Great looking lawn without chemicals

Have you thought about what those chemical lawn fertilizers are doing to your children and pets who play on the lawn? Chemical fertilizers leave your lawn dependent and more susceptible to diseases, and require constant applications, whereas organic fertilizers don't need to be applied nearly as often and they're free! Fall is an excellent time to get started ridding your lawn of it's chemical dependence. Organic lawns start off with healthy soil which resists pests, drought and diseases, with good biological activity from earth worms and microorganisms that need lots of organic matter to thrive.

How to feed your soil:
Apply a thin layer of compost in the Spring and Fall, and water so that the nutrients penetrate the soil. Weekly waterings of about 1 inch during the growing season will create a healthy root system. Also set your mower height at 3 inches and leave grass clippings on the lawn. A mulching mower is ideal as it chops the grass clippings finely and allows the nutrients to feed the lawn quicker. Applying a thin layer of compost and grass clippings during the growing season will keep it well fed. A slow release organic fertilizer is beneficial in the Fall and early Spring. Aerating the soil every 4 years is also useful before applying the compost. Aerators can be rented, and they pull plugs of dirt and grass out, improving air flow and water penetration. After aerating, filling bare spots with grass seed will help choke out any weeds.

We stopped applying chemical fertilizers two years ago, and even though we haven't applied all these measures, our lawn still looks very green and pretty much weed-free. And I've stopped worrying about having a weed-free lawn anyway - it's not the end of the world, and we're a lot healthier for it.