Organic Lawn Care

There are some ways to decrease the fertilizer your lawn will need. These are the ‘rules of thumb' I've heard. If you add clover to your lawn, you can eliminate one third of the nitrogen you need to add to your lawn. If you also leave your grass clippings on your lawn, you can eliminate another 1/3 of you nitrogen. Compost can supply the rest, or you can use a corn gluten based weed suppressant. This will provide the remaining amount of nitrogen. When I replanted part of my lawn, I spread a thin layer of compost over the soil when I reseeded. This part of my lawn is still greener and better looking than the rest of my lawn. And it's been two years.

Let your dandelions grow. Yeah, yeah, they're supposed to be these awful weeds. But why? What did a dandelion ever do to you. You can use the young leaves in salads or to make wine. (Though I've never done that) Children love dandelions and dandelion chains. Dandelions have deep roots that bring up lots of nutrients from the soil. They add color to your lawn and insects and birds use them for food. I will be honest with you. You may have to change your definition of a perfect lawn when you go organic. Variety is good and a monoculture whether it's a lawn or a farm is not easily maintainable. However, if you don't want them, you can dig them out, use a pre-emergent herbicide based on corn gluten, or pour vinegar on them. I've used vinegar successfully on weeds in my driveway.

Water your lawn infrequently and deeply. If you have good, healthy soil, it will hold water longer and your roots will grow deeper. Then, your grass will survive with less water. Spraying a small amount of water on your lawn more frequently will encourage shallow root growth and weak grass. When drought hits, your lawn will be the first to die.

Another easy organic lawn care trick is to not have a lawn. I'm not a big lawn fan. I've been trying to eliminate as much of my lawn as possible. You can replace your lawn with a wild flower meadow if it's sunny enough. You can use ground covers Please don't use English ivy – it's invasive and can get out of control. Check with your local county extension agent for a list

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