ORGANIC LAWN CARE - A NATURAL APPROACH

In North America alone, the lawn care industry has culminated into a multi-billion dollar industry.  Most Americans are particular about their lawns appearance, because it is the first impression outsiders have of us.  Year after year, we go through the arduous ritual of fertilizing, applying insect pest and disease controls and manicuring our lawns to  golf course green perfection.  For most of us, this regimen can become very time consuming and expensive, not to mention counter productive and potentially dangerous to the environment, animal and human health.  The EPA estimates that nearly 400 million lbs. of chemical pesticides are used on home lawns in North America every year.  At Marvin’s Organic Gardens, we have established a natural, more holistic approach to lawn care.  For every lawn problem, there are many organic, chemical free solutions.  These methods are tried and true, and will equip you with techniques to eliminate dependence on harsh chemical fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides and herbicides.

For those of you who have yet to seed your lawn, or have an existing lawn and want to rejuvenate it, a good first step is to select the appropriate grass seed.  In our area, a mix of 3-5 varieties of tall fescue is best for the typical sunny lawn.  Selecting a seed mix with several varieties assures you that even if disease eliminates one or two turf varieties, the others will flourish in their absence.  For a new lawn, this seed can be broadcast, but for an existing lawn, the seeding can be accomplished with a slice seeding machine known as a vertical slicer.  This machine slices the soil to an inch depth and inserts the seed so that it makes direct contact with the soil, reduces seed erosion, keeps the seed out of birds beak reach and eliminates the use of herbicides, because you don’t need to kill your existing lawn to reseed it.

For new and existing lawns and gardens, the most beneficial soil amendment to use is compost.  Compost is recycling at its finest, and includes such debris as woody brush, leaves, grass clippings, cow, horse and poultry manure, saw dust, perennial and shrub clippings and plant waste from our kitchens.  Compost expedites grass seed germination, holds and releases nutrients better for plant root uptake, suppresses soil borne disease, reduces thatch build up in our lawns, encourages the growth of many beneficial soil micro and macro organisms, creates better drainage and more air space in clay bound soil such as ours, reduces soil compaction, and increases plant resistance to environmental stress like drought and excessive moisture.  For a new lawn, apply 2”-3”of screened compost across the entire lawn area, for existing turf, apply ½”-1” to lawn areas and lightly rake it into the lawn with a leaf rake.  One compost application lasts for up to five years, and can help reduce pest control measures, watering needs and fertilizer use.

Other steps to promote a greener, healthier more naturally radiant lawn are:

1. Increase cutting height to no less than 3”-3.5”.  This will shade out rivaling weed competition, increase root growth which helps to lessen watering needs and slows lawn growth so you won’t need to cut as often.
2. Leave grass clipping where they lay.  By leaving clippings on the lawn, we are taking care of 58% of our lawns nitrogen needs for a given season. Also, grass clippings stimulate the existence of decomposition organisms that naturally reduce thatch accumulation.
3. Water deep but infrequently, usually 1” per week is best.  Most sprinklers take 1 hour to apply 1” of water, but it’s best to test with a rain gauge and stop when you reach 1”.  Over watering wastes water, washes nutrients away from roots, increases soil erosion and reduces much needed oxygen in the soil. Morning to mid-afternoon is the best time to water
4. Use organic fertilizers because they not only promote healthy plant growth, but healthy soil organism growth as well.  Healthy soils promote healthy plants.  Choose fertilizers that are derived from plant and animal remains to assure that the product is all natural.
5. In regards to weed control, instead of weakening unwanted weeds with chemicals, strengthen desired plants with increased soil fertility.  Healthy turf grasses contain weed suppressive allelopathic compounds that inhibit weed seed germination.  The addition of compost and organic fertilizers promotes healthier turf grass capable of reducing weed incidence.  Corn gluten is a byproduct from the corn products industry that is now commonly used as a safe and natural pre-emergent weed control.  It contains 9% nitrogen per 50lb. bag, so corn gluten acts as the perfect natural organic weed and feed, and spring is the best time to apply it