Speaking of nitrogen, how many of you have done a soil test on your lawns and gardens? It is cheap and will give you a good baseline on the condition of your soil. You can get the test kits mailed to you by contacting the U of M Extension Service on-line. This test will tell you the pH , texture and levels of nutrients and when to apply the proper amounts.

The products I talk about in these posts are available at Urban Earth Coop at 36th St. and Bryant Ave. S. in S.Minneapolis. There is also a class on Organic lawn care on Tues. June 3rd at 7:00 pm. Visit the Urban Earth Flower and Garden Co-op site for more info.

To apply microbes in the fall follow these steps:
1. Aerate your lawn either with a digging fork simply pushed into the turf, moving it backward and forward about 6 inches. Or you may rent a power aerator at the hardware or rental store. The store staff will show you how to use this equipment.
2. Top dress with a high quality compost. It is important to note the “high quality” of the above statement. Most composts are not composted correctly and may contain weed seeds and other contaminants. A reliable source of high quality compost is at The Landscape and Concrete Center at 313 West 61st Street in Richfield. 612-866-0430.

To apply the compost, load it into a wheelbarrow and using a pitchfork or shovel, scatter the compost 1/4″ to 1/2″ thick over the lawn. Be careful to not leave piles or large clumps as they smother the grass. To avoid these dead spots use a leaf rake to further spread and disperse the compost. Raking will also lift the grass blades up, out of the compost.

To calculate how much compost you need, determine the area of your lawn, multiply length x width, to calculate area. Then multiply the area by .02( for 1/4″ depth). This will give you the amount of compost needed in cubic feet. To convert to cubic yards, divide cubic feet by 27.

3. After you top dress you can apply organic fertilizer, lime or grass seed or other amendments. I recommend fertilizer, lime and seed this year to help lawns recover from the drought and heat damage of this past summer.

4. Water. Lawns are still alive and need water even though temperatures are cooler. One inch per week, including rain is needed for lush green lawns. This water is called for until the soil freezes, usually around Thanksgiving. This extended water schedule is especially necessary after the hot, dry summer. Watering late will help replenish sub soil moisture. It will also help trees, shrubs and other plantings recover.

The other important job for fall is leaf removal. Clumps or piles of leaves can damage or smother grass. Even small clumps of leaves left on the lawns over winter will leave lots of dead spots next spring.

The last mowing of the season can be set at 2″ to clean up the lawn and allow debris to blow across the grass, not trapping it on the lawn where it can damage the grass.

Before you mothball your mower, trimmer and other equipment be sure to do some preventive maintenance:

1. Clean equipment. Wash, scrub and wipe down all equipment and tools.
2. Sharpen tool and blades that need to be sharp.
3. Sand wood handles and make any repairs necessary.
4. Coat hand tools with a light coating of light motor oil.
5. Remove gas and fuel from power equipment and run engines until they are out of fuel.
6. Store all tools and equipment in a dry environment.

One final task is left for your lawn care season. Take time to assess your lawn. Are there any areas where the grass is thin and there are lots of weeds? Or maybe there is a south-facing slope where the grass is parched or burnt? Any area where grass struggles is a candidate for converting from grass to flower bed, patio. swing set, rock garden, shade garden, rain garden, veggies or other creative uses.

Time spent trying to get grass to grow where it doesn’t want to be is time wasted, not to mention seed, sod, fertilizer and other supplies. A garden, sitting area or even a mulched bed can be more attractive and take a lot less work and that is music to my ears.

August is also an excellent time to apply corn gluten meal for fall weed control. Be certain you are not going to seed grass in the next six weeks or the corn gluten meal will prevent any seed from germinating.

This summer’s drought and intense heat damaged a lot of lawns. There is only one thing to do to fix a heat damaged lawn – seed it!
Here’s how to do it:
1. Rake the dead and damaged areas exposing as much top soil as possible.
2. Deep aerate the bare soil with a digging fork, spade or aerator. Push the fork or spade as deep as you can, rock it back and forth and pull it out. Do this once every square foot to allow water and amendments to penetrate deeply and you will drought proof your lawn.
3. Top dress with a high quality compost to a depth of 1/2 inch.
4. Apply bone meal or starter fertilizer to help with the germination and root development.
5. Sow the grass seed sparingly. Most people over apply the grass seed. You should be able to see more soil than seed. Look at an area of your lawn and count the number of grass plants you can cover with your hand. This is about how many seeds you should plant in a similar-sized area. Over application of seeds will result in an over population of grass plants. These grass plants compete for water, light and nutrients with many seedlings dying and leaving large areas of bare soil. This is an open invitation for weed invasion.
6. Water the seeded areas once daily for 2 weeks keeping the soil moist. Slowly taper off in the watering schedule moving to infrequent yet deep watering.

Too much fertilizer at this time of year is a bad thing. The hottest part of the year is July and August and the fertilizer stimulates the grass to greater activity when it is trying, and needs to, go dormant.

The annual fertilizer schedule for turf grass starts in September. It’s like a snack before bedtime. Two small fertilizer applications in September and October and another in May are all the food lawns need. Remember, with organics, we are really feeding microbes which in turn break down the fertilizer and makes it available for the grass plants.

There are two types of nutrients in our soil: total and available nutrients. Total nutrients are exactly like it sounds; all the nutrients present. Think of it as the pantry. Available nutrients are present in a form plants can take in or eat. It’s the food on the plate. Another way to picture the difference is, say, I order a hamburger at a restaurant and they bring me a cow. Lots of food but I can’t take it all in. A few things need to happen to Ol’ Bossy before I can eat.

The cooks in this scenario are the soil microbes. They break down and convert organic matter, minerals and other nutrients so plants can eat. They also help plants get water and air and they neutralize contaminants. Microbes make the soil a sponge so water, air and food can be stored in greater abundance. Roots that can grow more deeply sustain the grass through the heat of summer and droughts.

May and June are good months for introducing and increasing soil microbes into the soil.
1. Adding compost, usually as a top dressing (a thin layer on top of the soil) 1/4″ to 1/2″ for existing turf.
Here’s how to do it:
a. Mow grass short to about 2″.
b. Scatter compost as evenly as you can, some piles are ok. If it’s bagged compost, just cut a small 6-8 inch slit in the corner of the bag and swing the bag in wide lateral arcs, back and forth until empty. If using bulk compost, load up a wheelbarrow and either dump small piles or scatter with a shovel or pitchfork.
c. Then using leaf rakes, spread out the clumps of compost so it doesn’t smother the grass. If you can see
very little compost as you stand across the street – you have done well.

2. Spray with an aerated compost tea.

Now the question of what compost to use? Compost for lawns needs to be of very high quality and properly composted so that weed seeds and contaminants are “cooked”. Avoid using compost from large bulk suppliers and city or county sites. They contain a lot of weed seeds that will grow in your yard. Trust me on this – I’ve learned the hard way and not only once!

There are two products that are really great for compost.
1. Mississippi Topsoils has a great bagged compost that is available at many nurseries and garden centers.
2. The Landscape and Concrete Center at 313 West 61st Street in Richfield, MN, 612-866-0430 has a wonderful farmpost (that’s Minnesotan for manure) that is superior to every other compost I have seen and they deliver!

How much compost do I need?
To determine the amount of compost, farmpost or whatever, you need to use this formula.
Square footage of area to be treated (length x width)
x .02 for 1/4″ thick This gives you total cubic feet.
Total cubic feet divided by 27 = cubic yards

Most bagged composts are 2 cubic feet but be sure to check the bag.

There, now you have drought-proofed your lawn but be sure to water about an inch per week. Remember, our turf grasses are not native. They originated in moist climates with less temperature extremes. These out-of-town guests are fussy and demanding but they aren’t leaving any time soon.

Hey Everybody!

Welcome to the April edition of my e-newsletter. Last month I said you would learn about corn and tea. These are things your lawn loves and vice versa.

Corn gluten meal is a nutrient rich by-product of the ethanol process.Researchers at Iowa State University discovered that the right amounts of corn gluten meal at the correct time disrupted the germination of seeds (weed seeds included).

The correct amount is about 20 lbs. and the most effective time to apply is late April or early May,or when the lilacs are in bloom.I prefer to remember it this way because I’ve loved lilacs since I was a boy and picked them for my Mom and Grandma from shrubs growing along Grandma’s lane.

This springtime application of corn gluten mealwill help prevent crabgrass in July and August.I apply it again in late August to keep fall-germinating weeds from sprouting.Isn’t that great?!

And now for a really great product….compost tea!! We brew this tea from the best ingredients we can get our grubby little hands on.The rich brown earthy smelling liquid is a concentration of all the beneficial microbes in a healthy ecologically mature soil.We apply this tea to your lawn,landscape plants,and gardens.These microbes aerate the soil,release nutrients bound-up in your soil,and let air,water,and roots penetrate more deeply. They correct all kinds of soil problems that cause weeds.

Compost tea isn’t available for public application at this time but I would be happy to give an estimate to anyone who is interested.Just e-mail or call me at 952-240-0814.

Have Fun!

Organic Bob

Word of the Day:

corn gluten meal
Corn gluten meal is a by-product of corn processing that has been used as an animal feed ingredient and now as an organic week and feed product.

How does corn gluten meal supress weeds?

A. It ferments producing alcohol and burns weeds.
B. It sticks to weed leaves and smothers them.
C. It interferes with the germination of seeds.
D. It makes grass stong and healthy so that the grass can smother weeds.
Answer below.

Quick Tip:

Set your mower at 3″ high. This shades the soil keeping grass roots cool and moist and weed seeds in the dark where they can’t germinate. Your grass will also grow slower and require less water.

Advice of the Day:

Never lie. A stranger doesn’t warrant it and a loved one only gets hurt.

Answer:C.

Bel’s Corner

The dog is Morgan and the cat is Curiosity. Did you know that organic food comes from organic yards and that stuff is GOOD! When my dad sprays the compost tea on your lawn in a few seconds, it starts working. My lawn used to be a trash can until he sprayed compost tea on our grass. The backyard grass is green even where the dog does her “bisniss”. Hee-hee! “Cat got out. Got her. Kan you do the KanKan? Kan you do the KanKan?”

Download the March Almanac here. (2.2MB Adobe PDF)