Lawn Care

[Julie Brown]

The way to a healthy lawn and healthy plants is organic matter such as milorganite. Adding organic matter increases the good bacteria in the soil just like adding probiotics increases the good bacteria in your gut. Chemical fertilizers, especially turf fertilizers are high in nitrogen which causes an inbalance of minor elements. This imbalance jeopardizes the beneficial bacteria. So if you want a healthy lawn, uses an organic fertilizer such as milorganite or pulverized chicken manure. Healthy soils mean healthy plants. Organics are completely absorbed unlike the nitrogen in other fertilizers which is not absorbed and runs off polluting our water supply. Slow release fertilizers are another choice if you feel you have to use a chemical fertilizer. They are coated to slowly release the nutrients so the plant can absorb them. Healthy plants and turf also withstand insect infestations so pesticides can be reduced or eliminated. There is not an insect out there that cannot be controlled with horticultural oils or a soap solution such as Safer Soap. Worms or caterpillars can be totally controlled with Bt which is an organic insecticide used in organic farms. ABSOLUTELY ALL insects can be controlled using these environmentally safe means and I say this from the insect capital of the country. I have run a landscaping nursery for 10 years and have NEVER, EVER had to use harsh chemicals. So, feed your soil, keep irrigation as controlled as you can, use these organic treatments for any pests and you will NEVER have to resort to chemical controls.....and you will have beautiful, lush, vigorous plants and lawns.
Julie

[Karen G.]

This is really good info. Is milorganite and chicken manure readily available?

[Karen G.]

We are ready to begin treating our lawn organically. (hopefully!) What would you suggest for weed control?

[Julie Brown]

Milorganite is and you can buy it at Home Depot, Target...any garden center. I will find out about the chicken manure. I think it is available but am not sure the brand name. What they are doing is pelletizing the manure from all the Perdue chicken farms so that they do not throw all this into the water table. And Perdue doesn't use any antibiotics or hormones when growing their chickens. I am having a large bin installed at the nursery so we can eliminate synthetic fertilizers in all Broward County parks. Another huge upside for this bin is that it also eliminates all the plastic bags that the fertilizer comes in. You can dispense it into reusable containers or right into spreaders. We are one of the first park systems to use this although there are a few golf courses in the state that have been doing it. These golf courses have significantly reduced their pesticide use as well as their fertilizer use by using soil enhancers like the poultry fertilizer. And there is virtually no runoff which is huge. And it is not harmful to pets or humans...which is also huge...especially for us in parks.

Love the info about stopping all the junk catalogs. Lots of trees being cut down for stuff people don't want.