TIMING
Organic gardening is a process where one works with nature. Much in Nature is based on timing. Each month presents a new set of criteria to follow. We are now in mid August and if we are going to build a new lawn we need to take action soon. On the installation of a lawn timing is very important. It takes warm days to germinate grass seed and cool nights to grow healthy sturdy grass. This means end of August to early September is the best time to seed a lawn. A large percentage of lawn installations fail when we do it too early. In early summer seeds germinate well but the sweltering heat of summer takes its toll on the tender seedlings. They wither away before the roots can take hold in the soil. Our cool weather grasses that adapt to our climate grow and thrive best in cool weather. In order to grow a beautiful lawn you need to have a good soil to grow it in.
Most Westchester soils need conditioning because of their heavy clay consistency. If your lawn has never been conditioned by adding organic matter to it and your soil is heavy clay, you will be fighting a losing battle to obtain a beautiful lawn. At some point you will have to bite the bullet and condition your soil. Once you have developed a good soil you will have a fighting chance. Grass is a monoculture and grass needs to dominate the area. In my book ’12 Steps To Natural Gardening. Page 135 is my chapter on the Organic Lawn. Read it carefully and on page 149 is the formula for building a new lawn as is it is also spelled out in Krautter’s Korner August newsletter. If you are going to build a new lawn end of August to early September is your best time. In nature timing is very important.
Lawns that are suffering with some bare spots and weeds but have a good soil structure can follow our Renovation program on page 149 in my book.
Many people have asked what they can do for a severe crabgrass problem which has taken over their lawn. Do we have a weed killer that can take care of the problem? My answer is stick to an organic program. Don’t pollute your soil with toxic health threatening weed killers. Keep your lawn pure and healthy. Our country is suffering serious health issues and there is a reason for that. We have become one of the unhealthiest countries in the world because we continue to apply chemicals and toxic sprays to our soils. Applying them to your lawn will have a direct effect on you, your children and your pets through exposure.
Exposure of these materials into your body builds up and eventually causes debilitating effects. Why take this chance when so much data points to this as a problem, why not just follow an organic lawn program. The switch is easy. It requires you to monitor what others put into your soil. The best lawns in our county are the ones that have followed an organic sustainable program like the one we developed and list in my book ‘12 Steps To Organic Gardening’. The organic lawn requires time, effort and perseverance to develop but it is a superior growth process that develops a superior lawn. It relies on proven natural principles like developing a deeper root system and a thick stand of grass to crowd out weeds. These are things which do not develop when you follow a chemical program. Lush green chemically grown lawns are always weak and prone to insects, diseases and weeds.
So how do we handle our weed and crabgrass problems? When I first converted my mother’s lawn to an organic one I was hit with a very hot summer and crabgrass took over. I didn’t have the time or strength to pull it. I knew crabgrass was a hot weather grass and when the cool weather came in it would get weak and when the first frosts occurred it would die. So I seeded into the heavy stand of crabgrass at the end of September. The temperatures were still warm enough to germinate grass seed. Once I seeded over the top of this area I took a broom and a rake and made sure the seed would fall onto the soil below the crabgrass plants. Then I top dressed the area with sterile bags of top soil covering the seed with a 1/8” of soil and again I broomed and raked it in so that the grass seed got covered. I watered this area 3 times a day and the grass seed germinated.
Meanwhile we were into October and the crabgrass was struggling as the nights got cool. The grass seedlings flourished in this environment and took over the dying crabgrass. The crabgrass died over the winter and the new grass took over the area. My grass was so thick that none of the crabgrass germinated the following year. If there is one little bare spot, crabgrass will germinate so be sure to seed into these areas. You need to make sure grass fills that space. This is a typical example of timing and showing you how knowledge acquired can solve your problems by working with nature. I hope you will read my chapter on the organic lawn and will use this knowledge to work with nature and solve your lawn problems. Once you have a self sustaining organic lawn and a robust food web to support it, you will have a great lawn.
Organic lawns are not only healthy for your children your pets and you but they are good for our environment and they also help reduce global warming. How we ever got hooked into the 4-step chemical programs to grow a beautiful lawn is a crime that will continue to plague us for many years. We must make the change if we already haven’t done so and follow an organic natural approach.
My wife wants to keep reminding you of her favorite Native American proverb. “We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children”.
