I am not Annie, but I am a 95% organic gardener (fire ants are my bain, so I have to put on a TAD of chemical warefare but not in any food areas).

I deal with organic lawn care all the time. There are more and more major companies going to expand their offerings in this area with all the interest in organics. I applaud you for choosing to make some changes in your garden and life, to become more thoughtful towards our enviornment!

The #1 suggestion I offer clients is to consider reducing your lawn space - consider consolidating it if you have various lawn spaces so that you have one managable area that is lawn, and reduce that space as you see less need for lawn. I approach lawn as a "need" and not as a want - as I consider that thoughtful gardeners will see that lawns are water and food hogs and narrow our perspective of lush, green, low growing options for ground covers. Some people still need grass as play spaces as other ground covers don't stand up as well to sports, pets or children. Consolidating space will help you use what you have more effectively and save you time and money no matter how you grow your lawn.

#2 choose as low growing grass as you can in your climate, and choose the right grass for the sun or shade situation. Steer clear of some of the newly developed grass seeds that have chemical coatings to absorb water. That is what STRAW is for! Plus straw breaks down and feeds your lawn! Look for grasses that can choke out weeds (gardeners need to balance this with the grasses ability to creep into garden space) - with organic lawns you will need to learn to live with a certain amount of "imperfection" to keep the cost reasonable
-there are loads of companies out there (many here) that will sell you a TON of crap for your organic lawn (which they MUST apply) to make it look like a chemically grown lawn. It is very expensive and unnecessary if you can just change your goals and ideas about what you find acceptable in a lawn. Keeping a slightly weedy lawn clipped to a medium height (choose a dark green grass) will help the weeds blend. Just mow it regularly. Consolidated lawn spaces are easy to mow with a Reel mower.

Corn Gluten Meal: has worked well for me to abate weeds. Not perfect, but very helpful as it will help eliminate germination of weed seeds. Use twice a year in warm season areas (as we have both spring/summer and fall/winter annual and perennial weeds).

Alfalfa: a source of nitrogen. Using alfalfa with compost or worm tea on your grass (and entire garden) will keep it green and so healthy looking

There are more options available, those are just off the top of my head.

CMK,

Lawns are basically "turf grass", ideal for high traffic areas and sports. I do not have lawn per se - I have some grassy areas that I use to get to my flowers and other areas of the garden. :)

The biggest grassy area is my back yard, where we have family play time with grand kids, shoot off fireworks, have Easter Egg hunts, and play croquet/volley ball on Memorial Day and Independence Day. I don't worry about it rather than mowing it at the proper depth to prevent thatching and to keep the goathead stickers from growing. The wild rabbits help with grazing and pooping (and dispersing more weed and wildflower seeds)and my chickens. Last year when I had geese, they kept it pretty well grazed off (and fertilized).

I like "meadow lawns" - wild grasses with small, ground hugging flowers, not because I don't like to mow. I love to mow, but because I like their look.

Grass helps cool the earth & the air in your garden, so it has its benefits. I allow grass to grow in my garden paths in many areas. I don't really see it as lawn, rather as part of my entire garden.

~Annie

There was a time when I obsessed over the lawn in front, no more. I have wild white violets, english daisies (well, one took hold) creeping veronica and moss (which I'm encouraging). The only thing we pull are a few dandelions and plantain. Today I'm going to over seed the entire so called lawn with clover seed, we don't water the lawn in the summer, clover stays green water or no water :o).

Annette

Thanks so much GGG! I appreciate info from everyone!

"Consolidating lawn space", you mean I now have a legitimate reason to make more garden space?! I am all for that!
I already have an established lawn in both the front and back yard, so I don't think I would really be willing to put in a different type of grass. I do have an electric mower. It is difficult to manage the cord, but a relative was getting rid of it, so I thought I might as well use it. I keep it on the highest setting so I don't have to mow as often. I try to keep the lawn long in the summer, but I am afraid I do water rather frequently (a few times a week) since it always looks so parched. I also keep the bag off and let some of the clippings go back onto the grass. I just rake up some of the larger clumps.

Weeds arn't much of an issue. I stopped using weed 'n' feed because it just didn't work. Now I just dig out any weeds I see (though the Veronica and crab grass are becomming a pain in a few areas!). I do keep the white clover in the grass because it stays a lush green. I think I read that it also provides some Nitrogen to the soil.

I have read on other posts that Alfalfa can be found at animal feed stores, and I have seen it there. Can you find Corn Gluten there too? I imagine you spread the Alfalfa around by hand, as it is in pellet form. But what about the Corn Gluten? Can you use a push-spreader? How often do you apply them?

I don't exactly know what Ammonia sulfate is (which I have been using). I read that it is mostly natural, good for the compost, and safe on plants. Is that true? Or is bad to use?

There are a couple of things I am wondering. How costly is it to go organic? And will the grass still be a lush green? Sorry, I can't help thinking about the aesthetic part of it! With many months of snow on the ground I look forward to green grass the rest of the year!

Thanks so much for the info!
CMK

Please realize that the "Natural" label that is slapped on everything these days is meaningless. There are no regulations defining what is "Natural." Take pyrethroid pesticides - they are derived from chrysanthemums and are completely "natural," however they are toxic to their intended target - insects - as well as mammals and aquatic organisms. Even certified organic pesticides and herbicides can have impacts on non-target organisms. It is best to avoid using them unless absolutely necessary, and if you must, apply minimally and follow the directions.
Ammonium sulfate is a synthetic fertilizer and pesticide. While supplying a nitrogen source, it will do nothing to actually feed the soil and promote a healthy lawn. It also can cause salt build up in your lawn and will easily run off into surrounding waterways and contribute to nutrient pollution. It has also been shown to have toxic effects on aquatic organisms. Why not just spread a thin layer of compost over the lawn in the spring? That will supply sufficient nutrients, promote deep root growth and minimize watering needs.
(I don't mean to sound like I'm lecturing, this is just a subject near and dear to me - I am a biologist in the environmental toxicology group at a NOAA laboratory)

-mle17, I don't mind a lecture from someone who is an expert or has experience! I don't know much about what is "good" and what is "bad" for the environment. Thats why im asking! I want to learn.

Thanks for the info on A. sulfate! How long does it take for synthetically fertilized lawn/soil take to recover? I mean, how long does it take for it to rid itself of the toxic stuff? A couple of years or so? I like the sound of the Alfalfa and Corn Gluten since you don't have to keep bending over to apply it. Do you think that would work as well as the compost?

Does anyone have pic of their organic lawn to share?
CMK

I've been gardening mostly organically in my flower beds for a few years now but haven't paid enough attention to the lawn so I've been reading as much as possible about how to improve it this year.

I'm also hoping to reduce the amount of lawn we have as I think our yard can be as attractive with less grass and it will be better for the environment. Maybe grow more ground covers in some areas.

Here's some info on organic lawn care: http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/organic/2004020829016580.html

I've also been haunting the soil forum here on GW as I believe building the soil is the most important part of gardening. I've used alfalfa tea on the perennials for a couple of years and plan to use it on the lawn this year as well as some seed meals. Will be brewing up some beneficial organism solutions to improve the soil over the entire garden, including the lawn.

Here's a link about using sugar (dry molasses) to reduce weeds.

Here is a link that might be useful: sugar against weeds in lawn

Hi CMK,

I attended a seminar on organic lawn care about 20 years ago. One of the things the speaker pointed out was how many chemicals would be on the bottom of your shoes when you walk across a freshly treated lawn - enough to kill a human baby. That day I went home and my puppy was chewing on my shoes. I should've been upset about the price of the shoes, but I thought more about what I could be doing to the pup. (Is this tru-life testimony forum?) The next day, I got serious about organic gardening.

This is how I handle it: Rule #1 - decide you don't care if your lawn doesn't look like a golf course. Next - we raised the blade on the mower as high as it will go. The grass blades will have a better chance to be healthy if it has a higher surface area to do it's thing, (photosynthesis, transpiration, etc). The taller grass also chokes out weeds. Ours is 3 1/2 - 4 inches tall. When we see weeds, we snap their little heads off. A good man once told me when you pull weeds, you unearth many weed seeds. So we rarely pull, we cut.

I donÂt always fertilize the lawn. I like alfalfa and blood meal. Corn gluten is a pre-emergent and I don't really care about any weeds besides plantain and dandelions so I don't bother with it. That saves a little money. We add compost to the lawn when we have extra.

My organic lawn costs less than my previous lawn. Twenty years ago, we used a service and the lawn was DH's pride and joy. Today, it is still our pride and joy and we'd much rather play golf on this healthy grass!

The worst thing about ammonium sulfate is that it kills earthworms. Earthworms are one of the healthiest critters to have in your soil. They will keep it porous and fertilized.

Make sure you keep something on your soil. If there is a bare spot, a weed seed will germinate there and worse  you will have erosion.

The first few years we went organic, were the hardest. We struggled to strike a balance. ItÂs second nature now.

the earth thanks you :)

If you don't have a mulching mower, then I suggest getting one. I have a couple acres of cut grass in around the house all bordered by forest. Any branches more than a thumb thick get picked up. Otherwise all I've done for the past 3 yrs is use the ride on mulch mower once or twice a week on the lawn and down the forest paths. Granted it's a 3 blade zero turn 19000 revs per min machine, but i also use the one blade push mulcher in harder to reach places and steeper slopes. And that's it- no fertilizer, no watering, no raking, no dethatching. Weeds aren't a problem cut twice a week-assumng that means anything non grass. I have clover, veronica, dandelions, english daisies, buttercup here and there. Sometimes they almost have pretty blooms.. then whoosh.. mulched.

Mulching mowers need drier grass and never cut more than a third off. Sometimes the grass will get ahead cuz of the weather, then I just raise the blades, cut, lower'em cut again.Even the finger thick branches are pulverized into minute mulch.

Thanks so much everyone!

-Mickie, you answered several of my questions! I am a little intimidated by going organic, but also excited. I have been reading the FAQ's on the organic lawn forum and also lurking to get info. I will maybe put some CGM down as soon as I get some.
Thanks again.
CMK

Corn Gluten Meal is in Preen products - it's kind of expensive. People have discussed on various GW forums using corn meals - no matter how you slice it, it is kind of pricey. I do get mine when needed at the animal feed store. I find the pellets are much cheaper and that's usually what they get in here. I don't have a lawn so this works great on my garden beds. After a rain the pellets poof open.
If you can, try to train your grass to go less time without water. A lot of it's ability to do so is the soil it is grown in, and I like the idea of spreading some compost over it. Here, most people can no longer afford (nor are they legally allowed to) use sprinklers or typical lawn watering devices. Drip systems and soakers are OK to run on gardens...but lawns now are supposed to be hand watered. It is obscenely expensive to keep a good sized lawn in shape in Atlanta now because of water price increases. So that is something to think about when opting for grass - the price it costs for water. If you have lawn ringed by gardens, you can always just slightly increase your garden space...before you know it...woops! No lawn!! :)

GGG

Try using corn gluten to stop the seeds from germinating. Go to your local AG store, and let them know that you are not alone !!! I plan on doing this locally. Hey, they break down the size of the black oil sunflower seeds....when they figure out there's a profit to made in corn gluten, they'll be there in a heartbeat!!!

Nancy.

-GGG, "I find the pellets are much cheaper..."
Does that mean you use mostly Alfalfa pellets, or does the Corn Gluten Meal come in pellet form too?
I am willing to pay a little bit more in making the change. I am not buying as much in plants and new items, so I figure I might as well spend a bit on maintaining things. Just so long as the organic lawn care programe isn't in the hundred dollar range. Hopefully not?? I didn't spend a whole lot on the lawn before.
CMK