Well, Spring has sprung and we are already seeing the grass start to green up in some parts of the country and soon it will all be green and we will be getting our mowers out to cut grass. Before we get to that point we should be considering how to start or continue an Organic Lawn Care program. Organic lawn care is growing and with the price of petroleum going up we will see the price of fertilizer shoot up tremendously this year so let’s get started on building a healthy lawn now that will be good for the environment and our family health.
If your grass is already growing cut it a little shorter than normal prior to topdressing and aeration.
Begin topdressing the lawn with a good quality compost about 1/4″ thick and then aerify the lawn. Make sure the moisture conditions are right, not too wet or too dry. Proper moisture conditions will allow the aerator to penetrate the ground properly and pull a good sized plug. Go over the lawn in several directions to make sure you have created enough soil disturbance so oxygen can get down to the root system. Allow some time for the cores to dry, about 1.5 to 2 hours spread seed on the lawn and then go over the lawn with a drag mat ( like a piece of chain link fence with a 2×4 attached to it ) to break up the cores and allow the soil and compost mixture you just created to fill up the aeration holes. The seed will also be blended in during the drag mat process. Now water the lawn completely and watch the grass grow.
This is the first step to a Healthy Organic Lawn. More details will come in future articles.
Have a great spring.
