As we get closer to another year of taking care of our lawns in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and in the Harrisonburg, Virginia area we need to take a look at the decision to go to organic lawn care, instead of the traditional or chemical approach.
Why should you change? You are probably thinking, the organic way just doesn’t work. Companies have tried organic lawn care and most of them have returned to the traditional way or chemical way. You are also thinking that organic lawn care is way too expensive to even consider. Why should I pay more for lawn care that just doesn’t work? We are headed in the direction in lawn care where more and more companies have decided to have both organic and traditional options for the customer. The organic or natural approach when you use First Class Lawn Care LLC is generally about ten percent more expensive than the traditional approach. New technology and plenty of research have brought about a much needed change to the lawn care industry. Organic applicators must do their homework. It is not as simple as going out and applying pesticides all over the lawn area where people and pets will be playing. They must decide to use as little pesticides as possible approach. The chemical only lawn care companies now have taken notice to the new organic way of treating your lawn. They can no longer think that organic lawn care will go away like the past organic attempts at lawn care.
One of the advantages of using organic lawn care is that nitrogen is released much more slowly. That means that there will be less chance for run off or leaching off the surface and into our rivers and streams and eventually into the Chesapeake Bay. They also help to increase soil microorganisms because it helps with water retention and lower disease chances. Organically maintained lawns grow slower than chemical fertilized lawns. One of the disadvantages of organic lawn care is the green up is not as quick as the traditional approach. That is because there is much less nitrogen in the organic approach. Less nitrogen means less mowing.
Years ago when organic fertilizers were first introduced, they were mostly made of granular corn gluten. They just sat on top on the lawn and took weeks for the microorganisms to break them down. The new type of organic lawn care has introduced to us and our company the liquid form of organic lawn care. They are readily available for use for your lawn and soil. The type of fertilizer that First Class Lawn Care LLC uses in the spring and fall are all liquid. We use granular in the summer months because the grass and lawn go dormant in the months where we have less rain. The main reason for using organic fertilizer over traditional fertilizer is to promote good soil biology. Chemical fertilizers harm soil microorganisms including earthworms which help aerate the soil.
Annual turf aeration is a very important part of the organic lawn care program. Core aeration can benefit the lawn by increasing the activity of soil microorganisms that decompose thatch, increasing water, nutrient and oxygen movement into the soil. This helps rainfall or irrigation and helps prevent fertilizer and pesticide run-off (when using chemical fertilizers) from compacted areas of your lawn. When core aerating is performed it is also a good idea to include a good top dressing of compost that will fill the removed cores and go directly to the roots of the turf.
So as we approach a new season of lawn maintenance why not consider the new wave of organic lawn care. It will not only benefit the environment, it will make you feel like you can go out and play in your yard and not have to worry about the proven health risks of the traditional lawn care way.