Organic Lawn Fertilizer Tips

As a full time landscaper for a number of years, I tried as much as possible to use organic lawn fertilizer to keep grass healthy and green. In many regions of the country, rainfall is scarce, and because of that things like weed killer and fertilizer accumulate over many months and then are suddenly washed into the storm drain on the first big rain, causing hazardous conditions at beaches for swimmers and beach goers. That's pretty sad if you ask me, especially when there are a lot of alternatives to weed killer and fertilizer that are organic and friendly to the environment. In my last article, I wrote about vinegar as an organic weed killer and how to use it effectively. In this article, I want to talk about organic lawn fertilizer. What is an organic fertilizer anyway? An organic fertilizer is defined as a fertilizer that is unprocessed and naturally occurring. One such substance that most people are familiar with is cow manure. Cow manure is used very often in agriculture and is generally unprocessed and definitely is naturally occurring. So what are some different kinds of naturally occurring unprocessed chemicals that are good for fertilizing lawns?

In order to properly give an answer to that question, we'll first have to ask the question of what exactly a lawn needs in the first place? Before you start looking for an organic lawn fertilizer, you need to make sure that your soil is in the right condition for good growth. In order to do that, you might first need some:

1. Gypsum. Gypsum is basically the same as chalk. It gets into the soil and breaks up the hard clay that often makes it difficult for nice lawns to grow. Gypsum is not a fertilizer though. It doesn't contain any nutrients that help plants grow. But it's also not a harsh chemical either and is considered ecofriendly. The good news about gypsum is that it can be applied to already established lawns. It comes in powder form and can be spread on top of the grass. The unfortunate thing about gypsum is that it is very slow acting, and in reality might take up to a few years time with multiple applications a year in order to break up the hard clay content in the soil. It's worth it though.

2. Compost. To get the soil in the proper condition, compost will be needed. Besides being generally very nutritious to plant life, compost holds a host of positive microbes that help the lawn stay healthy and in peak shape. It's similar to the human stomach, which has a host of beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract that help digest food. In order for organic fertilizer to be effective, you have to have beneficial micro-organisms to be established and working in the lawn. Depending on your location, you may or may not be able to find compost at your local nursery.

3. Organic Lawn Fertilizer. Once you have your soil prepared with gypsum and compost, you'll be ready to add in your organic fertilizers. A few common fertilizers are Greensense, Ringers, Texas Tee, Epsoma, and more. They use regular foods such as ground corn, alfalfa, soy, and other grains. These fertilizers are protein based, which means that the micro-organisms must first process them before the nitrogen is released. For grain based fertilizers use at least 10 pounds per 1,000 square feet. If it seems like it isn't working or that nothing is happening, give it a little more time. It can take a bit of time for the tiny microbes in the soil to start digesting the fertilizer and producing nitrogen.

4. Used Coffee Grounds. Used coffee grounds are nice on grass because they'll help to slightly raise the acidity of the soil. In fact, most any bean is good as an organic fertilizer. In years past, farmers would raise beans and instead of harvesting them, they would ploy them under and the beans would reintroduce nitrogen into the soil.

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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC '-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN' 'http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd'><html><head><title>Articles Back Link | Organic Lawn Fertilizer Tips</title></head><body><h3>Organic Lawn Fertilizer Tips</h3><br><br> By: Ben Mester<br><br><p><p>As a full time landscaper for a number of years, I tried as much as possible to use organic lawn fertilizer to keep grass healthy and green. In many regions of the country, rainfall is scarce, and because of that things like weed killer and fertilizer accumulate over many months and then are suddenly washed into the storm drain on the first big rain, causing hazardous conditions at beaches for swimmers and beach goers. That's pretty sad if you ask me, especially when there are a lot of alternatives to weed killer and fertilizer that are organic and friendly to the environment. In my last article, I wrote about vinegar as an organic weed killer and how to use it effectively. In this article, I want to talk about organic lawn fertilizer. What is an organic fertilizer anyway? An organic fertilizer is defined as a fertilizer that is unprocessed and naturally occurring. One such substance that most people are familiar with is cow manure. Cow manure is used very often in agriculture and is generally unprocessed and definitely is naturally occurring. So what are some different kinds of naturally occurring unprocessed chemicals that are good for fertilizing lawns?</P><p>In order to properly give an answer to that question, we'll first have to ask the question of what exactly a lawn needs in the first place? Before you start looking for an organic lawn fertilizer, you need to make sure that your soil is in the right condition for good growth. In order to do that, you might first need some:</P><p>1. Gypsum. Gypsum is basically the same as chalk. It gets into the soil and breaks up the hard clay that often makes it difficult for nice lawns to grow. Gypsum is not a fertilizer though. It doesn't contain any nutrients that help plants grow. But it's also not a harsh chemical either and is considered ecofriendly. The good news about gypsum is that it can be applied to already established lawns. It comes in powder form and can be spread on top of the grass. The unfortunate thing about gypsum is that it is very slow acting, and in reality might take up to a few years time with multiple applications a year in order to break up the hard clay content in the soil. It's worth it though.</P><p>2. Compost. To get the soil in the proper condition, compost will be needed. Besides being generally very nutritious to plant life, compost holds a host of positive microbes that help the lawn stay healthy and in peak shape. It's similar to the human stomach, which has a host of beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract that help digest food. In order for organic fertilizer to be effective, you have to have beneficial micro-organisms to be established and working in the lawn. Depending on your location, you may or may not be able to find compost at your local nursery.</P><p>3. Organic Lawn Fertilizer. Once you have your soil prepared with gypsum and compost, you'll be ready to add in your organic fertilizers. A few common fertilizers are Greensense, Ringers, Texas Tee, Epsoma, and more. They use regular foods such as ground corn, alfalfa, soy, and other grains. These fertilizers are protein based, which means that the micro-organisms must first process them before the nitrogen is released. For grain based fertilizers use at least 10 pounds per 1,000 square feet. If it seems like it isn't working or that nothing is happening, give it a little more time. It can take a bit of time for the tiny microbes in the soil to start digesting the fertilizer and producing nitrogen.</P><p>4. Used Coffee Grounds. Used coffee grounds are nice on grass because they'll help to slightly raise the acidity of the soil. In fact, most any bean is good as an organic fertilizer. In years past, farmers would raise beans and instead of harvesting them, they would ploy them under and the beans would reintroduce nitrogen into the soil.<br></P></p> <br><br> <b>Author Resource:-></b>  <br><br><b>Article From</b> <a href='http://www.articlesbacklink.com/'>Articles Back Link</a><br></body></html>