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Maintaining Your Natural Organic Lawn After you have made the switch to natural organic lawn care, you will want to maintain your healthy new turf. Follow these steps to keeping your GreenerGreenGrass lawn in great condition. Mowing Fertilization Irrigation Thatch Management Compost Overseeding Leaf Removal  Mowing
Regular, proper mowing has benefits beyond making your lawn look neat and clean. The primary advantage is that mowing gives grass a competitive edge over weeds, which can help in disease prevention. Organic lawns are typically mowed higher than conventional lawns – because there are no harsh chemicals to make your lawn artificially (and temporarily) greener, a more holistic approach is required. Longer grass shades the soil and keeps it cooler, prevents weed seeds from germinating, and reduces water loss. Ideal mowing heights vary by grass type, but most organic lawns should be at least 2.5 inches long to stay healthy. After mowing, leaving the grass clippings will return vital nutrients and organic matter to the soil, which will help your soil maintain a natural healthy balance. Grass clippings can also contribute to your lawns nitrogen needs, reducing the amount of fertilizer that is required, and therefore saving you money! The clippings generally break down very quickly and do not promote thatch buildup. A mulching mower will work best because it chops the clippings very finely, which allows them to decompose more quickly. If you are using a regular mower, make sure to break up any glass clumps that are left behind so they can be more quickly integrated into the soil. Alternating the direction that you mow will help keep grass height even and promote upright root growth. In rainier seasons it may be tempting to let your grass get long, but it is better to mow wet grass than to let it grow too long. Just make sure the blade is very sharp – dull blades tear the grass blade, which contributes to water loss and vulnerability to disease. (back to top) Fertilization The application of fertilizer is essential for sufficient soil fertility and healthy plant growth. In contrast to the synthetic chemical fertilizers used in conventional lawn care, natural organic fertilizers add organic matter to the soil. The three major nutrients that plants need are nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium (N, P, K). Nitrogen aids in plant growth and enhances the green color, phosphorous is essential for root development and growth, and potassium helps prevent disease and contributes to winter hardiness. Although both synthetic and natural fertilizers provide all three nutrients, natural organic fertilizer releases them more slowly and over a longer period of time. Natural organic products also preserve the quality of the soil, encourage earthworm populations, and promote normal, healthy microbial activity in the soil. Complete fertilizers supply all three essential nutrients, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Typically, the percentage of each nutrient is shown by three numbers for the N-P-K values. For example, Green Sustaining Blend is 16-4-8, or 16% Nitrogen, 4% Phosphorous, and 8% Potassium. The ideal amounts of each nutrient will depend on the season, location, type of grass, and condition of the soil. Some research suggests that fertilization in late summer/fall (September) and late fall (November) is best for home lawns. Turf grass plants are enlarging their root systems at these times, which will result in improved top growth in the spring. Fall fertilization also contributes to better color late in the fall, earlier spring greening, and fewer disease problems. (back to top) Irrigation Watering your lawn is an important step in the maintenance process. An excess of water can promote fungal diseases that contribute to visible lawn damage. Not enough water leads to dormancy, weakens plants, and possibly kills them. With a natural organic lawn, you have to make a decision early in the season whether to irrigate regularly to maintain color, or not to irrigate and allow the lawn to go dormant in a hot, dry summer. Your location and water supply are two major factors in this decision. If you decide to keep the lawn green through the summer, it is important to water correctly. When rainfall is insufficient and the soil is dry, apply one inch of water per week, or enough to wet the top 6-8 inches of soil. Measure both rainfall and applied water with a rain gauge. Check the soil with spade to see if the water has penetrated to the depth of the roots. Early morning irrigation decreases water loss from evaporation as the temperature increases later in the day. It is best to avoid late afternoon watering, which will extend the time leaves are wet and may contribute to disease problems. If you decide to allow the lawn to go dormant, it is important to know that severe, prolonged drought conditions may require even dormant lawns to be irrigated in order to survive. Apply one-half inch of water every 4-6 weeks to keep the crowns and roots alive. Learn more in the Irrigation and Fertigation section. (back to top) Thatch Management Thatch is an organic layer of old grass roots, crowns, rhizomes, and stolons that sits on the surface of the soil. A layer of thatch greater than one-half inch thick may inhibit penetration of water, air, and fertilizer. Thatch can also harbor insects and create an environment that invites disease. Soils with sufficient amounts of organic matter, beneficial microorganisms, and earthworms slow thatch buildup. Go to the Thatch Management section to find out more. (back to top) Compost Topdressing, or surface application of compost to established lawns, adds organic matter to the soil and may quicken the decomposition of thatch. Compost application should be done when temperatures are cool in the spring or fall, in conjunction with aeration so that a layer of organic matter does not build up on the soil surface. You can make your own compost using fallen leaves and other organic matter, or purchase it in bags at your local garden store. A 1,000 square foot lawn requires approximately 21 cubic feet of compost. Adding compost on top of thatch without prior aeration will contribute to the thatch problem and is not recommended. (back to top) Overseeding Overseeding is a technique used to replenish desirable turfgrass and produce thicker lawn that will out-compete is more resistant to weeds. It is important to match the species in order to maintain a uniform appearance. This technique is typically only done when the quality of the lawn has deteriorated because of insects, disease, or drought. Overseeding should be done when you would normally seed a new lawn; these times vary depending on your location. First, mow the lawn short to 1 to 1.5 inches, then aerate. Use a slice-seeder to deposit seed at the rate of 1.5 times the amount of seed recommended on the package. A slice-seeder makes shallow slits in the soil and deposits grass seed into them, assuring good seed-to-soil contact for high germination rates. Simply scattering seed on the lawn with no cultivation is ineffective and is not recommended. Sowing heavily ensures good germination rates under less than ideal conditions. After depositing the seed, topdress with compost to lightly cover the seed and then water well. Foot traffic should be discouraged at this stage. After the initial soaking, water frequently and lightly to keep the seed moist until it germinates. After most of the seed has germinated, the lawn can be watered at a normal maintenance rate if rainfall is insufficient. (back to top) Leaf Removal If fallen leaves are left on your lawn over a long period of time, they can kill patches of grass. A simple way to prevent this is by using a mulching mower on dry leaves to finely chop them, and then spread them evenly over your lawn. If you do not have a mulching mower, spread leaves over the lawn and mow in two directions to produce the same result. If the leaf cover is so significant that this method will not work, remove the leaves and compost them if possible. (back to top) Click here to go back to the article list. Click here to go to the next topic - Irrigation and Fertigation. |