as much.

Considering how close the two products were in price, it really was a no-brainer choice.

Pros

• Easy to use
• Affordably priced
• Works with any grass type

Cons

• Not organic

3. Simple Lawn Solutions Maximum Green & Growth – Premium Choice

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Sizes: 32 ounces

Application Method: Garden hose sprayer

With Simple Lawn Solutions Maximum Green & Growth, you’re getting a premium product that does more than almost any other lawn fertilizer available. It works on all grass types and is extremely easy to use.

All you need to do is hook it up to a garden hose and water your lawn, and it gives you phenomenal results. Simple Lawn Solutions Maximum Green & Growth uses a high-nitrogen formula to feed your lawn, and it has a quick release/slow-release formula that gives your lawn outstanding results.

It dumps about 70 percent of the nitrogen into your lawn during the first spray, then the remaining 30 percent releases slowly into your lawn over time to keep growth going.

Of course, these premium results and innovative designs come with a tradeoff, and that’s the price. It’s not an insanely expensive product, but it’s definitely on the pricier side compared to the two choices at the top of our list.

Pros

• Easy to use
• Covers a large area per bottle
• High-nitrogen formula
• Works great on all grass types
• Quick-release/slow-release formula

Cons

• More expensive option

4. Scotts Turf Builder Starter

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Sizes: 32 ounces

Application Method: Garden hose sprayer

If you’re trying to grow new grass, then Scotts Turf Builder Starter is exactly what you need. It works on all grass types and provides you with a great mix of price and performance.

Like all the fertilizers that use a garden hose sprayer, it’s extremely easy to use, and you don’t need any special equipment. Simply hook up the bottle to your garden hose and water your lawn and you’re good to go!

However, with Scotts Turf Builder Starter, you need to apply it three separate times for ideal results. This is far more work, but if you’re growing new grass, you should be watering it frequently anyway.

Another drawback is that it works far better on new grass than well-established lawns. Still, if you’re placing plugs or just adding new sod to smaller locations, then this works great. But if you’re looking for fertilizer for an already established lawn, then shop farther up on our list.

Pros

• A great mix of price and performance
• Works on all grass types
• Easy to use

Cons

• Only recommended for new grass
• Needs multiple applications

5. FoxFarm FX14008 Grow Big

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Sizes: 1, 2.5, and 5 gallons

Application Method: Sprayer

Rounding out our list is the FoxFarm FX14008 Grow Big fertilizer. It’s an outstanding choice that works great on both vegetable gardens and lawns – so you get an all-in-one product you can use for everything outside!

The entire formula is completely organic, which means you’re not putting any harmful chemicals in your yard – or near your food. FoxFarm FX14008 Grow Big gives you professional-level results that you can do yourself.

However, while you can’t beat the results that FoxFarm FX14008 Grow Big gives you, it fell to the bottom of our list for three reasons. First is the price. There are expensive lawn fertilizers out there, but Grow Big enters a different stratosphere.

Second, you need to mix this product yourself before you use it, which adds a little more work to the process. Finally, you need a separate sprayer system to use this. So, not only are you spending a ton upfront on the product itself, but you’ll also need to invest in some additional equipment to even use it.

But if the price isn’t a major concern, then Grow Big can give you the best possible results.

Pros

• Excellent for both grass and vegetable gardens
• Organic formula
• Professional-level results

Cons

• Extremely expensive
• Not as easy to use
• Needs a separate sprayer

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Buyer’s Guide

If you’re still a little unsure about which liquid lawn fertilizer you should purchase after reading the reviews, you’re not alone. There’s a lot to keep track of, and that’s why we came up with this comprehensive buyer’s guide.

We’ll walk you through everything you need to know to choose the perfect liquid lawn fertilizer the first time.

What is the Best Liquid Lawn Fertilizer for Your Lawn?

There’s a reason PetraTools Lawn Dethatcher is our top choice – it’s simply the best value of price and performance out there. But if you’re truly looking for the best lawn fertilizer, go with Simple Lawn Solutions Maximum Green & Growth.

Yeah, it’s a little more expensive, but it comes jam-packed full of extra stuff to give you the perfect lawn with fewer applications.

But if you’re fertilizing a brand new lawn for the first time, the Scotts Turf Builder Starter is what you want.

While we’d love to give you a single product and call that the “best”, the truth is what’s best for your lawn might not be what’s best for someone else’s. Take a few extra moments to figure out what the best product for your lawn is can go a long way.

Organic vs Nonorganic

There’s a reason that organic products can have a little bit of a boost in our ratings, despite their higher price. But why exactly does being organic matter?

Organic lawn fertilizers only use chemicals and other materials that you can already find in nature, so you’re not adding anything new. This means you’re far less likely to disturb the local ecosystem, and if your kids or pets get a hold of them, there’s a much smaller chance they’ll run into any problems.

Organic products are better for you and the ecosystem, so it’s not hard to see why we prefer them. Of course, the tradeoff is the price, and if you’re careful with nonorganic products can significantly reduce the risk of damaging the local ecosystem or yourself.

What To Look For in Liquid Lawn Fertilizer

When you’re looking at liquid lawn fertilizers, you need to check for three basic ingredients – nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

While there are certainly other ingredients that help your lawn grow, it’s those three that make the most notable impact. The higher the percentages of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium the fertilizer contains, the better your lawn will look.

In addition to the ingredients in your lawn fertilizer, you need to look at the application method, whether or not the product is organic, and which types of grasses it works on. Ensure you have the ability to apply your new lawn fertilizer, then ensure that it works for the type of grass in your lawn.

While the primary ingredients needed to fertilize lawns stays the same no matter what type of grass you have, the company can tweak the less important ingredients to give you even better results for your grass type.

How Much Liquid Lawn Fertilizer Do You Need?

When you’re getting ready to fertilize your lawn, there are two concerns. First, you can fail to apply enough and not get the results you’re looking for. Not enough fertilizer is still better than nothing at all, but it won’t give you nearly the boost you want.

Meanwhile, if you use too much, you might cause a spike in the nitrogen levels in the soil, and this can damage or even kill your grass. Instead of giving your lawn a boost, you could end up killing it!

That’s why it’s so important to get the right amount of lawn fertilizer the first time. While you should always follow the instructions on your specific lawn fertilizer bottle, most garden hose spray lawn fertilizers cover about 3,000 square feet.

Meanwhile, concentrate versions can often go much farther when you properly dilute them. And while we’d love to give you an estimate as to how much further they can go, because the concentration levels are unique for each product, it’s near impossible to give you an accurate estimate that will work for each brand.

How Long Does It Take for Liquid Lawn Fertilizers to Work?

If you properly apply your liquid lawn fertilizer and it doesn’t wash away, it should start working in less than 24 hours! This is a huge advantage compared to granules.

While liquid lawn fertilizers start to work straight away, the granule versions take a few days to break down, and they might not start to work for up to five days!

But just because a fertilizer will start to work in less than 24 hours doesn’t mean you’re going to see your lawn transform overnight. It still takes time for the grass to grow, which means that you might not start to notice any results for about a week.

Of course, if you’re using granules, it could take up to two weeks to see results. Simply put, after you spray, just give it some time. The fertilizer is working, but just because it’s beginning to work doesn’t mean you can see what’s going on.

Lawn Fertilizers vs Garden Fertilizers

There’s only one garden fertilizer that made our list for your lawn, and you might wonder why that is. The short answer is the price. Garden fertilizers are generally far more expensive than lawn fertilizers.

This makes sense because you often eat what comes out of your garden, and chances are no one is eating the grass in your lawn. Garden fertilizers take extra care not to include anything that could be toxic to you, no matter the levels.

But the perk to garden fertilizers is that you can spray them throughout your lawn, and you don’t have to worry about overspray hitting your garden or flowers.

Flowers might not seem like too big of a deal, but they’re far more sensitive than grass, and many lawn fertilizers will kill them. A garden fertilizer doesn’t have this concern. If you can stomach the cost and you have the need, you might need to bite the bullet and go with a garden fertilizer.

Applying Your Liquid Lawn Fertilizer

Once you have your liquid lawn fertilizer in hand, it’s only normal to question what you need to do to apply it. But one of the most notable advantages of liquid lawn fertilizers is how easy they are to apply.

All you need to do is keep an eye on the weather, pick a dry day, and spray down your lawn with the appropriate amount of liquid lawn fertilizer.

Dilute the mixture if it’s a concentrate or just spray it right on if it’s not! There’s not really anything more to it, and this makes it easy enough for just about anyone to use successfully.

Should You Make Your Own Lawn Fertilizer?

While you can certainly make your own lawn fertilizer, and you might even notice decent results, the truth is that you likely will be better off just using a commercial lawn fertilizer.

The reason for this is simple, commercial products will have the perfect amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium to help your lawn grow. Products you make yourself will have these chemicals, but they won’t have them at the optimal amounts.

Moreover, applying the lawn fertilizer you make yourself in an effective way is nowhere near as easy as it is with commercial products – and you’ll often need to spend money on the ingredients to make it anyway!

And when you add in the fact that there are extremely affordable and organic products out there that do a phenomenal job, there’s really not much of a reason to make your own. There’s certainly nothing wrong with it, but there’s a good chance you’ll end up spending just as much and get less than ideal results.

Other Products for Lawn Care

While a liquid lawn fertilizer is a huge part of getting a great-looking lawn, it’s not the only thing you need to invest in. Below we’ve highlighted three more products you should consider when you’re trying to get the perfect lawn.

Sprayers

You can’t use our top choice without a sprayer, and chances are you’ll need one for some of the other products you’re looking at purchasing. Sprayers might not be the lowest-priced accessory out there, but they make lawn care so much easier.

Not only that, but if you own a sprayer, you can purchase concentrate mixtures which last longer and are more affordable than ready-to-use mixtures. If you plan on caring for your lawn for a long time to come, eventually that sprayer will end up paying for itself.

Spreaders

While you don’t need a spreader for a liquid lawn fertilizer, there are plenty of other products where you’ll need a spreader. Whether it’s laying grass seed or applying granular weed killer, a spreader is a must have to get consistent results.

Don’t think you can just eyeball the granules and seeds, get a spreader and do the job right the first time.

Weed Killers

Fertilizers are great, but they tend to help everything grow – and that includes weeds. If you’re fertilizing your lawn, you need to invest in a weed killer. There are plenty of great options out there, just be sure not to overdo it and get the right product.

Just like with fertilizers, there are both liquid and granule options available. There’s no wrong choice, but if you already have a sprayer from your liquid lawn fertilizer, you might want to invest in a liquid weed killer too!

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Final Thoughts

If you’re still unsure about what liquid lawn fertilizer is at this point, why not go with the PetraTools Lawn Dethatcher? It’s our top choice for a reason, but keep in mind you’ll need a separate sprayer.

If you don’t have access to one though, then go ahead with the Scotts Liquid Turf Builder. It works with nothing more than a garden hose, which is a huge perk. With either of these liquid lawn fertilizers, you’re well on your way to getting a picture-perfect lawn.

FAQ

If you’re looking at using a liquid fertilizer on your lawn, you’re bound to have a few questions. That’s why we took the time to address a few of the most common ones for you here.