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Lawn Maintenance
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Winterization
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Lawncare Tips
It's All About the Soil
The foundation of successful organic landscape is soil rich in beneficial microorganisms, which feed and protect the grass from other disease-causing bacteria and fungi. These tips will help you understand the terminology and processes to achieve a healthier landscape by using organic fertilizers – a choice you will be proud of.
BioGreen Growing Guides [DOWNLOAD PDF FILE  ]
A Few Tips you Can Use to Maintain a Healthier Lawn
| Water deeply and infrequently |
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Set your mower at the highest setting. |
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1 : Most lawns can tolerate being irrigated every 3-5 days if irrigated properly.
2 : Irrigate 1/2 of an inch of water per watering but make sure that sprinkler runoff is not occurring. If water is running off your lawn change your cycle to run two-three times but at shorter time intervals. This will allow your lawn to absorb the water more effectively.
3 : Wait to water again only when your lawn shows signs of water stress (footprints, gray/blue coloration).
4 : If it rains enough for an adequate lawn watering, make sure to turn off your sprinkler system until your lawn shows signs of water stress.
5 : Spot or hand watering the trouble or hot spots of your lawn will allow you to go 1-2 extra days between water cycles.
6 : Requires head to head coverage - sprinkler overlap.
7 : Water during the early morning light hours - ideally between 5-6:30 am. Never at night. |
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1 : Set your mower at the highest setting to conserve 25-50% more water than when mowed short.
2 : Never remove more than 1/3 of the grass blade when mowing.
3 : Sharpen your blade frequently to prevent tearing the grass tips – this will help the turf retain the moisture better.
4 : Mulch your grass clippings because they are comprised of 90% water and will aid in water reduction.
5 : Mow in the morning or late evening when it is cooler. |
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For a Blue Grass Lawn
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Daytime
Temperature
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Watering Requirements
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Greater than
85 degrees F
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> 2 inches of water per week
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Less than
85 degrees F
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> 1.5 inches of water per week
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For a Fescue Lawn
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Daytime
Temperature
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Watering Requirements
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Greater than
85 degrees F
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> 1.5 inches of water per week
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Less than
85 degrees F
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> 1 inch of water per week
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Recommended watering chart courtesy of CSU Cooperative Extension
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Am I Flooding My Lawn? To determine how much water your sprinkler system dispenses use a flat container and place it on your lawn. Run your sprinklers for 30 minutes then measure the water depth. If there is .5 inches of water in 30 minutes you’ll need to water 3 days per week for 30 minutes to obtain 1.5 inches of water per week. |
Conventional Turf Care vs Organic
Conventional turf care companies face a growing challenge to keep fertilizer nutrients in the soil and prevent leaching. Synthetic fertilizers can leach because they dissolve easily and release faster than plants use them. These excess nitrates and phosphates can pollute our rivers, lakes, and wells. The apparently low N-P-K analysis has relatively little meaning when you are feeding the soil because those numbers refer to plant nutrients, not soil nutrients. Synthetic fertilizer ingredients contain very little that feed the beneficial life in the soil, meaning the benefits of feeding the microorganisms in the soil cannot be quantified or qualified on any fertilizer label.
Organic fertilizers use nature’s way of supplying nutrients in turf and plants. Organic fertilizers contain raw materials meant to stimulate and feed the beneficial microorganisms in the soil. The slow release characteristics of organic fertilizers allow turf and plants to use nutrients before leaching occurs. Nutrients are released slowly through normal biological activity in the soil. This process allows nutrients to become available at about the same rate they are needed by soil, turf and plants. Organic fertilizers provide a sustainable and natural approach to fertilizing.
The philosophy of growing turf (or anything else) organically is simply that a healthy soil grows healthy plants. When you feed the beneficial life in the soil, those growing populations of microorganisms begin to accomplish many jobs that now consume great amounts of your time, money, and energy.
Microorganisms serve to help:
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Fertilize by fixing Nitrogen from the air, mineralizing soil organic nutrient, generating carbon dioxide (the plant’s most needed nutrient), and dissolving mineral nutrient from rock |
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De-thatch by decomposing thatch and other organic matter into valuable nutrients and humus, which in turn increase the water and nutrient holding capacity of the soil |
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Aerate the soil |
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Control many insect and disease problems by competition and predation |
These are only four examples derived from a far greater list. It’s widely accepted by researchers that many of the benefits we get from soil life have yet to be discovered.
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