We all should know of the damage that chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides do to the environment. Lawn can actually be healthier and more disease resistant without chemicals. Here are a few tips for a healthier organic lawn and what to look for.
If your lawn has brown patch, thatch or an insect infestation the soil and grass are not healthy. Remember that dirt is dead and soil is alive. Brown patch looks just like a big brown patch of grass instead of green and healthy grass. Little soil life will cause brown out in lawns. Thatch is a dense layer of grass stems and roots on the surface of the soil. Weeds that are taking over a lawn also mean that the lawn may not be healthy.
To help make your lawn healthy, even if it has been bombarded with chemicals in the past, you need to follow some simple rules.
1. Water deeply, therefore less frequently
2. Cut grass to the recommended height for the grass variety you have. Never cut more than 30-40% of the grass blades. Usually mowers are set at about 3 inches and lawns are cut when the grass reaches 4 inches.
3. Aerate your lawn. Healthy lawns have good micro-organisms and earthworms and they keep soil from getting compacted and keep your lawn aerated.
4. Do a soil test to find out the pH of the soil and maintain the proper pH.
5. Plant a well adapted variety of grass for your area. Plant a variety that does not require lots of water. More and more cities are creating ordinances that forbid new plantings of grass such as St. Augustine in South Texas due to the high water demand of that variety. Water is precious, so plant a grass that will be efficient in low water use.
6. Compost your lawn clippings or leave a thin layer of clippings on the lawn. This will add organic matter to the grass as it breaks down. You can apply compost any time of year at ½ inch thick and rake it in. It will help re-establish a sick lawn and bring back important micro-organisms.
7. If you have thatch problems already you can de-thatch by aerating the lawn or by top dressing the lawn with organic matter.
8. Apply an organic fertilizer once a year. The NPK numbers on organic fertilizer is much lower than on synthetic fertilizers. Grass loves nitrogen and 7% or less is good.
9. During the fall let leaves remain on your lawn to keep the roots from drying out and to prevent winter burn.
10. You can apply rock dust to add trace minerals which is important for plant growth.
11. Control weeds by using corn gluten which is a good organic pre-emergent herbicide.
12. An insect infestation is usually a sign of stress so apply compost and apply an organic pest control such as garlic and hot pepper spray. Just crush some garlic cloves and peppers and soak in a gallon of water for a day. Strain out cloves and peppers before putting the water in a sprayer for application.
Use organic methods and you will have healthy lawn and soil that is alive.
