You're fine despite breaking that rule. In fact the blue gray mold is a very beneficial fungus, so you sort of have a head start on the goodness. Apparently your bag got too moist to allow that stuff to bloom like that. If you collect coffee from Starbucks and let it sit, that will develop the same fungus. Just break it up and use it. The other answer is that organic fertilizers do decay and they do get infested with bugs, but neither condition would rule out using them. To minimize bugs, use up all you have by Thanksgiving. You cannot overdose so use it all. Otherwise in the spring you'll have half a bag of fertilizer and half a bag of ick from the insects. But if you have that, just stir it all together and apply. Insect ick is as good an organic fertilizer as worm poop is.

Your going to have some weeds in your Organic Lawn. Its a fact and its just part of it. If you truly want to go 100% organic you will have to either live with some weeds or pull them by hand. Thats it. I've been maintaining my S.A. organically for 3 years now and I have some weeds. I either mow them down or pull them by hand if they are really large. Good Luck and Learn to live with a few weeds in your Organic Lawn.

Absolutely the most important thing to do is get your soil in shape. Plan on adding compost to it every year. Many people love composted horse manure, but composted community yard waste is good, too. Scatter your fertilizer (I use alfalfa), then cover with roughly three or four inches of compost. It doesn't have to be exact. Then on top of the compost put a layer of mulch to protect the compost from being burned up by the sun. Use what ever is cheap or free in your area. I use wood chips from tree trimming services as my mulch, delivered free to my door because they don't want to pay to put them in the landfill. In some places pine straw is very cheap. You can buy fancy bark nuggets but they are not only expensive, they aren't as good because they take too long to decompose. You want decomposition and renewal to be taking place constantly. For heaven's sake don't get that dreadful mulch made up of chopped up tires, an environmental nightmare. IMO it should be illegal. I also don't like the chopped up wood pallets dyed peculiar colors, but it is at least wood, not a chemical soup. I also get my compost at a very low cost from a local stable. If I load it myself it is free. Too much work. I gladly pay the modest fee to have it loaded. My own soil is a sandy clay, about 65% sand. Once at spring is the only time I fertilize. If your soil is even sandier you may need to do a second fertilizing because it washes out of sand. However as you keep adding compost each year the texture should improve so that eventually you may not need to. I also do only a single fungicidal spray at pruning time, either copper or sulfur. In your more humid climate that may not be adequate. You'll have to check with gardeners more familiar with your conditions. Rosefolly

HA! I suckered another one in!! Honestly I know the FAQ has been downloaded well over 100,000 times (wish I had a dollar for each one!). Lots of people have at least considered switching to organics but have been scared away for one reason or another. The objective of the FAQ was to dispel the rumors that it was expensive, smelly, and subject to poor performance. I like to call it "no hassle" lawn care. Water correctly, mulch mow tall, and fertilize. 1,2,3. The first two are more important than the third, but I like the results of organic fertilizing. If you feed the microbes with organic fertilizer, they will take care of the disease, insects, and keeping it green. DARK green. I can tell you that nobody was more surprised than I was the first time I tried corn meal on my lawn. I stressed corn meal in the Organic Lawn Care FAQ. A lot of people have followed the FAQ but moved on to soy bean meal for the fertilizer. You might have a rare opportunity in Kentucky. You are on the border of corn availability, but check this out. You might be able to find corn GLUTEN meal for much less than plain corn meal. If you can, then make the switch. Corn gluten meal is an excellent fertilizer. Over the years I've seen Kentuckians and Ohioans report finding corn gluten meal for around $10 per 100 pounds. In my area it is $30 for 30 pounds. If I could find it for $10/100, I would not use anything else. Check around. Any ground up bean, nut, or seed will work. It is the protein content that matters.