Thursday, 7 April 2011

How Organic is Your Lawn Care?

By David Merriman


With bans on lawn fertilizer popping up in New York states and tighter rules in neighboring states, it appears certain lawn care will change as turf pesticides are limited.

But what is organic lawn care?

The name has different meanings so it is hard to make a side by side comparison. There are two popular methods.

Organic lawn service is a several season effort that take persistence. Controlling weeds means hand-picking and frequent applications of solutions that knock pests off turf. Beneficial microbes and solutions such as insecticidal soap are important.

Planting turf with compost and adding a layer of high quality soil as well as seeding and deep root watering create a dominant ratio of grass that crowds out broadleaf weeds.

Your lawn will respond even better if the lawn species is native to your area and the grass is kept at 2 to 3 inches long with mowers blades sharp and well maintained.

Hybrid (IPM) - A hybrid approach mixes in the above practices but may also include spot spraying of weeds and the use of "bridge" fertilizers (containing urea) to keep the lawn green until organic processes start to take root.

A hybrid approach may present more balance for what you want, providing a mix of environmental awareness while also taking less effort if you don't want to spend as much time on your lawn.

Picking the Right Organic Lawn Service

Before signing a check for summer lawn service, clarify what they mean by lawn service. Also take time to figure out what you want and what you could live without.

If you want your lawn to quickly green up or don't want to spend too much dough, then a hybrid or traditional non-organic program may be the right choice. If you are a true believer who is patient and will enjoy the natural process of your lawn improving, then a fully organic program is probably exactly what you want.

Large national chains have about 2% of their clients on an organic program. There may be a local lawn service with a deeper knowledge of organic practices in your area, so look around and get quotes.




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