It’s time to consider a lawn treatment plan for the fall. I say this because I know a good number of you either did nothing all year for your turf or whatever you did do just didn’t work. Either way, you need to get that lawn looking good prior to winter and I can tell you that FALL IS A GREAT TIME to get started! In fact, you can get better results FASTER IN FALL than you can in the spring… and you can do it organic and natural!

Let me help you… just follow these steps and your lawn will be looking good in 6 weeks flat, no kidding.

Aerate The Lawn

Lawn aeration is a big time fundamental here guys – especially when you are going organic with your lawn care. Aeration does a lot of good, like loosening soil, breaking down thatch, helping the grass roots to spread and thicken. It is a mechanical process so it works every time and requires no chemicals. But it is also going to help in our little fall lawn treatment cycle here.

You see, when you aerate, you are basically poking a bunch of holes in the lawn that allow the grass roots to fill in fast. The good news is that turfgrass naturally thickens in the root system in the fall anyway, and the more roots, the thicker the top. But there is more… read the next tip–

Fall Organic Lawn Fertilizer

I want you to fertilizer your lawn RIGHT AFTER you aerate the lawn. This is important because our fertilizer will fall directly into those holes (or wash into them) and directly into the root system. This is important because of the fact that organic lawn fertilizers don’t break down from water/moisture like traditional fertilizers do. In fact, organics need heat to break down. So we want the fert to get in teh holes where it can stay nice and warm and break down fast, then be readily available for the grass roots to take in. Here are a couple of my favorite organic lawn fertilizers. Just make sure you apply the correct “pounds on the ground” as the label specifies.

Grass Seed – Over Seed

Finally, it is a good time to go ahead and throw down some grass seed now as well. Yep, right after the fertilizer is spread, throw in some fresh grass seed. Here is a quick video I did that will help you understand how to grow fresh seed in your lawn.

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A big question I get quite often from you guys is: “should I top dress my organic lawn?”

For some reason over the last few years, proponents of organic lawn care have stressed top dressing as an important part of the overall care of a natural yard. I think this came from organic gardeners who just assumed that caring for lawns was similar to care for landscape ornamentals. This is just not the case. There are some times when top dressing the lawn is helpful, but you have to do it right, and set the proper expecations.

Top Dressing To Improve Soil Content

If you are using organic lawn fertilizer like Milorganite or Ringer (as I recommend in my ebook) then your soil should be very healthy already. I’ve heard people recommend top dressing as a way to improve soil biotics. While I’m sure it will help, there are better ways.

However, if your soil is heavy clay like mine here in Indiana, then top dressing will condition the soil and help it soak up and hold water more efficiently. In this case, top dress with a mixture of 1 part sand, and 2 parts peat moss. Spread this mixture over the lawn in early fall, no more than 1/2″ thick. Anything heavier than that and you will cause disease issues.

Top Dressing To Level The Lawn

A lot of people will top dress their lawns as a way to level them out. I can tell you that this will only work for small areas, smaller than the size of a beach ball. If you are wanting to level anything bigger, you are best to bring in a Bobcat, scrape the area and start over.

However, if you do want to use topdressing as a way to smooth out your lawn overall, the sand is the way to do. Anything else will not incorporate well with your existing soil. Again, if you have clay soil, then use the same mixture I mention above and spread it mainly in the areas that you want to built up. Pretty simple.

Do Not Use Top Soil As A Top Dressing

Whatever you do, NEVER use top soil as a top dressing. In fact, I don’t recommend any type of dirt be used in the lawn because it can (and almost always does) contain weed and grass seeds that we don’t want in the turf. Even if it is labeled “clean top soil” I wouldn’t trust it.

Super Top Dressing – DIY

If you really want a super mix that will help improve soil structure, help level low spots, and improve overall live soil activity, then use this recipe:

1 part peat moss

1 part sand

1 part cow manure

1 part mushroom compost

Scotts Organic Group Wf20qt Mushroom Compost 71880240 Manure Compost & Humas

Spread this mixture across the lawn in early fall at about 1/2 inch thick. Be sure to spread it evenly across the lawn. Don’t skimp and put it only in certain areas. We definitely want a balance. Make sure to water in the mixture as well.

Your questions are welcome.

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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!

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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.

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So you want to go green eh? Organic lawn treatment services and companies do exist, as well as great DIY friendly organic lawn treatment programs. But where do you start? Here are the basics for you to consider.

1) Is an organic lawn treatment program right for your situation? The reason I need you to answer this question is simply to gauge your expectation level. An organic lawn will in all reality look better and be healthier than the alternatives, but you have to have a good base to work from first. Long story short, if you have a major weed problem and a thin turf structure, then you will need to use non-organic means to correct what is ailing your turf prior to going fully green and organic.

There just is no such thing as an organic weed killer so you can hang that thought up. Now I know there are companies on the net selling natural and organic weed killers, but they DO NOT WORK, trust me. There is, however, a good alternative to achieving a green, weed free lawn by using just a “little bit” or weed killing chemicals. In my book, I talk about this! Click here to get it.

Once you do get rid of the weeds, then you can start on an organic lawn treatment program.

2) Are you willing to do your part in other areas besides organic lawn treatment? What I mean here is that there are many things you can do to your lawn that will help it to thicken up and these items are indeed organic. One of those is core aeration which is a machine that punches holes in the lawn, allowing grass roots to thicken. In addition, you should constantly add fresh grass seeds to existing lawns to thicken them up and add in fresh, disease resistant grass species.

You will also need to mow your organically treated lawn regularly and mow it tall! No scalping allowed! irrigation is also important.

3) Finally, can you exercise a little patience? Organic lawn treatment programs work very well, but they also work slowly. organic lawn fertilizers release nutrients slowly as heat breaks down the nutrients and releases them into the soil. This produces good results slowly over time. Remember, organic lawn care is a marathon, not a sprint.

If you are ready to take on your organic lawn treatment program, click here and get the full, step by step program that works very well on my own lawn, and my readers’ lawns too. This organic lawn treatment program works on all types of grasses in all areas of the country.

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