Lawn Fertilizer: What Works, When to Use It, and How It Affects Your Artificial Grass

When you think of a healthy lawn, lawn fertilizer, a nutrient-rich product applied to soil to boost grass growth. Also known as grass feed, it’s often seen as essential for a green, thick lawn. But here’s the thing—if you’ve got artificial grass, fertilizer doesn’t just do nothing, it might actually hurt your investment. Synthetic turf doesn’t grow, doesn’t need nutrients, and doesn’t turn yellow from lack of nitrogen. That’s why so many UK homeowners switch to fake grass in the first place: to skip the weekly feeding, the chemical runoff, and the endless cycle of feeding, watering, and mowing.

Still, fertilizer isn’t just for natural lawns. It plays a role in the ground underneath your synthetic turf. If your base layer is soil—especially clay or compacted earth—nutrient imbalances can lead to poor drainage, moss buildup, or even odours trapped under the grass. That’s where soil nutrients, the essential elements like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium that plants absorb matter. Even if your grass is fake, the ground beneath it still needs to breathe and drain. Some gardeners use light, organic compost before installing artificial turf to improve the base, but that’s not fertilizer—it’s soil prep. And if you’ve got real grass patches mixed in with your synthetic lawn, you’ll need to treat those areas separately. Over-fertilizing near artificial grass can cause chemical burns on the fibres or attract pests looking for leftover nutrients.

Then there’s the timing. fertilizer timing, when nutrients are applied to match plant growth cycles, is a big deal for real lawns. Spring and early autumn are peak seasons. But with artificial grass, timing becomes about maintenance, not growth. Rain can wash fertilizer into your synthetic lawn, leaving residue that attracts dirt or makes the surface slippery. That’s why smart users clean their turf after heavy rain or after neighbours fertilize nearby. You don’t need to feed your fake grass, but you do need to keep it clear of unwanted chemicals.

And what about organic options? If you’re using coffee grounds, Epsom salt, or vinegar around your yard, you’re already thinking like an eco-conscious gardener. Those methods show up in our posts because people are trying to cut down on synthetic inputs. But again—none of those belong on synthetic turf. They’re meant for soil, not plastic fibres. If you’re switching from real to fake grass, you’re choosing low maintenance. Don’t undo that by treating it like a living lawn.

So what should you do instead? Sweep regularly. Rinse with water if it gets dirty. Check the infill levels—sand or rubber granules keep the blades upright. And if you’ve got real plants, shrubs, or flower beds around your artificial lawn, focus your effort there. That’s where fertilizer actually does something. Our collection includes posts on composting, soil softening, and organic gardening because those are the areas where your time and money make a real difference. You don’t need to feed your fake grass. But you do need to understand what’s happening under it, around it, and why your neighbours’ lawns still look greener even when they’re not feeding theirs.