Organic Lawn Care Basics
Organic lawn care is an enviornmentally friendly approach to lawn care.
Organic lawn care is a good start toward contributing positively toward the ecosystem in your yard. Each year, billions of dollars are spent on chemicals and pesticides for lawn care-to keep the more than 30 million acres of turf blanketing the United States healthy. You might be thinking, “Why would I want to take care of my lawn using organic methods?” or “Is there such a thing as organic lawn care?” Yes! You can and should practice organic lawn care methods! It is easier and less expensive than you might think. The best part about it is that a lawn maintained with organic methods is much healthier in the long run. Organically grown lawns:
- Withstand drought more easily
- Are less susceptible to pest and disease problems
- Can be enjoyed, barefoot, at all times of the year by people and pets without worry about getting sick
Transitioning your Lawn to Organic Lawn Care
Planting a new lawn using organic methods and transitioning an existing lawn to organic care are two completely different processes. Because most people will be starting with an existing lawn (uniform turf, or a blend of different turf and weeds), we’ll explain how to transition your existing lawn. One of the best resources for organic lawn care principles is the book The Organic Lawn Care Manual, by Paul Tukey. Here are his twelve steps for transitioning your lawn to organic methods.
1. Test your soil
2. Aerate and de-thatch the lawn
3. Survey the weeds growing in the lawn, and add soil amendments to make conditions more favorable for grass and less favorable for weeds.
4. Top-dress the lawn with about ½ inch of fine compost at least once a year
5. Spray with compost tea three times a year
6. Mow the lawn to the maximum height for your grass cultivar, and do not every remove more than 1/3 of the grass blade in any single mowing.
7. “Grasscycle” or leave grass clippings on the lawn to add nitrogen back into the lawn
8. Water deeply and infrequently to encourage deep root growth.
9. Overseed with the right grass seed in the spring or fall to thicken up turf
10. Add white clover to your grass seed mix to add nitrogen to the soil
11. Add nitrogen as needed, depending upon the results of your soil test
12. Make sure (via soil test) that the calcium level in the soil is seven times higher than the magnesium levels, to ensure that both nutrients are available in the right form for plants to take up.
Dealing with Weeds
Any organic lawn care program must be organized to treat weeds. As you transition your lawn to organic methods, you will need to take a three pronged approach to removing weeds and prohibiting their growth. Good lawn care goes a long way toward preventing weed growth-proper pH, good watering and mowing practices and avoiding over-feeding of nitrogen helps. When it comes to flat-out weed removal, there are a few techniques to learn and practice. Here’s what you can do to remove weeds and prohibit growth of new weeds in your lawn.
1. Dig up the big weeds. The only way to completely remove the largest weeds from the lawn is to dig them up. If you are truly serious about a weed-free, organically maintained lawn, you need to eradicate the big weeds with taproots, and the best and easiest way to do that is by digging.
2. Do not let existing weeds go to seed. Prevent weeds in the lawn from re-producing, and your battle against weeds gets easier. You can prevent existing weeds from spreading seeds by keeping the grass mown frequently, at the proper height.
3. Use corn gluten as a pre emergence herbicide to keep weed seeds that do make it into the lawn from sprouting.
For a comprehensive look at organic lawn care, check out Paul Tukey’s book. These are just a few basics about organic lawn care to let you know that it can be done, and to help you transition your practices from using synthetics to organics.
