Having a well kept lawn makes outdoor activity a lot more enjoyable. A lush, green yard is a great place to play with your pets and children. Typical lawn care uses traditional fertilizers that contain chemicals or other harsh components. Pesticides are used to kill off any annoying bugs. You don’t have to use harsh materials to keep your lawn looking healthy. There are organic options that you can use. By doing so, you can be sure that you’re taking extremely good care of your lawn.
Use Less Water When You Go Organic
Taking care of and maintaining a lawn uses a great deal of water. A healthy lawn needs roughly one inch of water every week during the peak growing season. If you live in an area that doesn’t get that much rain, then you need to water your lawn yourself. There are ways to cut back on the amount of water you use and still have a lush and green lawn.
- Water your lawn in the early morning hours
- Water infrequently, but deeply (saturate the lawn so it takes longer to soak in)
- When you’re out of town, use a method where your watering system can automatically shut off
- Use organic fertilizers
Test Your Soil
A natural and safe way to maintain a lush, green, and healthy lawn is to use organic fertilizers. The soil in one yard is not necessarily the same type as another yard. There are several different types of organic fertilizers for every kind of lawn. Once you know what kind of soil your lawn has, you’ll have a better idea which type of fertilizer to get.
You can have the pH level of your soil tested by a professional, or you can buy a soil test kit and do it yourself. They both have their advantages. If you decide to use a home test kit, it will be cheaper, but if you use a professional, you might get more in depth results. A professional can test for all sorts of things, like whether your soil is acidic or alkaline, or if the soil is lacking in nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, or sulfur. Organic fertilizers are applied as granules, pellets, or liquids.
Types Of Organic Fertilizers
Fish meal: To jump start your lawn in the early spring, you can use fish meal. Fish meal is essentially dried out and ground left over fish scraps (bones, fish bits, etc.). This type of fertilizer contains nitrogen as well as several other minerals that stimulate the growth of plants and grass. The effects of using fish meal will last for several months.
Bone meal: This type of fertilizer is made from ground up animal bone. After the bones are ground up, they are steamed in order to break down the particles. Bone meal stimulates the cellular development of plants and grass.
Blood meal: Blood meal is comprised of ground and dried blood and is quite effective at replenishing nitrogen levels.
Cottonseed meal: Cottonseed meal adds nitrogen into the soil. It’s efficient at producing a green lawn fast. Cottonseed meal is made from the discarded materials after cottonseed oil has been pressed.
Limestone: When a lawn is lacking calcium, it can have a pale green color to it. Limestone infuses the soil with much needed calcium to bring it back to a normal shade. It also helps with a magnesium deficiency.
Other organic fertilizers include:
- Rock phosphate
- Elemental sulfur
- Humic shale
- Compost
Additional Organic Lawn Care Tips
Other ways to take care of your lawn organically include the following:
- Use grass clippings to fertilize your lawn (don’t pick up the clippings after you mow)
- Make sure your lawn motor blades are kept sharp (this will improve the fuel efficiency)
- Avoid cutting the grass too short, no more than one third of the length should be cut
- Mow the lawn when it’s supposed to rain
- Use a self powered or electric lawn mower
- Aerate your lawn
- Avoid using pesticides
- Allow certain “pests†to stay, such as spiders, ladybugs, and dragonflies, as they can benefit the lawn
Through using these organic lawn care options, you will not only be protecting your lawn from harmful chemicals, you’ll also be protecting your family and pets from these materials. So get on out there and spend some time playing in the backyard with your family.
