Susan's Lawn Gardens

What’s the secret to having the perfect organic lawn? Just combine organic products with these 3 traditional gardening techniques:

1. Enrich the soil with organic compost…

Grass thrives in loamy (crumbly) soil. Here’s a simple way to check for loamy soil…

Squeeze a handful of moist soil. Does it hold its shape? Now, poke or touch it. Does it crumble? If the answer to both questions is yes, then you have loamy soil.

If, however, it sticks together and barely breaks apart (if at all) when touched, then it has too much clay. Or, if it doesn’t hold its shape when squeezed, then it has too much sand.

Adding an organic compost to soil achieves the optimum soil texture, because it adds nutrients in a natural, easy-to-absorb state… with several bonuses:

• Increases the soil’s organic content, hence it’s water-holding capacity
• Improves the soil’s physical structure, allowing more air to get to the roots
• Increases bacterial and beneficial fungal activity, making nutrients more available to grass roots
• Organically derived plant nutrients are less likely to contribute to water pollution because they are very slow to leach from the soil

But here’s the “super” bonus… the response to this enriched soil is a deeper, stronger root structure that withstands drought and disease!

2. Apply liquid seaweed…

Seaweed is loaded with trace elements like iron, magnesium, and zinc which maintain root development and plant health. They also enhance the lawn’s ability to fight off fungal diseases.

Applying liquid seaweed to your lawn is a basic, necessary step to ensuring an organically healthy lawn. Fortunately, it is not expensive. So, apply it at least once a month, or as recommended by the product.

Actually, even less frequent applications still have very strong benefits.

3. Water deeply and early…

Organic lawn care advocates about one inch of water applied once per week. This deep watering encourages deep roots… enabling your lawn to withstand droughts and diseases.

The question is, how can you gauge that one inch? First, take into account the total rainfall during the week. The weekly watering is just to make up the difference between the total week’s rainfall and the 1″ requirement. If you still need to water, here’s a really simple tip to determine when to turn off the water:

Place a rain gauge or empty tuna or cat food can on your lawn when you water it. Keep an eye on the gauge or the can.. it’s really easy to see when to turn off the water. No more guessing, no more thirsty lawns.

The best time to water lawns is early in the day, providing plenty of time for grass roots to breathe. Fungal invasion due to insufficient evaporation can result from watering in the evening.

These are just three essential organic lawn care techniques, but they add up to a potent combination for that perfect lawn!

Susan Nelson Hopkins is a reformed gardener and lawn lover. She is resigned to the inescapable fact that we all must conserve water and do our part to protect the environment. But she has learned that this doesn’t preclude lovely, healthy gardens… and lawns. Her tip… less is more! Check out the rest of Susan’s Lawn Gardens. She is also webmaster of Susan’s Bird Gardens and several more gardening sites and blogs.