Organic Lawn

[Mike #1]

I started switching over to organic lawn care 5 years ago, if you never tried it before I might be able to help, I made some mistakes at the beginning so I might be able to offer some advice if you have any questions. I am no lawn care expert, just a average Joe with a lawn in the suburbs. I can honestly say that I'm having great succuss.

[slotlimit]

If organic means mowing the lawn, letting rain water it, never doing anything else. I've been doing that forever.

[Mike #1]

Yea, but since my home is my investment for the future I have to do whatever I can to give it more curb appeal. For me, a lawn that is green and healthy will add to the overall value when it comes time to sell.

[mntraveler]

My wife heard about this over regular chemical lawn care and bought in hook-line-and-sinker. We actally hired a guy out of St. Paul for this year and we'll see how it goes. I am not very good at getting stuff to grow (except dandilions) but hopefully we can just get the material in a few years and do the labor ourselves. What pitfalls did you encounter along the way?

[Mike #1]

Weeds are the only downfall, you cannot kill dandelions organically. I thought I would be able to and that was a setback, also, the results will be slower as far as seeing any difference. It takes a couple of years to see any results. The advantage is that your grass will grow slower, be healthy, and your kids and dog can play on your lawn right after you fertilize.

[Powerstroke]

Kids and pets can play on lawns fertilized with "regular" fertilizer. Regular fertilizer uses naturally occuring elements, they are just sourced from different processes that are not organic. There is nothing harmful in touching fertilizer.

Pesticides can be another story, but only if you play with concentrated mixtures. In a properly mixed form, most pesticides are only 1-5% active ingredient and the total product is 80% water or more. Anything that is deemed hazardous or "restricted-use" you need to be properly licensed just to buy it. As far as weed killers go, most are barely strong enough to kill weeds. They are as mild as possible without being ineffective.

Insecticides can be a different story. Most are safe, but there are a few that can be dangerous. Again, only properly licensed people can buy or use them. Many area being phased out for risk of liability.

In case there are credibilty doubts, I worked for a nationwide lawn and tree care company for 5 years. I sprayed every kind of fertilizer, herbicide, fungicide, insecticide that was legal for use. Blood tests were required to monitor levels in case certain compounds built up in the blood but all tests were negative. I have 2 kids and they have all their fingers and toes. The company I worked for like to brag about a 3 generation rule. They have 3 generations of families who've worked at the same company. There are no problems there and the stuff they used 30yrs ago scares me.

I'm not saying that there aren't scary things out there, but if you're considering going organic because you think conventional methods are ruining the planet and endangering the lives of all things living, then you'd be mistaken. The only thing sthat ever got hurt while I worked for the company was the weeds, diseases and undesireable insects.

We did offer an organic plan, but most people switched after they realized they coudn't get rid of weeds.

Quote:

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It takes a couple of years to see any results. The advantage is that your grass will grow slower, be healthy, and your kids and dog can play on your lawn right after you fertilize.

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Except for the touchy feely happiness of using organic, it doesn't really compare to conventional lawn care practices. I have 2 kids and a dog and I sprayed all my weeds on sunday and plan on fertilizing in the next week.

[Mike #1]

We run a daycare so I feel alot better with what I am doing, besides, my neighbors have the lawn service and mine looks just as good.

[Powerstroke]

My wife runs a daycare also.

If you get the results you want than more power to you. You hit the nail on the head when you said organic is more work and results take longer. I don't like that motto at all. I'm not saying its a bad way to go. It works for some and not for others. The key is to stay on it. Organic wil lkeep a nice lawn nice, but it is nearly impossible to take a yard with little upkeep and turn it around with organic practices.