How to Have a Healthy Lawn Naturally

With the proper preparation, organic lawns can be greener, healthier and more resistant to drought, pests and disease than chemically treated lawns.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Angle Weeders
• Cool-season Grass Seeds
• Dandelion Diggers
• Lawn Aerator
• Lawn Fertilizers
• Lawn Mowers
• Warm-season Grass Seeds
• Corn Gluten Meal

1. Allow your lawn to grow at least 2 inches high. Taller grass is healthier and squeezes out unwelcome weeds.
2. Mow regularly, removing only 1/3 of the height of your lawn each time.
3. Mow only when grass is dry to avoid shredding the moist blades.
4. Keep mower blades sharp to cause less damage to the grass.
5. Leave grass clippings on the lawn. The decaying grass will quickly return nutrients and moisture to the soil.
6. Water deeply and consistently once or twice a week. Mornings are best to discourage nighttime pest activity.
7. Pluck existing weeds manually. Try a dandelion digger or an angle weeder, two weeding tools available at any garden store or online.
8. Fertilize sparingly every fall with a slow-release organic fertilizer.
9. Apply a thin layer of organic compost over your lawn in mid to late summer. The matter will quickly disappear, leaving nourished and less compacted soil.
10. Overseed with a hearty grass seed blend, especially in stressed and bare areas. For best results with regrowth, cover seeds with compost and water well.
11. Apply a thin layer of corn gluten meal to the lawn in early spring as a natural way to stop weeds from germinating. Not only does this corn syrup byproduct work, it adds fortifying protein to the soil.

Tips & Warnings

• If the soil beneath your grass is especially compacted, aerate (poke holes by removing soil cores) the lawn once or twice a year to enhance nutrient and moisture absorption.

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