Organic lawn care is not all that difficult to achieve - here in the PNW, organic gardening of any type is highly regarded and encouraged and lawn care is right up there with everything else. If you are planting a new lawn or sodding, preparation of the seed base is critical - a good, thick layer of quality soil to encourage deep root development and proper drainage is a must. If you are maintaining an existing lawn, my first suggestion is to invest in a mulching mower. Grasscycling or recycling of the finely minced grass clippings will reduce or even eliminate the need for additional fertilizing. Mow high and often and water infrequently but deeply. A well maintained and healthy lawn will outcompete weeds, but the best way to manage any that do appear is through manual removal or hand pulling. If your lawn has been previously maintained through chemical intervention (fertilizers and pesticides), be prepared to invest some patience in converting it to totally organic. Like any chemical addiction, the lawn will need to be weaned off and it may take a season or two before your lawn responds eagerly to the organic approach.

Good points Paul. Outsourcing production makes sense. I haven't really tried to quantify it but my gut tells me to be skeptical about synthetic companies' organic products. My gut tends to be right a lot of the time so I'm starting out with other organic sources. My correspondence with Shel at Organic Lawns for America has been very positive. From speaking with another user I found it seems like they select what they consider the best products and repackage them and provide the convenience of mail order. I know to some this may seem lazy to some but the easier my lawn is to maintain the happier I am :) I got some soil conditioner which seems to be mostly calcium derived from limestone and an assortment of bacteria and fungi that appear to be soil inoculants as well as some other things that seem to help bring nutrients back into the soil. Going to do some more searching on the ingredients. I saw the abstract of one study on one of the bacteria and it increases the size of tomatoes. The Ca in it should help to. Curious to see how the other ingredients play in other plantings. No "fertilizer" in this treatment but with the grasscycling, liming and this treatment I'm hoping to see some better color in the lawn in a couple of weeks.

Hello Kime. First of all, welcome to the Lawncare forum. Although I rarely post here anymore, your enthusiasm and desire for a nice eco-friendly lawn cries out for answers to your thoughtful questions. It appears that you have done some research, gained knowledge and experience, and probably have a pretty descent lawn right now. I will proceed from that assumption giving opinion based on my experience with a similar lawn in similar soil and climate. No doubt, you will receive conflicting opinions and will have to decide for yourself what may work best for you. To begin with, your plan for 2009 is good but needs a little tweaking to optimize it for the first year. Lets start from todays date. You will want to start preparing you lawn for Winter dormancy. On your lawn spread 50 # of soybean meal. Start with your spreader ¾ wide open. You may have to open it up all the way. If you spell any, then clean it up. You donÂt want any piles of it on your lawn as it may leave a dead spot. This is a light application but you should see results in 3 or 4 weeks as the soil temperatures are good for microbial decomposition of grains. Repeat this process again October 15th. Always leave lawn clippings on your lawn with your side discharge mower. Mow all your Autumn leaves into your lawn even if you have to rake them into rows in remote areas of you lawn. A good soil requires lots of organic material. Do not throw your leaves away. Thanksgiving  forget alfalfa meal or pellets, itÂs too cold for quick breakdown of organic material. Instead use urea (the only deviation from a purely organic fertilizer program) 45-0-0 at the rate of 2 # per 1000 sq ft. This will encourage root growth and nutrient storage and provide a great green-up and initial Spring feeding without excessive top growth. Urea, as you probably know naturally occurs in urine and nothing could be more "natural" than that. That 8 or 10 lbs of urea could be diluted with 20 lbs of SBM as a filler to enable an even distribution. At this point, your lawncare is done for the year. April 1  Corn meal or cracked corn  low in protein (nitrogen) but encourages beneficial fungus to aid in lawn disease. CGM is good, but do not expect any pre-emergent herbicide qualities from one dose as it takes time and more quantity to build up in your soil to be effective as a pre-M. May 15  Soy bean meal- the first real feeding of the season, takes 3 to 4 weeks to become effective. July 1 Alfalfa pellets  low nitrogen but high in micronutrients. August 1  corn meal. September 1  SBM - October 15 SBM and youÂre done for the year. This post is getting long so IÂll move it along and just say that compost is really really good but optional. You can spread your grains everywhere including gardens, beds and shrubs. Grub control? You probably donÂt need it unless you have a severe infestation. A healthy lawn can support a large and diverse insect population which will become balanced between predators and prey. Up to 10 grubs per sq. ft. is acceptable. Bill Hill

This upcoming year, I am probably going to overdo it again based on my excitement and desire to try different things. However, here is my tentative plan: March: I am going to get soil tests in two places: 1) where my grass is going great 2) the two spots where the grass is shaky April 1: I am going with a chemical preemergent. I just feel like I have to break the weed cycle for a year to give the grass a chance to fill in. I will also drop some corn meal gluten at that time. I will spray my first round of compost tea. May 1: I am going to go with some corn meal, not corn meal gluten, since I have had some fungus problems. I will continue with a light spray of compost tea. I am obsessed with getting the right bacteria/fungi situation going on my lawn - hence the compost tea and corn meal. June 1: Once again, I am going with a light sprinkling of corn meal as well as some compost tea. August 15: Alfalfa September 1: Compost, Overseed, Milorganite. October 1: Milorganite or soy bean meal, along with some compost tea. November 15: Cockadoodledoodoo chicken fertilizer. As you can see, I am going with a few different things because not only do I find this all fun, but also I am not sure what will - or won't - work. Here are my reasons: 1) corn meal gluten: They say it takes a couple years before it truly works. So, while I am working it into the soil, I am going to give it one last shot of synthetic preemergent. 2) corn meal: I have a hunch that I have some fungus issues. 3) Alfalfa: I am doing this for the phosphorus that will be needed two weeks later for the overseeding. 4) Milorganite: I like Milorganite. I have liked the results thus far. 5) Cockadoodledoodoo: My uncle uses it, and his house is the first in his neighborhood to green up. Also, the organic company that services my neighborhood uses something like it exclusively (all applications), and their lawns are always as green as the chemically treated ones.