Organic Lawn Applications Need Help

I say they need help because when we apply an organic fertilizer such as Milorganite or Ringer Lawn Restore, the nutrients found in those “pellets” are not released so easily. Keep in mind that most of your regular synthetic fertilizers you get at the store (Scott’s 4-step stuff) let their nutrients out in the form of dissolving in water. That is why we tell you to “water them in.”

However, with organics, water is NOT what makes the nutrients hit the soil, rather natural breakdown from heat. In addition, the smaller the pieces, the quicker the heat action can break them down. The reason we want to help this process is because we don’t want the pellets to wash away in a rain storm while we are patiently waiting for the nutrients to “decay” in the lawn.

Make Your Organic Stick In The Lawn

The very best way to ensure your organics “stick” in the lawn long enough to deliver maximum nutrient benefit is to help them along by sticking them into the soil. There are two ways I recommend you do this:

1) Apply sand to the yard – yep, good old play sand you can get at the local home and garden store. Now, this only applies if you live in an area of the country with clay-based soil which is a lot of the south and most of the Midwest. The sand has a way of “roughing” into the clay and it will drag down your organic fertilizer with it, effectively embedding it into the hard clay. You should apply the fertilizer first and the sand immediately after. Apply the sand at about 1lb of sand per 1,000 square feet. In other words, you don’t need a lot of sand. This also acts as an overall soil conditioner for hard clay lawn soils.

2) Aerate first – I talk a lot about lawn aeration as a pivotal part of your overall organic lawn care program, but it is never anymore important then when we are trying to get the lawn some good, soil-enriching organic nutrients. The sand I mention above helps keep the organics in the lawn, but aeration REALLY helps. As you know, when you aerate you are removing soil plugs from the lawn. This leaves thousands of holes and makes a great chance for you and me to apply natural fertilizers to the lawn that will effectively fall into or wash into those holes where they will remain feeding the lawn for weeks or even months.

Keep in mind that organics are usually applied very heavily (14 pounds per 1,000 sq feet or Milorganite) and that is a lot of product to fill into those holes and break down over time!

For all intensive purposes, you should be applying organics in the spring and fall in conjunction with your aeration, and using sand in the summer to rough into the hard clay. This is exactly how you get the most from your organic lawn care products and has been done on green-conscious golf courses and sports fields for years.

dollar spot just starting to show

In most cases, I find dollar spot infesting lawns in the front yard! I also find it in lawns that are less than 15 years old. What??

Yeah, read that again because it is important to understand. You see, most houses built these days, the lawn gets sod in the front and seed in the back lawn. I also find that it takes a good 15 or more years for sod roots to get really well established. This means the sodded front lawns are susceptible to dollar spot fungus.

So if you are seeing spots like the ones in these pics in your front lawn, it may be dollar spot. If you have had hot and humid days with intermitant rain (of your own watering) then is probably is dollar spot.

Is Dollar Spot Serious?

Not really, but it does look bad for a while and if it gets really had, it can cause some long term appearance issues. I find it worse in areas that are bordered by sidewalks, driveways and the street. This is because these areas heat up much hotter and faster in the sun, making the fungus go wild.

same lawn as above, but this is the parkway, severe!

How To Get Rid Of Dollar Spot In Lawns

You should put down a fungicide that is organic and safe. I like Serenade. Apply it 3 or 4 times over the course of the summer according to the label directions.

In addition, I want you to mow tall, catch your clippings and cut your irrigation back to once per week and only water in the mornings. Just make sure you water deeply when you do. I also need you to be ready to follow my fertilizer program in the fall to help the lawn recover. Remember, root systems in lawn expand in fall, and this will repair the dollar spot scars naturally.

My lawn is treated with Milorganite iron

Iron is considered a micro-nutrient in the lawn. It is not necessarily essential, but a lack of it can make the lawn look pale or even yellow. (chlorosis) But for our purposes here, we want to use iron to give the lawn that deep blue/green coloring.

Yep, that’s right guys: iron is what makes Kentucky Bluegrass and other lawn grasses blue. THAT will surely help you stand out from your neighbor won’t it? Of course it will!

Now you need to make sure you get chelated iron for your lawn. Chelated means the iron is in a suspended state where it can be readily absorbed and use by grass plants. I say this because iron can bind up in soil where it can’t be utilized. If you get chelated, you will be just fine. The best source of chelated iron is milorganite. It’s organic and contains chelated iron! Awesome!

Be Careful With Iron – Ironite

If you decide to go with another type of iron for your lawn like Ironite, you need to be careful. Now, don’t get me wrong, Ironite works VERY well. The issue is, however, that Ironite have a few drawbacks. They are:

1) ironite can stain driveways, sidewalks, siding, decks, etc

2) you can over-apply iron and cause the lawn to turn grey or even completely “blow out” where the blades thin out completely

3) ironite is not slow-releasing and in my opinion won’t last as long in the lawn

Seriously guys, if you want iron in your lawn, use Milorganite. There are so many more advantages to it (like a boost of nitrogen as well) and it is error-proof… always important I think!

]]> http://yardandgardens.com/adding-iron-to-your-lawn-and-why/feed/ 0 http://yardandgardens.com/summer-organic-fertilizer-for-lawns/ http://yardandgardens.com/summer-organic-fertilizer-for-lawns/#comments Sun, 01 Aug 2010 14:03:26 +0000 Yard Care Man http://yardandgardens.com/?p=115 You guys know you can fertilize in the summer right? Whether or not you are properly watering your lawn or not, you CAN and SHOULD still fertilize it. But what you use becomes more important than ever when the temps in July and August are in the upper 90s or higher. This is exactly why organic fertilizers are perfectly suited for summer lawn fertilization. (Get the book here)

Why Organic Fertilizer In Summer

One of the key advantages to organic fertilizers is that they are naturally slow releasing. This means there is pretty much no chance you are gonna cook your turf even if you apply too much. Now, I’m not telling you guys to go out and dump shovel-fulls of organic fertilizer on your lawn, but you certainly don’t need to be too concerned if you do mess up a bit!

Slow release organic fertilizer is also good for your grass in summer because it won’t PUSH the growth. The last thing we want to do in hot August is stimulate the lawn to grow super fast. This will surely stress the root system (especially if you don’t irrigate properly) and cause it to thin out under pressure. Organic lawn fertilizers break down in heat and release nitrogen and phosphorus very slowly, just enough to keep the grass healthy and green, but not overly so.

Finally, organic lawn fertilizers also improve the bio-activity in the soil. Honestly, rich, healthy soil is the basis of a healthy lawn and organics improve it greatly.

Below are examples of fertilizers I use in the summer for my own lawn. You can also get my step by step book here.

See the LEHR eco trimmer review I did below and then see where I show you where to get one for cheap too!

With that in mind, here are the most basic of lawn mowing tips that ALL homeowners should follow.

Lawn Cutting Tips: Proper Mowing Height

The first thing I want you to know is that mowing height is very important. In fact, it is the most important of all the mowing tips you will read here. This is why:

I want you to imagine cutting your fingernails. If you clip them lightly, you are good, but if you cut too deeply, what happens? yep, nasty! Same thing with your grass. I want you to only take a small amount with each cutting, meaning no more than 25% of the grass blade should be cut in a single trimming. So if your lawn is 4″ tall when you are ready to cut, you should take it no lower than 3″ when completed.

Now, this is the other part of mowing your lawn tall, and that is to keep it right around 3″ all year long. If you are unsure of how to really measure for lawn height like in the video below, then just set your mower wheels on the second to the highest setting and forget it. That is the safe way to go… mow tall, trust me!

Once you are set with the mowing height, now I need you to consider the rest of your lawn mowing practices.

Lawn Cutting Tips: Sharp Mower Blade

You may not realize it, but a dull mower blade will do wonders to make your lawn look brown. This is is because the dull blade rips and shreds the the grass blades instead of making a super clean cut. If you are mowing just your lawn as a homeowner, then you are usually safe getting your lawn mower blade sharpened at the beginning of each season. Just keep an eye out for the typical ripped tips to know whether you need to get a sharpen or not.

Of course, I recommend you keep two sets of mower blades on hand anyway, just in case. This way, if one set needs to get sharpened, you have a spare.

Lawn Cutting Tips: Lawn Mower Horse Power

This is one that most folks don’t think about , but it is very important. You must have a lawn mower that has enough power to cut a thick lawn properly. If your mower is under-powered, it will clog and heave and the grass blades will be damaged, but not cut and this is not a good situation. These days, I recommend a mower that is a minimum of 5 horsepower.

You also should consider the quality of the mower and the depth of the deck. A deeper deck will allow more freedom beneath and less grass buildup. This is usually more important if you have a mulching lawn mower.

Remember guys, cut it right and you’ll be all good!