Mulch

• Lawn care enthusiasts used to be told to bag up their clippings. If your grass is left on the lawn, it would form "thatch," a barrier that would choke out the healthy grass underneath it. But now lawn care experts agree that mulching those nitrogen-rich clippings back into the grass is one of the best ways to fertilize. Up to 25 percent of your grass's fertilization needs can be met this way.
  
  

Spreader

• To take care of the rest of your fertilization needs, use time release granular pellets. These pellets were designed to help the do it yourself lawn care enthusiast maintain a well fertilized lawn without having to resort to messy or smelly alternatives. To make sure that the pellets are evenly distributed on the lawn, use a broadcast spreader. These machines are wheeled ahead of you like a cart. As the machine is pushed, it spreads the pellets evenly over the lawn. Most of these products are available at big-box home improvement stores.
  
  

Fertilizer Contents

• Selecting the right fertilizer is important when fertilizing your lawn. A nitrogen-rich fertilizer will promote healthy root growth in grass plants, which leads to healthier plants. The correct amount of nitrogen to add to your lawn is approximately 1 pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet of lawn.