The Quick Facts On Natural Lawn Applications

Now that spring is fully blooming and temps across the entire country are getting hotter, it is time to think about lawn care, and more importantly, fertilization! But do you want to go natural or organic? Do you know what that really means? After all, organically treated lawns look much better when they are treated properly! Bet you didn’t know that!

Naturally treated or organically fertilized lawns respond just a little slower because organics need proper, prolonged heat in order to release their nitrogen and other nutrients into the soil. Traditional synthetic fertilizers, however, only need water to dissolve and hit the soil line. This means that organics won’t produce any results until later in the year. Organics, however, do have the advantage of being slow release, feeding the lawn over time.

Don’t worry though, because anyone who is in the lawn care business knows that organically treated lawns look much better in the long haul. This is because the slow release of nutrients helps the lawn to recover and build slowly, over time, which makes it stronger. Synthetically treated lawns, however, tend to green up fast and fade even faster. It’s like a sugar rush that only lasts for a short time and fades in a crash!

With that in mind, here are some of the best natural fertilizers you should consider for your organically treated lawn care program.

Organic Milorganite: This natural fertilizer turns many people off, but does deliver the very best results. Milorganite is reclaimed sewerage from Milwaukee. But don’t let that stop you because it is really a good fertilizer and does NOT smell bad at all. In fact, Milorgaite also contains slow releasing chelated iron that will turn your lawn a nice blue color, giving you the best lawn on the block. This is the best of the organics in my opinion.

Ringer Lawn Restore: Ringer is a natural lawn fertilizer derived from chicken parts and chicken castings and provides a super efficient source of nitrogen for turf. It does have a bit of a smell to it; ok, a lot of smell, but works very well for rejuvenating a lawn that is in bad shape. If your lawn just won’t seem to grow, try Ringer in the later spring or early summer and see if it helps.

Worm Castings: for those of you who are 100% against the use of any animal (mammal) products in your organic lawn care regimen, then worm castings are for you. Earth worms excrete an extremely clean and mineral rich slurry which is collected, dried and packed for lawn and garden fertilizer. It is very expensive, but works well for those of you who are on the Earth friendly extreme.

Other than that, you should properly mow and water your lawn all year long to keep it in top shape! I wish you the best of luck in your organic lawn care endeavors this season!
You can learn more about lawn care treatments and lawn fertilizing advice on our blog.

I like to talk to folks a lot about proper lawn care technique. This includes watering, fertilizing, weed control and insect control. But the most important of all lawn care tasks is the actual weekly lawn cutting or mowing.

Following are some of the basic tips I offer my customers in regards to lawn mowing and trimming.

Mow How Tall?

Leading off my general lawn mowing tips is the actual cutting and mowing height. This one is by far the most important. If you cut the grass too short, you remove too much of the grass blade’s surface, thus disturbing the process of photosynthesis. If the plant cannot create its own food properly, it will decline or die.

The best advice is to mow your lawn as tall as possible all year long. If you are unsure about the exact setting on your lawn mower, then set it to the highest or second highest setting and leave it there all the time. This ensures safety for your grass when cutting.

Having A Sharp Mower Blade

Now that we have the height issue straight, let’s look into the actual blade. You see, a dull mower blade will rip the grass or shred it instead of clean cutting. Ripped and frayed grass blades turn brown, giving the overall lawn an unhealthy appearance.

The most important piece of advice along these lines is to get out now and get your blade sharpened. If you cannot sharpen your own mower blade, then head off to your local shop this weekend and have them to it for you. It should not cost more than ten dollars and only needs to be done about once per year.

How Often To Mow?

The final part of the lawn mowing equation is the mowing frequency. This may seem like a given, but you need to mow your lawn every single week during the growing season. If you skip a week, then the grass grows too tall and when you do cut, too much of the leaf blades are removed, causing turf injury. It’s like cutting your fingernails. If you cut too deeply, you will cause yourself some pain: same goes for the grass plant.

Now that you are all fired up to get out and cut your nice green patch of grass, start planning now. Get out into the garage this weekend and see what needs to be done to get your mowing machine up and read for the first cutting of the year in late March or early April.