Soil fertility for green grass

I'm going to make this blog as simple as possible because there are so many confusing sales pitches out there telling you that they have the next best product to help your soil and your grass. I order fertilizers every month from the United States and it is my job to stay on top of what is new in the industry, what works and what doesn't. I do a great amount of research and asking around before spending any money on any one product, especially new products to the market. Golf course managers are particularly skeptical people in nature, because we have to be. We are bombarded with products and advertisements everyday from company's claiming they have the answer to your grass woes. I will say it right now, most products on the market will make absolutely no difference in making quality green grass.
First, start using organic fertilizers, they are worlds better then synthetic types of inputs. By synthetic I mean Ureas, Ammonium Sulfates and Nitrates. Sure synthetics still work, but only organic fertilizers can provide you with the added benefit of creating stable humus after the soil microbes have broke it down. Humus can do a number of things like buffer salts, increase nutrient retention, increase water retention and buffer the pH of your soil as well. The water retention of course relating to my last blog on deep and infrequent watering, and can help you greatly in achieving minimal water usage. The only thing I do not like about an organic program is that most people think they need to keep using compost, teas, microbes and all these other things which simply are not needed. I read a great article recently by a soil microbiologist at Texas A&M, and I suggest you to read it as well (http://organiclifestyles.tamu.edu/soil/microbeindex.html). Soil microbes are already working in your soil right now, you do NOT need to multiply them or add any molasses or whatever else concoction they have out now to get your grass green.
So how do you know how much fertilizer to use? First, the best way is to perform a soil test, soil test labs are everywhere, so go grab some testing bags. Fill a couple up with spots tested in various places in your lawn to get an accurate reading. Once you get the results back, you should get a better understanding on nutrients that are low or high in your soil, with suggestions on the test results as well. Typically fertilizing once every two months with organic fertilizers is fine. The breakdown of most organic fertilizers lasts about 3 months. So using 1lb of Nitrogen/1000sq.ft of turf every two months typically is enough to sustain a healthy green lawn.
Now lets talk about a "fertilizer analysis" (the three numbers on the bag of fertilizer for example 10-10-10). The first number means the percentage of Nitrogen(N), the second means the percentage of Phosphorus(P), and the third is percentage of Potassium(K). N is for top growth, P is for root growth and K is for stress management like drought resistance and disease resistance. All three are important, but a higher number isn't necessarily better. The lower all three numbers means there is more room for other nutrients like magnesium, calcium and micro-nutrients like manganese, zinc and iron.