[Guide] Organic Lawn Care

You should look into organic lawn care when you want your precious grass to grow and become safe for kids and pets. Stay away from chemical fertilizers, such as Miracle-Gro, weed killers like Roundup (glyphosate), and so on. These products can kill off any organic life that is around your lawn area. There are many organic lawn care guides out there. You can rely on this one.

Why Organic?

The organic lawn care movement has been around for a while. In recent years, gardening and landscaping have gained momentum among home gardens and landscapes. Many organic pesticide manufacturers have emerged in the last decade! They fill the need for weed control products to replace harmful chemical pesticides. These often destroy all insects, not just weeds or pests.

Organic lawn care also means fertilizers. Chemical fertilizers are hard on the grass and the organic matter in the soil that supports the grasses. Organic fertilizers do not burn or damage organic life around your landscape. This lawn care is much better for children and pets than harsh chemical pesticides. This also makes it safer for you.

Pesticides and Health

Learn how pesticides for lawn care can affect health in three ways:

Health Side Effects on Humans and Pets

Pesticides, organic or synthetic, are poisons. They kill everything they touch! The design of these chemicals is to kill things that harm your lawn. That includes all organic life, beneficial insects, and especially pests. Any organic life forms near the poison will stop breathing.

This makes organic lawn care a better choice for families with children or pets. The organic life near your lawn remains surviving. Your family can still pick flowers or play on the grass without worrying about exposure to harmful chemicals.

Many pesticides for organic lawn care do cause a health threat to you. They come from organic substances. But they still contain chemicals that can hurt you or your children. You should always wear protective gloves before handling these products.

How Chemicals Spread in The Environment

When you use organic fertilizers, pesticides, or weed killers, their design is to remove weeds. But these can also hurt other organic life around your garden. When the soil has not completely broken down the product into organic matter that supports your grasses and plants, it becomes poison for anything that touches it.

Water gets into the organic matter and pulls the product into streams, rivers, ponds, or lakes. There is no organic life around for this fertilizer to grow. So the fish will die from starvation.

The best thing you can do is use organic weed killers on your lawn. These suit your grass better while harming less organic life that can hurt not only your grass but also you and the children around it.

Chemical Dependency – How They Damage Your Lawn

Gain insights on how fertilizers and pesticides can cause trouble to your lawn.

Fertilizer

Fertilizer will help your organic life grow! But when you already have them growing without it, the chemical will burn it away. This makes organic lawn care more than just pulling weeds and mowing over grasses that do not get in the way of the lawn area. Pesticides for organic lawn care can get rid of pests but also organic life in the way. This allows it to grow with little interference in the future.

You will become more aware of organic lawn care. So you can understand how to deal with products that can harm organic life around your garden or landscape.

Fertilizer burn can become a serious problem for homeowners. It manifests itself as yellow to brown patches of dead grass and often sets in the day after applying fertilizer. This means you are going to see those symptoms again!

Pesticides

Pesticides for organic lawn care are the safest way to control pests in your life. You can get sprays, weed killers, fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, and many more. These organic pesticides do not contain harsh chemicals or poisons.

But these organic lawn care products can still cause trouble eventually. They are only safe when used as intended. This means you must read up on how to use them and in what amounts. It is a good organic lawn care habit to get into for your organic life.

Avoid organic lawn care pesticides in no-pest strips or near your home’s foundation. These can pose a health hazard when they get into the air when you open up that area of your house.

Pesticides for organic lawn care can become a concern to life nearby. Know that these organic products harm plants, animals, and insects as well as pests you are trying to eliminate.

What is Organic Lawn Care?

Enlighten yourself with four factors that are part of organic lawn care. Know about them below:

Soil

Organic lawn care products will support life in your soil. It helps the substances to break down into simpler compounds that can nourish your grass or plants. The organic material also helps control pests that would grow on the foods you produce yourself.

Fertilizers for organic lawn care can contain organic pesticides. But these pesticides should not contain toxic chemicals to help the matter break down more quickly and easily!

When organic material decomposes, it will become fertilizer. This matter can have bugs or pesticides mixed in to help life grow. So when you work with fertilizers, your organic life will grow better.

Organic lawn care products can also come from animals or plants. But they must become non-genetically modified from farming. That organic farm must contain fruits and vegetables to give fertilizer.

Appropriate Plantings

Planting can become organic or inorganic. Organic lawn care means that it is natural and healthy for wildlife, humans, and the environment. The organic life should become low maintenance. It will do well on its own without chemicals to help it grow. This is why organic lawn care relies on trees, shrubs, or flowers that are replicas.

Organic life should also come in the right parts for the suitable places. This means you do not put organic life where it will interfere with other life nearby. Make sure that organic lawn care products fit your planting areas. This is before using them to deal with pests and weeds.

Organic lawn care products can become organic pesticides. But you should make sure they are safe for use on organic life around your home. The matter could come from sources or material that has become non-genetically modified.

Thick Deep Rooted Grass

Organic matter should also help build roots. This is to make sure that organic lawn care products are staying in the soil. It will prevent the materials from the wind blowing it or rain washing it away. But it can also deal with organic pests and weeds effectively.

So organic planting should handle flooding during heavy rains. Organic life should withstand predators and weeds. Make sure that organic lawn care products will help build strength for the life around you.

When organic lawn care builds a thick root system, life will also have less susceptibility to pests and disease. It will help life grow thicker roots when organic matter spreads about on top of the soil.

You can add organic matter every few days for effective organic lawn care. Make sure it has already been composted before you spread it on your organic life. This will help matter break down quickly and easily under the right conditions!

Regular Maintenance

Organic life requires care to become safe and healthy. So organic lawn care means regularly maintaining matter in the soil. This will also help pesticides decompose more quickly and easily without harming other materials.

Regular maintenance for organic life is a part of lawn care. Organic material can keep pests at bay. It does not allow organic matter or pesticides to become washed away. You can use organic lawn care for your organic life once a week. This will help it stay healthy and happy!

Maintain organic lawn care by doing the following:

Remove pests from organic life. This includes:

• weeds
• grasshoppers
• slugs
• ants
• fleas
• snails
• fungus gnats
• grubs

You can use organic pesticides or weed killers to get rid of the pests on your plants. These products will become pesticides for organic lawn care instead of chemical ones.

Know Your Lawn

Familiarize with the soil and texture on your lawn.

Soil

The type will help organic matter decompose more quickly and easily! This is to take care of pests and weed control. The organic life that you put into the soil will depend upon the content. This organic or inorganic material must break down to become fertilizer for organic lawn care products.

So you do not have to go organic. You can also use organic matter to get rid of organic life that has become weeds. Organic materials will decompose more easily than non-organic ones. This is why organic lawn care means regular maintenance.

You can get organic pesticides or weed killers online for organic lawn care products. Organic nature is biodegradable and organic lawn care products are available in gardening shops.

Texture

Texture helps organic life decompose and organic lawn care products stay in the soil. The texture and organic matter will help fertilizer break down into natural solutions. Organic or non-organic material that you put into the soil should also disappear to become pesticides. So organic lawn care means regular maintenance for pesticides and weed killers.

Soil Type

You can check the organic material from organic life that has been broken up. It should decompose into rich and organic soil. So organic lawn care means regular maintenance for organic life to keep it away from weeds and pests.

Organic matter will make gardening more efficient. This includes organic lawn care products for your organic life. 

Maintain organic lawn care by doing the following:

Add organic matter to organic life. You can use organic pesticides or weed killers to get rid of pests. These organic products will deal with weeds that threaten your organic life.

Structure

Lawn construction can achieve lower maintenance. You need a harder-wearing lawn that will become suitable for many years to come! It is important to select materials correctly and how much depth you would like your new turf installed at. Choose an appropriate type.

Make sure everything matches up accordingly before starting work! It is essential in ensuring success with this process. Remember about planning too because some areas where weeds grow may need addressing first.

To avoid problems with waterlogging and root growth, install drainage systems throughout the site. A gravel base with an absorbent material like sand or perlite on top will help keep it from getting too wet. This is in areas where an increased rainfall such as near riversides exists.

Density

Grass density depends on the type of grass and its purpose. The environment where you live also makes a difference. High-density grass will grow and absorb more water than low density. This is to maintain organic life and organic lawn care products.

Lawn care is essential to keep your grass healthy and vibrant! When you have a thatched lawn, it can cause patches of dirt or clay-like material which are difficult to spot in between blades.

Remove this annoying layer of dead vegetation from the surface. Run an offset dagger rake through its area while running at just enough angle. Break up any stubborn clumps with ease before pulling them out by hand as necessary!

Soil pH

Soil pH is the measure of acidity or alkalinity in garden soil. It helps organic matter decompose into pesticides and weed killers. This gives your organic life more nutrients to apply materials to it without any difficulty. The organic or non-organic material that you put into the soil will help it stay. It is where you can use organic matter to keep organic life with pesticides and weed killers.

Organic material becomes more comfortable to use with insects when it decomposes into the soil with fewer nutrients. Soil pH impacts the plants that grow in them! Knowing whether you have acid soil with a low value for calcium Carbonate or high aluminum is important. It could harm plant growth over time when not managed properly.

Mineral Content

Organic soil contains minerals like calcium, magnesium, and potassium along with essential microorganisms. This should support the overall health of your organic life and help it grow with organic lawn care.

As the growing season progresses, minerals such as potassium (K), magnesium and sodium increase in concentration while calcium decreases. There is an ideal ratio for each mineral that varies. It depends on when plants need to absorb it like grass or other crops during their development stage.

This pattern changes naturally due to factors like soil moisture content. It affects nutrient availability at separate times throughout any given year’s calendar date range from March until November here locally. The abundance of rains falls just once between June 14th and September 30th every single 12 months.

Organic Content

Organic soil contains material which is compost. It retains moisture better in the fall season while increasing organic matter. Organic lawn care is easier to accomplish with pesticides or weed killers.

Organic material is anything alive and became part of the soil. For it to become organic matter, a decomposition process must exist where humus or humidity forms from microorganisms. These convert decomposed vegetation into an unstable but resistant state called fertility.

As much as 90% will disappear quickly due to this change in form or mass with time. Even though what you are looking at now may still look like dirt on day one. By 60 days, all trace amounts should have disappeared.

Depth

An organic lawn is the best choice to use the material in its care. It does well even when the organic matter has been reduced from its depth for years instead of months.

Organic life decomposes slower at a greater depth where a lower amount of oxygen exists. Specialized microorganisms must exist to perform this work under these conditions. As they do not breathe, organic life contained in compost remains alive without air for many years.

Organic matter reacts with gases, material, and water. These three components help organic matter produce chemicals to use on organic life. This is part of how it stays healthy, vibrant, and green year-round.

How Water is Lost?

Enlighten yourself on four ways on how to lose water in your organic lawn while caring for it. Here they are:

Percolation

Your organic lawn has a high porosity level when it is dry. When organic life becomes too dried out, organic matter begins to change into the soil with water loss. This happens when organic life loses its content from heat or extremely cold temperatures.

Porosity means that the soil is porous enough for water to pass through without holding on organic life or matter. When organic life is more organic than matter, organic lawn care is easier to do with pesticides or weed killers.

Nonexistent organic lawn care is not the only reason organic life percolates downward. It also loses organic material through erosion. As organic matter percolates downward, it may take some of the thin upper layers with it to a different spot in a yard.

Transpiration

This organic lawn care method requires organic life to live longer than its material. The cause is the loss of water from organic matter with time. Without this, organic matter loses its carbon or energy source needed for organic life’s long-term health and well-being.

Transpiration is the organic lawn care method of organic life losing water through its stomata. This happens with organic matter that organic life has not been used or inhaled for some time. Organic material becomes soil when organic life loses more than three times its weight in water.

Active growth occurs through the process of evaporation. Cohesive forces pull water molecules to replace those that have gone elsewhere for plants to continue growing and thriving. That is even when they lack soil moisture or sunlight.

Evaporation

This organic lawn care method is organic life’s way of living. The stomata do the work to absorb carbon dioxide from organic material or matter instead of organic life.

Evaporation helps organic life release carbon dioxide as a gas. This happens through the process of photosynthesis. When organic material releases oxygen, organic matter gives water vapor. The organic lawn care method helps organic life take in carbon dioxide and release water vapor at the same time.

Wet organic matter has a much better chance of not losing organic life. That is why it is so important to water your organic lawn regularly and correctly.

Evaporation is the primary way that water moves from a liquid state into atmospheric vapor. Studies show 90% of it comes from oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers with a 10 percent contribution from plant transpiration.

Run-Off

When you use organic life as a fertilizer, organic matter can also lose its water to run-off. This organic lawn care method happens from rain or watering. Nutrients and organic matter get lost often when soils become saturated with either water or organic fertilizer.

As this happens, the water rushes over the surface and carries the organic material with it. The organic matter can clog up waterways, and it can also pollute the soil and water with organic fertilizer.

To prevent this, organic lawn care experts often suggest putting organic life in moderation. This will help reduce the amount of organic matter that will flow off into the environment.

Less Lawn More Garden

A downsizing of the lawn is a clever idea. Scale it to your specific needs and have little excess that could never get used. Examples are an extra space for children or guests who enjoy playing in them as well! These small gardens come with edging which means you will not need any outside equipment besides what is on hand at home. Make clean up quick so it does not tie up too much time from other tasks such as yard work.

Divide your garden into two zones that the design can distinguish. The lawn becomes a play space for the kids! Low-care perennials surround the border to keep it from becoming overgrown or mowed too often in one area. A flagstone patio keeps things more formal.

Xeriscaping

Xeriscaping is the practice of designing landscapes to reduce or eliminate rainfall. This means xeriscaped landscapes need little water beyond what nature provides. It makes them perfect for dry regions in America like the Western United States!

The following are xeriscaping solutions to typical lawn dilemmas:

High Traffic Areas

The best types of grass for high traffic areas in your yard are turf varieties such as bluegrass. These tough and durable plants can tolerate wear and tear from busy walkways without getting damaged or killed off. This is due to their resistance to various environmental factors like harsh weather conditions that would otherwise kill other kinds of vegetation.

In general, though experts recommend not to use coarse fibers on surfaces where people often walk. This only makes matters worse than before by creating more paths through which dirt could potentially soil your shoes.

Grass lawns are expensive to maintain with mowing and fertilizing. They also require regular watering, which can become time-consuming.

Heavily Shaded Areas

Shady areas make it difficult for grass to photosynthesize and grow deep roots. In shade, plants that are under cover can struggle with water resources as well as sun exposure. This leads them not to live up to their potential from thriving outside in open spaces. These are where plenty of light is available all day long every single minute without fail. 

Your lawn suffers because trees or buildings block out big parts of the sky. Do you just stay indoors during these unfavorable times? The best solution is planting some flowers around instead. They need less than 1/10th ounce or 2 g per square foot annually.

Narrow Strips

Since grass needs more water than other plants, the proper location of turf is a key factor in its growth. Place green spaces within proximity of your home’s plumbing system such as next door or around the side yard. This is where you can easily monitor and maintain them yourself with simple tools like garden hoses for small areas.

Simply turn off valves at desired height when finished using them. Avoid planting lanker strips on slopes because it will become difficult to mow without wasting time also watering properly. Buffalo does well even when left unchecked. Use ground covers instead. These tend not only to look good but also help stabilize hillsides preventing future erosion problems.

Hard to Mow Areas

Grass conveniently grows in the same direction along the length of blades. It is easy to follow that pattern when mowing. But what do you do when your lawn requires brushing against nature’s grain? You can still cut it by laying out an old car mat on the ground before putting your lawnmower over the top of this surface.

That way, the mat is where you will find the shortest grass that never fully recovers from being cut. When organic matter builds up on top of it, just turn it over or put a new one down. There is no need to rake up organic debris.

Alternative Water Sources

Turf needs a large volume of water to stay alive! In areas with less rainfall, it becomes necessary to have an alternate water source for irrigation. This is what you need even in wetter climates when your lawn gets too much organic matter. It blocks up the pores on the soil where water should go.

To achieve this goal, install a drip system around the yard by poking holes along the borders of every square foot. Make sure that it is 1/8 inch or 3 mm in diameter to ensure efficient watering. The first step is examining your lawn’s soil regularly.

Organic matter that accumulates on top needs you to use a shovel instead. This is to bring an organic layer to the surface.

How Green Grows Your Grass?

Turf traditionally has a pale green color when it is healthy. Many organic fertilizers consist of materials containing nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, and potassium. This causes problems because organic ingredients are not water-soluble. Nitrogen is the most important nutrient for turf growth in acidic soil. It boosts chlorophyll production in leaves to maintain healthy grass.

Organic fertilizers are matter which helps remove organic compounds from the root zone of lawns by decreasing soil pH. Microbes feed on organic substances aerobically during the process of decomposition to do this. They break down organic molecules into essential nutrients required for plant life.

Creeping vs. Bunch Grasses

The difference is both types of grasses have groupings by seeds that contain two to three stamen. Creeping varieties have roots originating from nodes in the stems. They stretch out and grow along the ground’s surface to make it green and lush in appearance. Bunch types like buffalo grow upwards in clumps that do not topple over easily when walked on.

A healthy lawn should have a mixture of both types for the best appearance and health benefits. A good organic program can help you maintain this diversity. Sometimes, the best thing you can do for your grass is to give it space! Bunching and creeping types of grasses grow tallest when they have support from other plants or objects nearby.

Warm Season, Cold Season, and Transitional Grasses

You can classify grasses into warm-season and cool-season categories. The difference between the two is the time of year they grow actively. Warm-season grasses start growing in late spring and stop growing during winter’s coldest months. Cool-season types grow best during fall and winter when temperatures are cooler!

Transitional grasses bridge the gap between warm and cool seasons. They grow during cooler months but not as much as true winter types. Bermuda grass is the most common example of these. Three favorite types of grass that are common plants in the cooler transition zone areas include Zoysia, Bermuda, and Buffalo.

Lawn Rehab

Remember to consider three factors in improving your lawn. Know about them below:

Appearance

Your lawn appearance is the priority. This means you see brown spots that need repair, bare patches where organic matter accumulates over time, or fungus growing on dead organic matter.

Grass color is another factor to consider. You want grass healthy and green enough to compete with organic matter accumulating on top of it! But not so dark that it stands out like a sore thumb.

The texture is also important. You should have a lawn that is soft to walk on, does not have any thorns or sharp edges, and does not prick your skin.

Feel free to clip off any organic matter that is taller than the grass. This will help your lawn compete and keep its healthy color!

Space

The space you have to work with is important. You should consider how much organic matter is on the lawn, how big the grass plants are, and what kind of equipment you have. Think about what you plan to do with the organic material you remove from the lawn. Will you compost it? Mulch it? Throw it away?

Choose a location for your new garden bed before converting the lawn into a gardening space. When you want the best harvest, the sunniest spot in your yard must do well with vegetables and flowers! Another choice is anything else depending on how much sunlight they receive each day. This means at least six hours of direct light per day!

Time

The time you have to work on the lawn is also important. You cannot just go organic and not do anything for a few weeks. It will take some time to get the organic matter to break down into smaller pieces so the microbes can start working on it.

You should also plan to water your lawn with organic matter regularly at least every other day. The best time to water is early in the morning so it has plenty of time to dry before nightfall! 

The first time you mow your new lawn, it needs some ground cover to establish its roots. It may take up to two to three months before that happens with seeded or sod. This depends on when you planted them and how warm the weather has been since then.

Types of Grass You Have Got

Kentucky bluegrass is a cool-season grass that does well in transition zones. It can withstand light frosts and grows best in the shade. Bermuda grass is a warm-season grass that tolerates drought and grows well in full sun. Zoysia grass is warm-season and drought-resistant grass with a coarse texture. Fine fescues are cool-season types that can tolerate shade and drought.

When it comes to your lawn, know the type with which you are dealing with. Using the wrong treatment on a certain type of species can cause problems. It can also create even worse situations for yourself such as oversaturated soil type problems.

Density

The density of turfgrass is important to understand. A healthy stand of grass should have a uniform appearance with no empty spaces between plants and a good root system. The roots should reach water and nutrients in the soil. Compacted soil means the grassroots will not grow deep enough and the turf will thin.

Mowing the lawn is an important part of maintaining it. Different types of grasses require varied amounts and frequencies. This depends on when they are most active in growth cycles to keep them looking healthy!

Summer vs less frequent cuts during other seasons that lead up until fall where annual cleanup tasks with dead plant material should exist. This is before putting down fresh seed or sod exclusively. Ensure no weeds grow between your new perennial plants.

Thatch

Thatch is organic matter that forms under the surface at the base of turfgrass. It consists of organic matter, roots, and other tiny particles. Healthy soil should not have a layer of thatch build up over time. Sometimes, it will happen depending on your grass type and location.

When you notice it starting to form a thick layer, it is time to do organic lawn care. You need to remove it within six weeks or less before it starts affecting your plants. Having the equipment means aerating the soil and removing dead organic matter as a clever way to go organic.

Root Depth

The root depth of your turfgrass is another key factor to consider. The deeper the roots, the better the chance the grass has of surviving periods of drought! You can improve the rooting by using organic matter to feed the soil. Organic lawn care means the soil microbes are healthier!

Annual organic lawn care should consist of organic matter application during seasons when grass slows down active growth cycles. This leads to more root development at shallow levels.

Start small with organic lawn care and add to it as time goes on. You will learn what works best for your organic garden in the end.

Weeds

Weeds are the bane of every organic gardener’s existence. Organic lawn care is no exception. There are many ways to get rid of weeds. But the most important thing is to catch them early! Let them get out of control and they will take over your garden!

Dandelions are destructive plants that grow in lawns. They have flat green leaves with teeth on them, and yellow flowers that fade to white puffs. The roots of dandelion plants can reach depths up to 20 inches below ground level. It is important not to let these annoying things get out of control. They will take over your whole yard!

Soil Health

Soil health is a big organic lawn care advantage. It is a growing trend in organic gardening because it works so well! But what does it mean? Organic matter feeds the soil microbes. This leads to using organic fertilizers most of the time when adhering to organic lawn care practices.

Microbes increase plant growth, suppress plant diseases, and break down organic matter. This is available to the plants as a food source. The soil will also hold more water and nutrients. It results in less need for watering and fertilizing. The organic gardener’s goal is to create a healthy soil food web.

Structure

The structure of the soil is also important. It should become crumbly and have good tilth. This means the soil can easily crumble in your hand. Organic matter will help to improve the structure over time.

A blade of grass is a humble and vital part of your natural world. It grows on average, about 40 days before it dies back to make room for new growth. But you must keep up with the ones that die so they can continue producing more tillers.

There will only become one tiller present in its beginning stage. But as time goes by, this becomes increasingly less likely. Producing enough tillers than some may get too far ahead without dying off.

Regular Maintenance

Learn more about plenty of ways on how you can maintain your organic lawn regularly. Below is a guide:

Mowing

Mow your grass to the proper height. Ideally, you should keep it at two to three inches tall for organic lawn care. This ensures that the surface leaf area will receive enough sunlight to grow. Cut it too short or leave it too long means you are doing it wrong. Make sure to mow often enough so that you never remove more than one-third of the blade at a time. Dull blades can damage the grass and make it susceptible to disease.

Mowing the lawn is one of those chores that, once you get into a groove with it, can take up your entire day! It is better in some nice weather so there is less need for water and feed.

Cultivate Clippings and Fallen Leaves

The organic matter in the clippings and leaves helps to feed the soil. It also helps to suppress weed growth. Mulching mowers are splendid for this duty! You can also use a rake or blower to gather them up and add them to your compost pile.

Lawn clippings are an enemy of the landfill, where they take up more than their fair share. But your lawn desires it because when you mow, leave them be and recycle it. Grasscycling gives needed organic matter nutrients for a healthy plant which saves time!

Real Benefits of a Reel Mower

The reel mower is one of the best organic lawn care investments you can make! It is good for the environment and your finances. They provide a clean cut, do not scalp the grass, and leave no clumps behind. You can purchase mulching blades to chop up the clippings as you mow. This returns them to the lawn as organic matter.

A reel mower is not for everyone though! It does take some getting used to and is harder to push. You also have to become more careful than you would with a gasoline-powered mower. Many of the newer models are available with an electric start function, which can help ease anxiety about starting it up.

Watering

The organic gardener waters infrequently and deeply. Watering too often or too little encourages shallow root growth. The organic matter in the soil allows it to hold water better. No need for frequent watering of organic lawns as conventional ones.

It is important to water your lawn often. Established plants need one and one-half inches of moisture every week, either from rain or irrigation. This will ensure adequate watering of their roots and can grow robustly in the soil below them! A deep soaking is necessary for healthy turf growth so make sure to do any scheduled session.

When to Water?

The best time to water your lawn is in the early morning hours! This allows the sun and air to dry the leaves quickly, preventing disease. Watering at night can lead to fungal and weed growth. Watering organic lawns with fertilizers is not necessary. But when you wish to, do so in the morning as well.

Watering before 10 am will allow cool nighttime temperatures. This helps keep plant growth healthy by reducing evaporation rates to below-average levels. Try 4 to 6 pm because this middle grade helps prevent afternoon heating damage. It comes from higher sun exposure during these hours. But do note some varieties such as Kentucky Bluegrass need morning irrigation only due to their rapid rate!

Know Your Grass

Some organic lawn care regimes have you spending hours trying to figure out the type with which you are dealing with. That is not necessary with a seeded organic lawn. The seed variety will tell you all about its needs. Use sod since it is best to send in a clipping for identification!

Not knowing what kind of grass you have means to look online as a way. That is where organic lawn care professionals go to find information and fertilizers. With organic methods, you can use natural products for your soil and grass. The organic matter in the soil helps the grass retain water and nutrients.

Weeding

Weeds rob valuable moisture and nutrients from the lawn. They can also take over an organic lawn, defeating the purpose of organic methods. Hand pulling weeds is still one of the most effective organic weed control methods. It is best to do this when the soil is moist. The weed’s taproot will come out easily. You can also use organic weed and feed to prevent weeds. It works in tandem with organic fertilizer and organic lawn care products.

Lawn weeds are a gardening nuisance that severely affects lawns. They can take over in no time when left unchecked. These ruin the appearance of your lush green grass while doing so with some being perennial, meaning they come back year after year!

Helpful Tools and Tips

Gain insights about five tips that you need to care for your organic lawn. Familiarize with them below:

Weed Popper

Season grasses grow from spring to winter. You can find them in the southern part of the US. Cool-season varieties grow from fall to spring and include Kentucky Bluegrass and Rye. Warm-season grasses grow from spring to fall. They include Bermuda, St. Augustine, and Zoysia.

To control weeds, organic lawn care begins with organic weed and feed. Mix this organic fertilizer with water in a spray bottle or spreader bag then spray or spread on the grass. Weed-killing organic ingredients include corn gluten meal, iron chelate compound, clove extract, and citric acid.

Use a convenient and easy-to-use tool that makes it possible to remove weeds with the press of a button. Simply push on the tines, twist handles down until they meet resistance then release!

Kneeling Mat

There are a variety of kneeling garden tools available. The most common type is the pillow mat, which you can hang up between uses. It does not need much space for storage since it folds away when not in use.

Look for pads that attach to your knees. You do not have hands weighed down while moving around outside. These straps stay put even when things get rough on uneven terrain. They are wet without being too tight. Find it perfect after long hours in the summer heat!

Stool pillows with legs have a frame that helps users stand back up again after lying flat across them.

Sunscreen and Hat

When organic lawn care calls for working outside, take all the necessary precautions! That means protection from the sun. Safeguard your skin with sunscreen that has an SPF of 30 or greater! Wear a wide-brimmed hat to keep the sun off your face, neck, and ears.

UV protection is an issue that you need to become aware of. UPF hats are one way you can protect yourself from harmful UV rays. These high-quality headwear are extremely effective at blocking out 98% of sunlight! There is no better invention than this!

Radio

Noise-canceling headphones are an awesome investment for lawn mowing professionals! They want to protect their ears while they work. OSHA standards recommend against having workers exposed to loud sounds. Examples are 85 dB radio frequency signals or higher for two hours at a time without protection. These include earmuffs and plugs in both the left and right ear of those wearing headgear that blocks out external distractions.

Spend hours of the day just mowing a lawn or doing other tasks that subject you to similar amounts of noise. Get proper ear protection. You can reduce this sound pollution by wearing hearing protectors like earbuds, headphones, and microphones.

Weed in The Shade

Use some shade-loving plants to increase the amount of natural cover in your yard. One option is a mulch, which will die down over time and serve as an excellent groundcover for shady areas! Alternatively, you could use some ground covers as lawn alternatives for shade.

Lawns with problems from moss or other weeds often have difficulty when growing under trees. It is dark there during most hours meaning these annoying things love their light! The best way around this issue? Use one plant more than others such that its roots take up all available space below ground. This is while also shading out sun rays above.

Seasonal Maintenance

Here is your chance to know about keeping your organic lawn looking good every season! Below is a guide:

Whacking Weeds

Do this in the autumn and spring.

Autumn:

Many people are looking for ways they can reduce their chemical use. Whacking weeds now prevents them from popping up in the spring! But there is no need to resort back to harmful chemicals with this hack. Fill a spray bottle with one part castile soap and three parts white vinegar.

The acidity of the vinegar kills weed seeds on contact while having an emulsifying effect. It helps sink into plant roots ensuring those annoying weeds will not come back again! Mix it up in a gallon of water and spray any plant you want to keep far away from your organic lawn.

Spring

Gain insights into three ways on how to take care of your organic lawn in the spring. Here they are:

Aerate The Soil

There are many benefits of lawn aeration. It will allow oxygen, water, and nutrients to get down into the soil necessary for healthy growth in your grass. This means you will have a greener-looking yard every single time!

Aerations can also create divots when not done properly. Make sure that any equipment that professionals use like mattocks comes with an edge or blunt end. Wear gloves while handling certain machinery due to sharp ends, teeth, and so on. Keep yourself away from areas where there has been heavy traffic. The ground may still contain some dirt particles left behind.

Trashing Thatch

A layer of organic matter called thatch can form on the surface of the soil. This makes it difficult for water, air, and nutrients to penetrate the ground. It also harbors harmful pests and diseases. Remove thatch by raking or using a dethatcher machine. The goal is to have a ½ inch gap between the soil and the organic matter.

The accumulation of thatch is often due to the overuse of synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. Halt the decomposition process, resulting in a thick layer of material at the soil surface known as thatching.

Amend The Soil

Fertilizer helps plants grow better. But did you also realize the importance of soil amendment? These are conditioners to improve texture and structure. They adjust a soil’s pH without changing its nutritional content. That is why professional landscapers use them in conjunction with fertilizers rather than replacing them altogether.

Sometimes, people use both at various times. Amendments allow roots to access nutrients while improving uptake by plants. They make sure there is no nutrient deprivation when it comes time for flowers or fruits.

A lot goes down under your feet each day! From walking around outside on sidewalks covered with concrete to driving through neighborhoods lined up side to side by houses.

Quick and Dirty Overview of Amendments

Below are five types of amendments that are part of your organic lawn care. Know about them:

Compost:

Compost is a wonderful way to improve your plants’ health. For example, adding compost will help balance out pH. Make the soil, in general, more acidic or alkaline depending on what it needs at that time.

Some Vikings long ago mined it from nature with handfuls of aged manure mixed into its recipe. This miracle amendment has proven itself useful beyond belief over centuries since then as well. When you still doubt its effectiveness, just take note of how many farmers have switched away from chemical fertilizers. Their crops were failing after heavy use.

Amending Sandy Soils

Organic additions work better than mineral or synthetic amendments to improve drainage and relieve compaction in sandy soils. Organic matter derived from plants and animals holds many times its weight in water. Compost adds much more than just the broken-down remains of your garden’s food sources. It also contains microorganisms that break down spoilage.

Organisms like bacteria turn into unusable substances which other soil life can use. Mature manure is among nature’s most efficient ways of adding fertility with all those nutrients. This is without using artificial fertilizers as well.

Amending Clay Soils

Clay soils hold the organic matter in their small particles. Over time, organic material can help to open up tough soil. Let air and water move through the ground more freely!

Your organic lawn care consists of clay soils, adding organic amendments will work wonders for improving water infiltration rates! The addition of organic materials to soil helps form aggregates. These are clusters of tiny mineral and organic particles that sticky organic substances hold together.

Clay soils tend to have low organic matter. After a few years, you should also see better plant growth and fewer problems with compaction.

Raising pH

In soils that are too alkaline, organic matter breaks down very slowly. The organic acids formed can help to lower the pH, but this takes time. Acids from organic materials work best when soil pH is below 7.0!

One way to speed up the process of acid formation is by using organic materials that contain acids! The organic matter will break down and form acids which can then dissociate into hydrogen ions. This acidification process also neutralizes the alkalinity of lime.

Add a layer of wood ashes or Microna® Agricultural Lime to the soil. Make sure to spread it evenly. Dampen and apply in direct contact with the earth for the best results!

Lowering pH

You can use sulfur as a mineral to increase the acidity of soils. One ounce per square yard will lower pH by one point. Two ounces create an alkaline environment and three cause neutral lease as opposed to acidic levels found in nature. These make up about 19 on the scale. Neutral means there are 16 total ions.

Sulfur comes in many forms including ground rock sulfate or pellet form added at varying rates depending upon soil type. But organic products such as peat mosses may also work. But not efficiently enough without adding extra lime into your garden’s foundation.

Fertilizers That are Good for Lawns

Familiarize yourself with five types of fertilizers that you can use for organic lawn care. Here they are:

Grass Clippings

Grass clippings make for an awesome organic fertilizer! Collect them after mowing and let them dry before using them as mulch on flower gardens, trees, or around shrubs. You can also spread fresh grass clippings on the lawn while they are still moist. But avoid putting them on top of the thatch layer. Clippings are fine and dark in color. When you have a heavy dew, the clippings will quickly decompose and release nitrogen!

You can get by with about anything when you use the right fertilizer. One of the best, and cheapest products out there for much-needed nutrients is sulfur.

Corn Gluten Meal

CGM is an organic and granulated product that comes from corn. It suppresses weed growth, but you need to use it every year at the beginning of the growing season for the best results! Prevent the germination of seeds by inhibiting enzyme formation in contact with soil.

The best way to keep your yard weed-free is with a pre-emergent fertilizer like 9% nitrogen! It feeds the grass and also prevents seeds from sprouting. Carry this organic product at any gardening store. There is Weed Prevention Plus that has a scientific derivation from corn gluten meal.

Blood Meal

A blood meal is organic and an animal by-product. It is wonderful for organic fertilizing of lawns because it releases nitrogen slowly! By being so slow to decompose, blood meals can last through the season. Apply it in early spring when the soil is not too cold to prevent loss of nutrients. Also, avoid applying during extremely wet or hot weather.

When you have a lot of plants and want to make sure they get all the nutrients, try using organic fertilizers. You can find these at any garden store or online for an affordable price. Blood meal costs less than 10 dollars per pound while corn gluten sells around 15 cents per pound.

Cottonseed Meal

Cottonseed meal is organic and comes from cotton. It is another fabulous fertilizer for organic lawn care! This has more than 7% nitrogen so it will strengthen the grassroots. You can apply it as a top dressing or as a soil amendment. Apply before seeding, planting, or during summer to winter transitions.

The most suitable organic fertilizers are the ones that take a little bit of time to see results! When you notice that many of your plants are suffering in late summer, it is due to organic lawn care fertilizing.

A lot of organic fertilizers consist of animal, plant, or mineral sources. You can choose organic fertilizers based on the nitrogen percentage for organic lawn care.

Fish Emulsion

Fish emulsion is organic and enriched with proteins. It is perfect for organic fertilizing! This product has a lot of nitrogen, and you can apply it to the soil during growing months such as summer or fall. You can tell when to apply this organic fertilizer based on your lawn’s condition. Check when you need to top-dress your lawn by tugging at the grass. When it comes up easily, you need to fertilize.

You can apply this fertilizer in many different ways, including spraying. It may smell unpleasant and cause your lawn or garden to become temporarily untidy. But it will not harm you when inhaled while handling the product.

Pest Disease and Pets

Familiarize with many forms of pest disease that you may have in organic lawn care. Below is a guide:

Lawn Problems

Lawn disease is a serious matter. It can take many forms, with the most common being red thread and fusarium. With these two, in particular, they might not only affect your lawn. But also kill it all together when left unchecked for too long.

Other types include leaf spot which leaves unsightly brown spots on plants. Snow mold causes white circles around areas where water droplets form due to clumps of this fungus growing together. Rust attacks roots felt like splinters beneath soil level before killing off entire plant growth.

Natural Pest Control Techniques

An organic pesticide does not have chemicals. But when you wish to kill off everything in your organic lawn care, go buy chemical pesticides. Some organic pest control techniques include picking the pests out by hand or even using natural predators. These are plants that can help your organic lawn care.

When you see anything dead on organic lawn care, it is the pest control’s way of saying that you have a problem. Sometimes, organic pesticides are naturally occurring to help fertilizers.

For Diseases

When organic lawn care diseases occur, the best thing you can do is to consult your local organic gardening supply. They will have pest control products for organic lawn care use. You may also talk to a certified and experienced organic farmer in fertilizing and pesticide applications.

The best way to control both pests and diseases is by keeping your plants healthy! Healthy soil provides a home for friendly insects, which can help prevent many common plant illnesses.

Plant resistant varieties are available from extension agents or farmers’ markets. When you are unsure what type of seed will become the best on any given planting season, this will ensure the ones chosen will not die off.

For Insects

Insects can become a huge pain in organic lawn care! Ladybugs, lacewings, and praying mantises consume aphids, mealybugs, whiteflies, and other destructive pests. You can buy these insects from organic gardening supply stores or even online.

Set up traps to lure pests away from plants. Make them by filling a jar with soapy water and suspending it from a tree branch. Place a light under the jar to attract the insects at night. The pests will fly into the jar and drown. Always do treatments for organic lawn care before problems get out of hand.

For Caterpillars

When organic lawn care caterpillars become a problem, you can buy Bacillus thuringiensis at gardening supply stores. It is a bacteria that will kill the caterpillars but is harmless to other living creatures.

Caterpillars are usually the desires of birds, spiders, and other invertebrates. Birds love the taste of caterpillar legs. Assassin bugs use their venom to paralyze them. It can become easier for predators like lacewings or ground beetles to feed on them.

Some insects also take delight in feasting upon these creatures! For example, predatory flies lay eggs near potential meal sites such as ant nests where grubs live out their lives before becoming an adult.

For Beetles and Other Insects

When beetles or other insects are wreaking havoc, buy natural predators. It will take some time for these organic pesticides to become effective. These include nematodes, parasitic wasps, and other beneficial creatures that can help organic lawn care infestations naturally.

To kill the present organic lawn care beetles, you can use horticultural oil. It smothers the pests and will banish them within a few hours! You can also use insecticidal soap. But it is important to make sure the product you are using is organic.

For Weeds

Weeds are one of the most common organic lawn care problems. Hand-pulling is effective weed control for small areas. You can also use organic herbicides, such as white vinegar or boiling water, to kill weeds. Mulching can help prevent weed growth by choking out light and moisture. Keep a close eye on organic lawn care weeds. When not maintaining your organic lawn well, organic weed control can grow.

Herbicide use may become the only way to control weeds for those who have a tough time dealing with them. But you must choose an appropriate product from among all of these herbicides.

Bugs and Other Pests

Know more about three ways to handle bugs and other pests in your organic lawn care. Here they are:

Control

So you have some brown patches on your lawn, or maybe a few dead spots. This could mean that pest insects are chewing through the roots and eating away at their host plant. They would also leave behind bite marks when doing so. But when this is happening below ground level, there might become an issue with termites.

For instance, those that cause serious damages such as dugged up large holes close by. Though these signs will usually show themselves before anything else.

De-Thatch

Another common organic lawn care pest that a professional can treat is the European crane fly. They lay eggs in late summer and the hatching larvae start to eat the turfgrass leaves. This will give the lawn an off-color and make it thin. The organic solution for this is to de-thatch the lawn every two years. Get rid of the organic layer that the fly larvae feed on.

Think of organic as a good thing. But the thatch can become a problem. Dethatching your lawn may become necessary to maintain its health and beauty.

Controlling Weeds

One organic weed control method is to use boiling water. Boil a pot of water and pour it directly on the weed. Be careful not to pour it on any desirable plants. You can also use a vinegar and water solution. Mix one part white vinegar to four parts water in a spray bottle. Spray the weeds until they are wet. For organic lawn care, this solution is more toxic to the environment than organic herbicides.

The best time to tackle weed problems is when they first arise. It may seem as though you have more weeds than grass.

Lawn Diseases

There are organic lawn care solutions for this common lawn disease.

Brown Patch Disease

This organic solution begins with identifying the problem. There are two causes of this organic lawn disease. You must figure out which one is affecting your grass. The first cause is a lack of air freezing in winter, which will damage it even more than snow does.

The second cause of organic brown patches is drought due to organic lawn care. You can stop this disease by watering the grass more and mowing it shorter.

Dogs and Lawns

Organic dog food is also good for your lawn. One organic lawn care myth is that dogs’ urine kills grass. It does not. Urine contains nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. These are the same nutrients found in commercial organic fertilizers. A little bit of urine on the lawn will not kill the grass. It may even fertilize the grass a little bit. But enormous amounts of organic lawn care urine can become harmful to organic lawns, causing brown patches.

Another organic dog care myth is that these animals make organic lawn care problems worse by digging in the soil and eating grass.

Alternatives to Grass

One alternative to organic lawn care is mulch and ground covers. A polymer-based mulch will not decompose. The solution is to use pine bark or straw instead. Use ground covers to avoid grass problems such as weeds. Ground covers include:

• ivy
• English ivy
• vinca
• periwinkle
• ajuga
• lilyturf
• Creeping Charlie

Organic care is the best way to maintain your lawn without using harsh chemicals! There are many solutions to common lawn problems. By following these organic solutions, you can maintain a beautiful organic lawn.

Alternatives to Grasses

Learn about five alternatives that you can put on your lawn instead of grass. Know about them below:

Ornamental Grasses

The first alternative to grass is the ornamental type. This organic lawn care solution works wonders for small areas! You can use it in patios, walkways, and more. Ornamental grasses are only hardy during the winter months when there is no danger of frost or snow damage. Replace them every year.

For nonstop performance and visual impact, few plants compare to ornamental grasses. Unlike lawn or turfgrass varieties, these are meant for growing. It signifies not cutting down like trees in your backyard.

Sun Lovers

The second alternative to grass is the sun lover. These plants require at least six hours of sunlight per day. They are very drought tolerant and come in a variety of colors. Sun lovers make fantastic ground covers! Some popular sun-loving plants include alyssum, petunias, salvias, verbena, and zinnias.

Thyme is an herb whose small leaves grow on clusters of thin stems. Use the leaves often to season all kinds of dishes, either by themselves or as part of an aromatic blend.

Shade Lovers

The third alternative to grass is the shade lover. These plants need at least four hours of direct sunlight per day but prefer shady areas. They come in a variety of colors and textures. Shade lovers make fabulous ground covers! Some popular shade-loving plants include astilbe, hosta, ferns, and impatiens.

You can call Creeping Charlie as ground ivy, gill-over-ground, or cat’s foot among other common names. It is a member of the mint family that you can see in gardens, particularly with its variegated form.

Low Water Ground Covers

The fourth alternative to grass is the low water ground cover. These plants only need water every other week. They come in a variety of colors and textures. Low water ground covers make superb replacements for lawns! Some popular low water ground covers include sedum, juniper, moss, and thyme.

The only thing more unique than a poppy anemone is the tubers from which it grows. This plant can become one to two feet tall and has leaves that fold in on themselves. It can form flowers with colors identical to those of field poppies.

Acid-Tolerant Plants

The last alternative to grass is the acid-tolerant plant. These plants grow well in acidic soils and do not require fertilizing. They come in a variety of colors and textures. Acid-tolerant plants make fantastic alternatives for lawns! Some popular acid-tolerant plants include spirea, heather, and wintergreen.

Perennials that grow well in partial shade, like under open pines, include White Nancy and Pink Nancy. The former has mounding foliage with silver-green leaves due to white spots on them.

Going Organic

Familiarize yourself with three ways on how you can practice organic lawn care. Below is a guide:

Switch to an Organic Fertilizer

The organic fertilizer provides matter to the soil. This helps improve soil composition and reduces compaction. By doing the latter, these fertilizers allow room for air, water passage, and promote weed growth.

Using organic matter and fertilizers contain materials like compost and peat moss. These nutrients are essential for your lawn’s health. For instance, organic matter improves soil structure by binding particles together. This makes the soil loose, allowing water to flow through it easily. It is during heavy rains or irrigation, aerating, making it suitable for plant growth, and fostering the development of organic matter.

Leaves, grass clippings, straw, and other organic residues left on the lawn helps in providing organic matter. Grasses also have rhizomes that grow underground and help in organic decomposition.

Set Your Mower Height High

The organic lawn care method calls for using a mower height of about four inches. This is more manageable compared to one that is too short or too high. It is also more sustainable, as organic fertilizers will decompose better on the mulch that comes from this setup.

It is a fabulous idea to mow at three inches or taller! The higher setting will not just prevent diseases. But also promote deep-rooting grass crops that efficiently conserve water. This is while improving the color and density of your turf.

Water Early in The Morning

Watering your lawn early in the morning is a practice that organic lawn care endorses. It helps avoid the evaporation of water, and you are less likely to wet sidewalks, streets, or driveways. In the morning when dew is still present, it means that the soil will absorb the water.

Watering in the morning is always best for your lawn! It is cooler and there is not as much wind. When you must water at night, try between 4 to 6 pm which gives your grass blades time to dry before nightfall.

You can avoid the hot afternoon sun which tends to evaporate moisture from wet grass quickly! Early morning also has lower temperatures so it will help keep weeds at bay longer into the fall or winter season.

Not only is it more environmentally friendly and safe, but your lawn will also look better than ever! Organic lawn care uses only chemical-free fertilizers with biological pest and disease control.