Has there been a discussion someplace in the garden re: organic lawn care? I have clover and some weeds I want to minimize. The clover because of the bees and children. How does one also get rid of moss? I don't want a golf course just healthy lawn.
Organic lawn care?
Check out the all natural products at http://www.gardensalive.com They are offering a $25 gift certificate with no strings attached, so you could try something of theirs.
I was also wondering about this tonight. We need to fertilize our lawn very soon, but I'd like to learn more about an organic "general" lawn fertilizer before we spread chemical junk all over where our children will roll around and play. Would love to hear from ya'll about the best choices for multiple applications over the growing season. We've been planning on fertlilizing 3-4 times/year. I know nitrogen is a biggy. Suggestions, please???
Thanks!
Hugs :)
huga...alfalfa meal would be a great benefit to your lawn. (Also a manure/compost tea as well would help.) I'm not big on manicured lawns but understand why people love them so much. I tend to go more for native grass and have noticed it needs little upkeep/maintenance, plus I'm a miser, ya know! Hate spending money on grass upkeep. However, your safest bet would be the alfalfa meal...provides a judicial amount of N, is inexpensive, non-toxic, easily spread and watered in. (Can be applied only once a year, too.) For good root growth it wouldn't hurt to broadcast some ground phosphate rock also and that will last you 4-5 years, if not longer.
Anastatia...I love clover (and bees!) but under stand your concerns. Although I walk shoeless most of the time I suppose it is possible to step on a bee and get stung. Has happened to me once in 51 years of life on Earth but I laughed it off...however, I was 48 when it happened and not a young child who definitely would NOT have been laughing!) If you mow your grass regularly and keep the clover from flowering you should not have bees buzzing around. I realize this may be hard to do since the goal in the life of clover is to flower, however it might be a good sign that the grass "needs to be mowed (then see if your SO/DH/DW does just that!).
As for the moss...it tends to grow in shady, damp, and "out of the way" places. You'd have to change those areas to be more conducive to something else growing there. (If not grass, why not a nice semi-shade flower/shrub bed? Hostas, for example, might like that area!)
This message was edited Mar 27, 2005 1:42 PM
Oregon state DEQ has a new site www.healthylawns.org. They suggest topping lawn with compost spring and fall. overseed (adding grass seed) spring and fall to get the grass growing thick and crowd the weeds out. and aerating every 4 years. I think I will get a load of compost for the lawn. My compost is just enough to cover my flower beds. Horseshoe, I have alfalfa pellets so do these come in ground up meal? Get it at the feed store?
Thank you soooo much, Horseshoe :) "Inexpensive" was the word I was looking for if I was going to get DH wholehog on this organic lawncare wagon :) I'm off to Google alfalfa meal! Thanks so much!
Hugs :)
Nice site giving an organic "calendar" of lawncare:
http://www.extremelygreen.com/lawncareguide.cfm
Another site that gives a very good overview of what certain organic fertilizer components are used for:
http://www.pagewise.com/organic-lawn-fertilizer.htm
This message was edited Mar 27, 2005 1:51 AM
anastatia, I use the pellets in my veggie garden, often turning them under though. I've noticed when they sit on top of the ground they puff up (from getting wet) and will eventually break down, so perhaps their value will help. However, there is a "meal" that is usually fed to cattle (not prilled/pelleted) and you may find that. (The pellets are usually fed to horses.) The meal would be much easier to broadcast. (I tend to put the pellets in one of my blenders in the my shoffice as a base for my plant foods, making small batches at a time. This would take lots of time to grind up for enough meal to do a whole big lawn though!)
I sure know what you mean about the compost...I'd hate to make that stuff and use it only for my lawn. (Takes so much to make just so little!)
It may be good though to make a nice compost teas, then spray it on your lawn. That would be a great way to use it!
Hugahosta...good luck getting your hubby to "go organic". We'll back you up!!
Thanks, shoe :) I've already convinced him that it isn't good for me to use too many cleaning supplies in our house :) LOL -- just kidding -- well, kind of! I certainly use less spray types now that the little ones are with us, though.
Thanks so much for the info. I had to shake my head as I read certain websites...."Well, I guess that Old Shoe does know what he's talking about"... ;) Nearly every site mentioned the alfalfa meal and tons mentioned the phosphate rock, too. Thanks! Now, if I can just find some supply place near here so I don't have to shell out an arm and a leg in shipping!!!
Thanks, again! I'll keep ya'll updated!
BTW, anastatia, I've read that every other year is best for aeration... every year if you're really obsessed! LOL :) Best wishes on your lawn!!
Hugs :)
HugaHosta, I've been seeing all kinds of posts about alfala meal, an in our area, I had been wondering if Tractor Supply Co carried it. It's in Springboro on 73. I hadn't had a chance to go in there and check it out, but If I do, I'll let you know.
We started trying to work on our yard in the fall. We aerated and overseeded. In the spring our lawn looked great, but by the end of the season, we had a lot of bare spots. I don't know if it was from all the traffic of the kids playing out there or the shade of the maples that did it. I'm hoping it will hold up better this season.
JeniLyn
Thanks for the offer on Tractor Supply, Jen :) Yeah, can't order these huge heavy bags over the internet. Extremely costly shipping and handling. I need to get on the phone and call around to a few places to see. I know Lowe's carries some organic stuff, not sure what. It would be great if we could exchange price/availability info. Maybe through Dave's Garden emails???
We had some "bare spots" show up at the end of the summer, too. DH thought it was just where the sod didn't take. Then, he was digging this weekend and guess what popped up in his shovel full of torn up sod??? Yup, a grub. Hope you don't have 'em, too. Ugh. Looks like we're going to have to get ourselves some grub nematodes while we're at it.
Take care,
Hugs :)
geez I cultivate clover in my lawn. It is short growing - blooms - stays green even in the hottest weather and fixes nitrogen in the soil. And grows in all sorts of places - shade or sun. I didn't know it was a weed
LOL :)
Hi everyone, from a "lurker"... :-) Thanks for all this info thus far - I've been finding this thread (and the whole forum) very interesting.
Just wondering, does anyone else toss coffee grounds on their lawn? It's supposed to be a great way to feed the earthworms, who of course then do a lot of your soil amendment work over the course of a few years. Landscapers here have been using coffee grounds for years. Our soil is slightly alkaline, though - perhaps it would be too much acidity for some other areas -?
Shannon
I toss my coffee grounds into the garden bed but never thought of the lawn----duh!
I drink a lot of coffee - and pour the grounds everywhere
Some people here get it from the local Second Cup or whatever. The coffee shops give away the used grounds for free (can't imagine why ;-) lol
HugaHosta, I did spot a grub in all my digging last year, but only one. Do you think that is my problem? We also have a several dips in the yard where water does not drain very well after a hard rain. That was another reason we aerated last year and after the rain we have had this morning, I'm noticing that the water is standing in one of the big areas that ended up bare. Would poor drainage kill the grass? I don't even know really if this is considered POOR drainage, I'm sure it will be gone tomorrow if the rain lets up.
Also, send me an e-mail anytime! I do a lot of shopping at Lowes, so I'll let you know if I see that alfalfa there.
Jen
Jen, oh boy, could be either. "They" say to take a patch of grass up and look under it for the grubs. They should be relatively evident after a year, I'd think (?) or is it too early for them to be full force?? Anyone? Our yard is very poorly draining, too, but the grubs seem more likely in our case. Hope it's not for you, although it may be easier to take care of than the drainage! LOL :)
It also helps cut down on mowing to use the moon phases. When the almanac says "culitvate", it is also a good time to mow to retard the growth of the grass. If you cut it during "planting" signs, it will grow faster! Best of luck with your newly organic lawns! I, too, have recently decided to keep it natural. I just dig up weeds during the cultivate signs of the moon. They don't come back. And the grass is spreading nicely. The few places that it gets high, I cut it with hedge trimmers or a sicle, and throw it on the garden for mulch.
Great info in this thread! Using Organic Lawn Care will make a huge difference. Currently the use of chemicals in lawns far exceeds that used in Agriculture. I don't know how much that is, but here is what I can verify...
"About 30 billion pounds of fertilizers are applied annually in U.S. agriculture."
- David Pimintell, Ph.D., Cornell University
Keep in mind, this does not consider how much of this is natural fetrtilizer, and how much is chemical ... of course it also doesn't include gardens.
Happy Organics everyone!
TamaraFaye, your tip about the moon phases sounds really interesting. Was it the Farmer's Almanac that you were referring to, or a different kind?
Shannon
I read about using the moon for lawn care in Louise Riotte's book. Planetary Planting and Astrological Gardening. It really works.
The Farmer's Almanac is too vague and general for me, and also can cause user error BIG TIME, so I use a gardening by the moon claendar.
http://www.gardeningbythemoon.com
Now looking at buying grub nematodes for the pest control. Found good prices at the local tractor supply store for alfalfa and a few other organic nutrient sources. Not sure they are %100 organic, but I know they are safe for use on animal farms, anyway. Alfalfa was in the horsefeed section :)
Maybe if there's still more interest in the astrological discussion, it could be addressed in a separate thread??? Thank you :)
Hugs :)
We installed a fescue lawn three years ago and were determined not to use any synthetics to keep it nice. I bought a mulching mower and we feed it three times a year. Twice with blood meal during the warm season. This material provides our lawn (3500sqft) with ample nitrogen and iron to keep it lush and green. The recycling of clippings stabilizes the excess nitrogen and keeps a continuous supply of organic matter for the soil and its biology. In the fall we apply greensand (glauconite) at a very light application to replenish trace minerals. It has worked for us, and we aren't buying all those fad-ish snake oil lawn foods promoted by unscrupulous peddlers of organics that prey on consumer's good intentions. Turfgrasses aren't very complicated organisms and require way less than we are led to believe by the multinationals and big box warehouses.
These simple materials (bloodmeal and glauconite) are easily obtained at most farm supply houses, feed stores, or garden centers with a conscience.
Good luck with your lawn.
Well, thank you!!! What a very helpful post :) We have tall fescue that was laid as sod last May. Sounds like your zone is pretty different than mine (oh, to have your growing season!), but I will definitely take a good look at what you've recommended! Blood meal was something I kept coming across as I was searching online, too. Thanks a ton!
Hugs :)
wonderful and valuable info. thank you. the moon info fascinates me. will read more.
hiya hugahosta,
Didn't mean to sound so 'matter-of-fact', it kind of goes against my not taking anything too seriously motto. Yet, the simplicity of organic gardening is what always attracted me to it. The natural-ness of it feeds the soul of the gardener as well as the natural order. When I start seeing fancy packaging and 'designer labels' on organics, it kind of raises the Irish. What's next, the same secret handshakes and formulas held so dearly by the synthetic makers. Organic is a mindset as much as a practice. Sharing one's knowledge of a practice is organic.
Whoosh...Now I'm filling this box with my own organic matter.....enough of me...lol.
Be well,
Don
LOL, don :) Sweet....
I've found that a good source of alfalfa meal is Peaceful Valley Farm Supply. They sell it in 50 lb bags for a good price. My roses love it!
TamaraFaye, what a great link - thanks very much! That's something I've been looking for, without even knowing it.
Shannon
Shannon, isn't that the truth? re: Looking for something w/out even knowing it.
The Complete Natural Gardener. This book has a humorous chapter on natural lawn care. I've had the book for a while. Saw that it's available cheap.
This message was edited Apr 3, 2005 11:24 AM
Thanks Dr Don, I will put that book on my want list!
Anastatia~ I read somewher today that omss is an indciation of VERY acid soil. So perhaps you could get rid of it with some sort of natural amendment that makes the soil more alkaline?
Tamara
Hi to all,
i'm just stopping by this thread because it looked interesting. I have a book I'd like to recommend to you:
The Handbook of Northwest Gardening: Natural: sustainable: Organic
by Ann Lovejoy. 2003
I know it says 'northwest' in the title, because she's one of the resident organic experts in this part of the woods, but she really knows her stuff about organics and I can't see why her ideas wouldn't work any where. She's got a whole chapter on lawncare in this book. I consider this my organic guidebook. Check it out! Good stuff on compost tea, etc.
We're going to organic lawncare this year. I went to organic in the garden last year and it paid off handsomely!
Good luck with yours!
Pixydish
Thanks for the book recommendation pixydish! Did you know you can put it in the garden bookworm to suggest it to all DG?
I would love to hear of your results with the organic lawn care.
TamaraFaye
TamaraFaye,
I"ll do that! And when we see the results of the organic lawncare, I'll post. Our lawn is sorely in need of improving. It's very compacted clay soil, and on top of that, we had remodeled last year and trucks compacted it even worse. We've got lots of moss, like everyone else up here, but I don't really mind that too much in the winter, because it's green and soft. Still, when it dries out in summer, grass doesn't fill in. We plan to aereate (did I spell that correctly?) the lawn thouroughly, then put on a topdressing of about 4-6 inches of compost and overseed. I'll use the compost tea to spray and we'll just see what happens. It certainly can't get any worse, and I can't be using all those chemicals on the lawn when the rest of the garden is organic.This makes no sense to me.
Pixydish
I ordered The Handbook of NW Gard. by Anne Lovejoy @ Amazon. used book $16.
Anastasia~
You got a great deal! I love getting used books online. Of course, I end up buying more books LOL
Don't forget to give it a rating after you have assessed it.
~Tamara
Give an assesment where? I get almost all cd's and books used on line.
Me too, my favorite place is alibris.com
Click on the Garden Bookworm link. Since pixydish just listed it, it is on the first page under "recent listings", with one positive rating. You can give it a positive, negative, or neutral rating. The more ratings, the easier for someone to decide if they really want the book or not...