This is a special guest article on organic lawn treatments by my friend Barbara. She is an avid organic home gardener and loves lawn care too!

Organic lawn treatments have gained broader acceptance in recent years and organic lawn fertilizers have become ever more popular as a result. Part of the reason, surely, is attributable to the eco-friendly green movement, but the real scientific benefits, which are hard to dispute, have played an important role as well.
Although slower acting, Organic Lawn Treatments are superior to synthetic lawn fertilizers in a number of important areas.

Organic Lawn Care Treatments: Better Turf Building

Organic lawn treatments have slow release mechanisms “built in” to them. They do not immediately release nitrogen and other nutrients and minerals to the soil. Rather, due to their complex, natural chemical composition, the grass roots themselves “feed” when they are “hungry” from the available nutrients. This results in better, more vital root development and more fibrous roots.

Organic Lawn Treatments: Improved Soil Content and Texture

Organic lawn treatments release live beneficial microbials and bacteria into the soil and areate the soil so that more oxygen is available to plant roots through the soil. Additional root growth (see above) also creates a more varied, healthy soil environment, creating a natural pest and disease resistent soil and roots within that soil.

Low Environmental Impact

The natural, easily assimilated ingredients of organic lawn treatments contain no toxins and will not pollute soil or water. The ingredients are naturally occuring nutrients and minerals and have not been “synthesized” for artificial formulas to feed the grass. The slow release of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium create no biohazards for fish, wildlife or people because they are never present in such concentrations that would make such a harmful result possible.

Organic Lawn Treatments: No Grass Burning

Related to the foregoing, the presence of nitrogen in complex naturally occuring molecules which are only broken down slowly by plant activity (“feeding”), means highly concentrated nitrogen infusions, the chemical reaction which causes “burns,” to the grass are impossible.

No Soil Compaction

The natural ingredients of organic lawn fertilizers come with “husks,” “mucus membranes” and “pellets” which prevent their running together and solidifying in the soil. They have a natural fibrosity and resistence to compaction, unlike synthetic chemical fertilizers, which can pool and solidify into cement-like sections of ground, rendering it, in effect, “poisoned.” Such a deleterious effect is chemically impossible with organic lawn fertilizers.
Use of organic lawn fertilizers is on the rise, dramatically, and it’s easy to see why. As word spreads about their incontrovertible benefits over synthetic fertilizers, gardeners are easily convinced that they are the best choice, not only for their lawn, but also for our green planet.

If you are here and wondering what organic lawn treatments are best, or you want to know when to apply organic lawn fertilizers to the lawn for best results, then get my book on organic lawn care!

So are you getting an idea of what I recommend for lawns yet? Well, here is another one that works well. Read the review below.

Ringer Organic Fertilizer is a popular economical slow release organic lawn care fertilizer with nitrogen:phosphorous:potassium ratios of 10-2-6. Ringer is approved by the Organic Materials Review Institute as an bonafide natural organic lawn fertilizer. Research indicates Ringer provides most of the important nutrients that produce a healthy thick turf, deep green grass leaves and active, healthy root systems. Unlike some other organic lawn fertilizers, Ringer does not contain any manure. Instead its main components are chicken feather meal, bone meal and soy bean meal. No synthetic ingredients are to be found in Ringer Organic Lawn Fertilizer.

Is Ringer Fertilizer Any Good?

Ringer is marketed as a pelleted fertilizer for top dressing on lawns. Its trade name is “Ringer Lawn Restore” and it is available in 10, 20 and 50 pound bags. A 50 pound bag of Ringer Lawn Restore will treat 2500 square feet of average established lawn. A “normal” lawn not showing stress or nitrogen deficiency can be treated with less. Expert opinion on amounts of Ringer needed for effective fertilization of established lawns actually vary widely but I can tell you that 10 lbs of Ringer per 1,000 square feet of lawn will do you just fine, especially if you are following my organic lawn fertilizer schedule.

A drop or rotary spreader works well in spreading Ringer on a lawn needing treatment. The manufacturer recommends watering in of Ringer Lawn Restore to ensure fast results and reduce loss from wind and foot traffic. Keeping the soil damp for three to four days after Ringer application seems to further boost its immediate beneficial effects on a lawn. Keep in mind, however, that a good dose of warm weather is what will truly activate the Ringer in the soil.

Is Ringer As Good As Scott’s Fertilizer?

The macro observable effects of lawn treatment by either synthetic or natural/organic fertilizers (such as Ringer) are about the same. The real differences are only manifest on closer inspection of root systems, soil texture/ content and how the lawn thrives (or fails to thrive) over a period of time. Grass growth resulting from using either chemical or organic fertilizers is essentially equal, according to the manufacturers of Ringer. But over time, advocates of organic fertilizers claim, organic fertilizers are much more effectual than chemical fertilizers because they enhance and texturize soil structure and improve the soil’s moisture and nutrient retention capabilities. Synthetic chemical fertilizers do not enrich the soil, often can cause soil compaction, and their overuse can result in toxin build-up over a period of several growing seasons, posing environmental hazards of chemical run-off into ground water and bodies of water.

Natural organic fertilizers like Ringer Lawn Restore contain live bacteria and microbials which actively “work” into the soil and create a positive environment for grasses to utilize the fertilizer as they actually need it, rather than “force feeding” artificial amounts of nitrogen and other nutrients into the roots, whether they need the feeding or not. Ringer Lawn Restore, like most other organic lawn fertilizers, will not burn the grass no matter how concentrated the application may be, a characteristic related to the natural form in which the nutrients, especially nitrogen, are conveyed to the grass roots.

You can get Ringer Lawn Fertilizer below, and you should also pick up my ebook that tells you when to do what for your lawn.

A veritable hornet’s nest of controversy surrounds the meaning of the term “organic weed killers.” The average gardener or DIY lawn care guy/gal is not interested in the dust-up and turf wars about organic weed killers raging among government agencies today. But just so you know, there are debates between the Dept. of Agriculture and the EPA, the National Organic Program and the Organic Materials Review Institute. In addition, there are the many other self-described organic standards bodies. No, the average gardener just wants to know what he/she can use to get rid of weeds that is “natural” and “won’t hurt the environment.” And by “natural weed killers,” he/she doesn’t want some wry, winking answer that suggests you just pull them up by the roots or hoe them out …. Or “mulch them out of existence.” So is there such a thing as natural or organic weed control, and how good do they work?

In sympathy with the average homeowner, what follows here are what are called by the experts “minimum risk” ingredients that will kill weeds. The “minimum risk” as used here refers to risk resulting in environmental damage or impact. Also the “bad” weed killers (e.g., Round-Up, et al) are termed “synthetic” weed killers.

All weed killers, regardless of risk, are herein termed “herbicides.”

Because so much of the information on the natural minimum risk weed killers is ad hoc and yet to be scientifically verified, what follows is unfortunately hearsay and anecdotal. That is, certain gardeners swear to their efficacy, but the ratios and mixtures of ingredients vary from gardener to gardener. One might add, as a further cautionary note, that if you pour enough of anything on a weed it’s likely to die, whether it’s soapsuds, beer or garlic juice. Anything would, for that matter.

The University of Florida Department of Agriculture has posted the following table on its website as “Minimum Risk Herbicides.” They do not go so far as to recommend solutions, ratios or mixtures or specify which ingredient works best on which kind of weed. However, gardening sites and blogs are rife with such recommendations and we would “recommend” you check them out.
Castor Oil (U.S.P. or equivalent) – Linseed Oil – Cedar Oil – Malic Acid* – Cinnamon* and Cinnamon Oil* – Mint* and Mint Oil* – Citric Acid* – Peppermint* and Peppermint Oil* – Citronella and Citronella Oil -Phenethyl Propionate (2-phenylethyl propionate) – Cloves* and Clove Oil* – Potassium Sorbate – Corn Gluten Meal* – Putrescent Whole Egg Solids  – Corn Oil* – Rosemary* and Rosemary Oil* – Cottonseed Oil* – Sesame* (includes ground Sesame plant stalks) and Sesame Oil* – Dried Blood – Sodium Chloride (common salt)* – Eugenol – Sodium Lauryl Sulfate – Garlic* and Garlic Oil* – Soybean Oil – Geraniol 29. Thyme* and Thyme Oil* – Geranium Oil – White Pepper* – Lauryl Sulfate – Zinc Metal Strips (consisting solely of zinc metal and impurities) – Lemon Grass Oil* * These active ingredients are exempt for use on all food commodities from the requirement of a tolerance on all raw agricultural commodities at 40 CFR 180.1164(d).

“Putrescent eggs” gets my vote as the grossest and possibly the most effective minimum risk herbicide on the chart. They very well may make the gardener handling them sick too, not just the weed.

At any rate, since all of these ingredients are readily available, fairly cheap and not normally harmful to people, the intrepid gardener might employ the tried and true empirical method and try these out as potions mixed with varying amounts of H2 O, and just see what exactly it does to the crab grass. Once he/she hits the bullseye, he/she might send a note along to the Profs at the University of Florida Dept. of Agriculture with the right mix. They’d probably appreciate the tip.

Not to be outdone by ordinary gardeners, the big chemical companies are jumping on the green wagon and have brought out a few “natural” herbicides that are now on store shelves. Look for more to follow unless Ed Brown down the street doesn’t beat them to it with his all-purpose herbicide peppermint oil spray.

Of course, the best thing to do with weeds naturally is to prevent them, and corn gluten meal makes a great weed preventer. Also, if you want to try out some natural organic weed killers, below are some for you to test out.