Fertilization              Mowing Techniques               Water Use

The lawn is one of the most spoiled aspects of any landscaped area. You mow it once or twice a week, you pick the weeds, you fertilize, or maybe you pay someone a lot of money to do this for you. The lawn is also one of the most harped upon waste accumulators by city Waste Water Management and one of the most readily available hosts of potential carcinogens from misguided chemical lawn companies. The runoff creates algal blooms from watersheds and inland waterways, to golf courses and retention ponds; and the pesticides result in a carcinogenic presence and biological deformities. In some instances birds, such as hummingbirds, cannot reside around houses where these chemicals are distributed. There is also a growing body of evidence that certain kinds of cancers in pets and even humans are caused by lawn chemicals and pesticides. Most people recognize the connection between lawn care and environmental and health degradation, they simply do not have an outlet to learn how to apply proper practices and obtain adequate products.

The philosophy of growing turf (or anything else) organically is simply that a healthy soil grows healthy plants. When you feed the life in the soil, those growing populations of microorganisms begin to accomplish many jobs that now consume great amounts of your time, money, and energy. Microorganisms serve many purposes. They help fertilize, by

fixing nitrogen from the air, mineralize soil organic nutrient into plant usable inorganic forms, generate carbon dioxide (the plant's most needed nutrient), and de-thatch by decomposing thatch and other organic matter into valuable nutrients and humus. They also increase the water and nutrient holding capacity of the soil, aerate the soil, and control many insect and disease problems by predation and competition. These are only a few examples, derived from a far greater list. It is widely accepted by researchers that many of the benefits we get from soil life have yet to be discovered.

The most fundamental misunderstandings regarding lawn care are three fold: use of fertilizer and pesticide materials, maintenance techniques, and water usage techniques.


Fertilization: "Treat your soil, not your grass"

Everyone is familiar with the local "ChemLawn" company. Next time they come by your house ask them exactly what they are using on your lawn and why it is you cannot set foot on it for 6-12 hours? Unfortunately, most of the time they have no idea. The fact is these corporations utilize synthetic refined mineral fertilizers that work to treat your grass, not your soil. The synthetic fertilizers are not harmful themselves, but are harmful to the biology of soil actually "locking out" needed minerals and soil processes and treat the soil as an inert medium similar to a hydroponic scenario- and your lawn is no hydroponic scenario (if it is let us know!). This creates a vicious cycle. Unless these people come back six times a year, your grass has nothing to eat- not because there is nothing there, but because there is not a sufficient microbial colony to
process it. Further, the synthetic fertilizers they utilize are counterproductive to achieving a vibrant colony. They, consciously or not, ensure their business by using unsustainableand wasteful techniques on your landscape. The repercussions of this scenario are a weak localized biological ecosystem and, in turn, weak turf. In order to compensate for this scenario they utilize harmful chemicals as pesticides and weedicides on your landscape that can be harmful to you, your pets, and your plants. This is no scare tactic, but a simple reality that with understanding can be alleviated. Do you want to roll around in or eat what they spray? Then don't put it on your lawn.

If your emphasis is on treating the soil with organic materials and ensuring a healthy grass/soil relationship, pests and diseases will be suppressed and there will be no need for harmful materials. In fact, after a year or so of proper maintenance the soil will fertilize the grass naturally actually allowing the caretaker to cease intensive maintenance, reducing fertilizer applications significantly, and reap the benefit of scrapping the "vicious cycle", both in their pocket and environmentally. A true win/win situation.

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Rules of Thumb for Proper Fertilizer Use

Synthetic fertilizers are designed to mimic plant nutrients necessary for plant health and growth, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Let's rephrase that- the inorganic constituents of synthetic fertilizers are chemically identical to the inorganic constituents of "organic" fertilizers, but microorganisms cannot recognize nor synthesize synthetic forms.

Because of this, fertilizers must be continually replenished via the vicious cycle relative to the natural scenario when allowing microbial action via organic materials. The fact is for millions of years microorganisms have lived in symbiosis with plants in a manner that we can only strive for. When we utilize synthetic entities in our landscapes it prevents these microorganisms from doing their life's work. They did not evolve to synthesize salts, but natural and organic materials.

N, P, and K are the macronutrients involved in plant growth and are found on bags of fertilizer. Nitrogen (N) is needed for healthy green growth and regulation of other nutrients. Phosphorus (P) helps proper roots and seeds develop and resist disease.
Potassium (K) is also important in root development and disease resistance. We are used to thinking about these numbers only when caring for our lawn, but in reality there are many other nutrients needed for a healthy lawn. The power of advertising! Scott's, Peters, Miracle Grow, etc. have done themselves justice financially for years by ramming this down our throats as if natural systems (yes, your lawn is a natural system) are concerned with the availability of only three elements.

Use the Right Fertilizer

Test your soil. Depending on the existing state of your landscape, different materials can be utilized to get you on the right track. Soil tests are available at your Extension service free of charge, or you can pay for a test that will give you a quicker turnaround and even recommended application rates for amendments.

Apply Fertilizer Properly

  • It is best to apply fertilizer when the soil is moist and then water lightly. This will help the fertilizer move into the root zone where it is available to the plants, rather than stay on top of the soil where it can be blown or washed away.
  • Watch the weather. Avoid applying it immediately before a heavy rain system is predicted to arrive. Too much rain (or sprinkler water) will take the nutrients away from the lawn's root zone.
  • Use the minimal amount of fertilizer necessary and apply it in small, frequent applications. An application of 2 pounds of fertilizer five times per year is better than 5 pounds of fertilizer twice a year.
  • Calibrate your fertilizer spreader to be sure you know exactly how much material is being discharged in a given space.
  • Follow instructions accompanying your spreader.
  • When spreading fertilizer, cover ends of the lawn first, then go back and forth across the rest of the lawn, using half of the recommended amount. Shut the spreader off before reaching the ends to avoid over-application. Apply the other half of the fertilizer going back and forth perpendicular to the first pattern.
  • Dispose of fertilizer bags or containers in a safe and state-approved manner

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Maintenance and Mowing Techniques

Leaving the grass clippings to decompose on your lawn is called "mulch mowing" and is good practice to retain vital nutrients in your lawn. Annually, this will provide nutrients equivalent to one or two fertilizer applications. It is also a good idea to mow high, as opposed to low. The higher grass will reduce evaporation during daytime and will also serve to shade out unwanted weed seeds trying to germinate in your lawn.

 

Water Use
  • One deep watering is much better than watering several times lightly. This encourages deeper grass root growth, allowing them to thrive and prevents weed seeds from germinating.
  • Lawns need about 1 inch of water each week. If the weather is very hot, apply an inch of water about every 3 days.
  • Watering to a depth of 4-6 inches encourages deeper, healthier root development. It allows longer periods between watering.
  • To measure the water, put an empty tuna can (or cat food can, or any equivalent container for that matter) on the lawn while watering. Stop watering when the can is full or if you notice water running off the lawn.

Water at the Right Time of the Day
  • Early morning or night is the best time for watering to reduce evaporation.
  • To help control where your water goes, water when it's not wind


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